A 'Providential Opportunity' has come to our community

Recently various people from within and outside of Michigan have taken notice of metropolitan Detroit’s rich diversity.  They are not pleased by this fact. They have chosen to focus their fears on our community. Too often these fears are revealed in expressions of bigotry.

The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit was formed to meet this fear and bigotry head-on. We cannot allow it to fester and poison our community.

Lately, Muslims have become the target of this negative attention with a focus on Shariah, the codes of conduct found in Muslim scripture and practice. Some states such as Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee have passed laws preventing Shariah from being used or even considered in legal decisions made by the courts.

I am not aware of a single American Muslim who wishes to see Shariah become the law of the land. In fact, most Muslim immigrants come to America because of American law. They wish to be governed by American laws just like the rest of us.

Those of us who know the history of Catholicism in America know that the current climate is similar to what Catholics had to endure at least until the 1930s. An anti-immigrant party called the Know Nothings or the American Party--as well as the KKK--vilified and targeted Catholics. Convents were burned. Catholics were lynched. It was ugly.

Again today we are experiencing something similar.  But when bigotry threatens to divide us, we face a great opportunity.

Metropolitan Detroit is a marvelous community. We are in the enviable position of having a lot of attention paid to us. This is an opportunity for us to show the wider American society - even the world - how vibrant, creative and ultimately beneficial a diverse community like ours can be. The whole world needs to see that. Ours can be a model for others.

Religious beliefs and cultural identity bring new ways of thinking into a society. First, second and third generation Americans bring a tremendous surge in energy into a community. Differences prompt new ways of thinking and acting. If there ever was a time that metropolitan Detroit needed that, it is surely right now.

As in the early 19th century, metropolitan Detroit is the recipient of resurgent energy. It is a monumental opportunity. It should not be wasted in squabbles and harmful tension. It should, instead, be a source for good and progress. It could and should be the source of our greatness as a community.

The role of the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is to do all in our power to make that a reality. We are a diverse civic organization made up of both lay and clerical people of faith. We are intent on employing our highest and best values in order to take full advantage of this providential opportunity.

We hope to engage the entire community in that effort. I hope you will join us.