CAIR applauds removal of message as boost for Christian-Muslim relations
WASHINGTON, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today applauded the decision of a North Carolina Baptist
pastor to apologize for an anti-Muslim sign displayed outside his Forest City
church.
Danieltown Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Creighton Lovelace had previously
refused calls to take down the sign, reading "The Koran needs to be flushed,"
posted in front of his church.
CAIR reacted to the controversy by calling on mainstream religious and
political leaders to repudiate the sign's bigoted message. The Washington-
based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group also urged Americans of all
faiths to obtain and read a free Quran available through CAIR's new "Explore
the Quran" campaign. Several thousand people have already taken advantage of
CAIR's offer.
SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/
In today's apology, Lovelace said in part:
"When I posted the sign in front of the church, it was my intent only to
affirm and exalt the Bible and its teachings. It was certainly not my intent
to insult any people of faith, but instead to remind the people in this
community of the preeminence of God's Word.
"When I posted the message on the sign, I did not realize how people of
the Muslim faith view the Koran-that devoted Muslims view it more highly than
many in the U.S. view the Bible.
"Now I realize how offensive this is to them, and after praying about it,
I have chosen to remove the sign. I apologize for posting that message and
deeply regret that it has offended so many in the Muslim community."
In an earlier statement sent to CAIR, Morris H. Chapman, president and
chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee, condemned
the message on the sign and called for "respectful" relations with American
Muslims.
"We thank Pastor Lovelace for his apology and hope this incident will
serve to improve relations between Christians and Muslims in North Carolina
and throughout America," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. Awad
suggested that American churches and mosques host Muslim-Christian dialogues
on Jesus, who is revered by both faiths.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada.
CONTACT: CAIR National - Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726,
E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org
CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American Muslim
community. To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/
| |
SOURCE The Council on American-Islamic Relations
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.cair-net.org
CONTACT:
Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR, +1-202-488-8787 or
+1-202-744-7726 or ihooper@cair-net.org
| |
|
