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Statement by Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy on the Film Obsession |
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Geller - Director of Communications (202) 238-3283 Washington, DC -- When the fundamental freedom, rights, and institutions of
our democracy are used in attempts to achieve narrow partisan and/or sectarian
purposes, our democracy is threatened. When efforts are made to spread hatred that destroys the possibility of
pluralism, to restrict rights in a manner that erodes freedom, and to stoke
fears that alter the civil electoral debates that nurture the democratic
process, something is bad wrong. And
when all of this is done under the guise of religion, the soaring vision of our
nation conceived by our founders and elaborated in our constitution must be
protected.
Though people have a right to advocate for bigotry and media
outlets have a right to sell their delivery services for money, all of us have
a responsibility to raise political, moral, and spiritual questions about the
mass distribution of ideological materials aimed at pitting Americans against
each other, designating a black list of religions in this nation, and inspiring
sick minds to spray gas on women and children gathered for worship in a mosque.
The Interfaith Alliance exists to encourage inter-religious
cooperation and help demonstrate the positive contributions that religion can
make to the nation. Thus we challenge
religion-based divisiveness as well as the manipulation of both religion and
politics in a manner that weakens the integrity of religion and the vitality of
politics. For that reason, we call on
Americans to speak out against the propagation of materials aimed at demonizing
Muslims or any other religious group for the purpose of advancing a candidate
for political office, to challenge the very idea that a person’s religion makes
that person less a citizen than others who identify with a majority religion or
no religion at all, and to refute the political strategy of stereotyping a
religion through lying about its essential nature in order to prey on people’s
fears, make one candidate more attractive than another, divide the American
public, and advance a singular political point of view.
The assurance of religious liberty and the guarantee of a
vital democracy are inextricably linked together in our government. To those whose work erodes both while
stirring hatred, let us say, “Enough. Be
done!” in order that we may get on with an important election in which all
candidates are encouraged to respect religious pluralism and to commit
themselves to the protection of a vital democracy.
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The Interfaith Alliance celebrates
religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that
protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge
extremism. Founded in 1994, the Interfaith Alliance has 185,000 members across the country
from 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition. For more
information visit www.interfaithalliance.org. |
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Statement by Rabbi Jack Moline on the Film Obsession |
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Geller - Director of Communications (202) 238-3283 I
thank you for joining us this morning. We at the Interfaith Alliance are devoted to protecting faith and
freedom, and I cannot think of an issue more within our mission than the one we
address today.
In
the Jewish tradition, we hold a particular disdain for people who are, as we
say, “sinners with the permission of the Torah.” That is, we deplore individuals who
selectively apply the permissions and restrictions to claim that they are
within the sacred instructions in pursuit of disreputable and destructive
ends.
If
you would like to see an example of such people in an American context, you
need only look to the production and distribution of “Obsession.” Claiming a concern for the United States and documentation of aberrant elements in disparate expressions of Islam, the
creators of this film have constructed a thinly-veiled call for disparagement
and distrust of all Muslims. And
exercising the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution, the distributors
of this DVD have attempted, by inference and innuendo, to limit the rights of
Muslims to enjoy the free exercise of their faith. To add insult to injury, the targeted markets
for this film are states considered critical to both Presidential candidates in
order to influence the outcome of the election in favor of their candidate. Free expression, free press, free elections –
all of these values that Americans cherish and protect are being used cynically
to justify the excesses and instigations of “Obsession.”
Terrorism
is a real threat to this country and, in fact, to every country. Our next President, whoever he may be, will
need to deal with terrorism as a strategy on many fronts and from many
sources. The misdirection of “Obsession”
not only sullies and alienates the adherents of Islam, but distracts the
attention of all concerned Americans from the genuine threats from terrorist
renegades of many origins, including non-Muslim Americans.
We
at the Interfaith Alliance call on both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama to repudiate
this film and reject the support of those associated with it. We call on them to promote a pluralistic view
of religion and faith as a source of unity and healing. We call on both candidates to reject the use
of religion as a political weapon. The
good work in interfaith relations all over this country would be strengthened
by encouragement from the next President of the United States.
Before
I introduce Rev. Welton Gaddy, who
is standing by on the telephone, I would like to add a note of personal
disappointment that the Clarion Fund and its founder, who is also the producer
of this film, are tied closely to a prominent Jewish organization. As a board member of the Interfaith Alliance,
I promised to turn a critical eye first to my own community. The rabbi whose name appears in the credits
of this film as producer and co-writer has a hard repentance ahead of him on
Yom Kippur. I will include his actions
in my own confession of sins. # # #
The Interfaith Alliance celebrates
religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that
protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge
extremism. Founded in 1994, the Interfaith Alliance has 185,000 members across the country
from 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition. For more
information visit www.interfaithalliance.org. |
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Interfaith Alliance Condemns Attack on Ohio Mosque and Stands Against Senseless Acts of Violence and Propaganda |
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Geller - Director of Communications (202) 238-3283 Washington, DC – Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of Interfaith Alliance, issued the following statement today following an attack on the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton.
“‘God, help us!’ I prayed as I read the headline: ‘Chemical irritant empties Islamic Society of Greater Dayton's mosque,’” said Rev. Gaddy. “Has it come to this—an assault on innocent children? Scapegoating Muslims as well as denouncing them verbally and attacking them physically has become all too common in this post 9/11 world.”
This attack comes just days after the distribution of the film Obsession- Radical Islam’s War against the West, in Ohio newspapers. News reports state that two unidentified men sprayed chemicals into a room full of children and infants as their mothers gathered together for their Ramadan prayers.
Rev Gaddy went on to say, “Did the distribution of an anti-Muslim film encourage the Islamaphobia that may have caused the attack? No one can say except the perpetrators, but the fear card is being played in the media, on the Internet and, now, in newspaper inserts across the United States.”
Ironically, this happened in the city that hosted the Dayton Peace Accords. Those historic agreements ended the Bosnia-Herzegovina war, in an accord that stopped the rape and slaughter of predominantly Muslim civilians. The Greater Dayton Interfaith Trialogue, formed after the 9/11 attacks, provided a discussion point for local Muslims, Jews and Christians to celebrate what could happen if people and their governments spoke up for peace, and for “others.” It has held important meetings and workshops designed to bridge the gulf that separates the faith traditions.
Rev. Gaddy concluded by saying, “Interfaith Alliance calls on its members and friends, and all Americans who believe in religious freedom and all those who value religious liberty and equality to send a strong, unified message that we will not tolerate bias motivated violence of any kind. We need to let the Muslim community of Dayton, and across America, know that we stand with them against terrorism and that we condemn this senseless act of violence and the propaganda that helped to fuel it.”# # #
The Interfaith Alliance celebrates
religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that
protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge
extremism. Founded in 1994, the Interfaith Alliance has 185,000 members across the country
from 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition. For more
information visit www.interfaithalliance.org. |
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Religious Leaders Pledge to Keep Endorsements Out of Houses of Worship |
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Geller - Director of Communications (202) 238-3283 September 18, 2008
Pledge Counters Plans by Alliance Defense Fund to Violate
Boundaries Between Religion and Government
Washington, DC – Interfaith Alliance has launched a nationwide campaign urging clergy to protect the boundaries between religion and government and refrain from endorsing political candidates on behalf of their house of worship. Clergy across the country are being asked to sign a six point pledge to uphold certain standards during the election. This effort stands in stark contrast to the Alliance Defense Fund’s (ADF) plans to have clergy around the country violate federal law by making endorsements from the pulpit on September 28. A copy of the pledge along with a selection of signers can be found here at http://www.interfaithalliance.org/clergypledge
The Interfaith Alliance pledge has already been signed by over 25 major religious leaders spanning both the religious and ideological spectrum. Among the first singers of the pledge was the Rev. Dr. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor of Northland Church and a leader in the evangelical movement. Other signers include the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church; Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director of the Islamic Society of North America, and Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York.
Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of Interfaith Alliance and Pastor for Preaching and Worship at Northminster (Baptist) Church in Monroe, Louisiana told his own congregation last Sunday: “I cannot stress strongly enough my objections to turning houses of worship into pseudo-precinct nominating conventions.” He went on to say, “I am as concerned about what such a practice in houses of worship would do to the integrity and credibility of religion as about what it would do to weaken the Constitution.” You can listen to or read the complete sermon at http://www.northmin.org/sermons/2008
Rev. Joel Hunter signed the pledge because of the proper role religious leaders should have over their congregants. By endorsing candidates from the pulpit: “You’re almost usurping the spiritual leadership that ought to come only from their personal faith with God." Rev. Hunter also stated, “To somehow subjugate this transcendent God into one political party or another or one candidate or another is, I think, insulting toward God.” Dr. Hunter will be a guest on Rev. Gaddy’s weekly radio show, State of Belief, this weekend.
Last Friday, Interfaith Alliance asked its members across the country to sign the pledge (if they are clergy) or obtain a signature from their religious leader. Over 150 clergy have signed on to the pledge based on that call. # # #
The Interfaith Alliance celebrates
religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that
protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge
extremism. Founded in 1994, the Interfaith Alliance has 185,000 members across the country
from 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition. For more
information visit www.interfaithalliance.org. |
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Statement of Rev. Welton Gaddy On the Distribution of the Anti-Muslim Film “Obsession” in Newspapers |
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Geller - Director of Communications (202) 238-3283 September 17, 2008
Washington, DC – The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of the Interfaith Alliance released the following statement today in response to the distribution of the anti-Muslim film, “Obsession” in newspapers across the country:
“The Interfaith Alliance is profoundly disturbed to hear that 28 million copies of the three-year old film “Obsession” are being distributed via special advertising inserts into newspapers through September. The film’s targeted distribution is focused on presidential battleground states, and the sponsor, the Clarion Fund a non-profit 501(c)(3), offers no public information on their sources of funding, board of directors, or membership.
“We firmly believe that everyone has a right to an opinion. But when a cynical attempt is made to influence our nation’s presidential election by stoking fear of one religious group we believe the media along with public officials, such as the Federal Election Commission, must establish who is trying to influence our politics through religious bigotry. And, if these individuals are indeed propagating Islamophobia to influence our election, we should establish this well before, not after, the election.” # # #
The Interfaith Alliance celebrates
religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that
protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge
extremism. Founded in 1994, the Interfaith Alliance has 185,000 members across the country
from 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition. For more
information visit www.interfaithalliance.org. |
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