Salahuddin Hasan

I flirted with inter-faith dialogue and understanding for some time. But it was not until I met Salahuddin Hasan over fifteen years ago that I really made this a more consistent part of my on-going pilgrimage. He challenged me "to come on board" so to speak and to reach out to those of other faiths so that I might learn and relate. My attempts at doing so have been nothing short of enriching. And now my mentor is gone. Salahuddin died yesterday morning after a rather lengthy time of ill health.

Salahuddin was the Imam at Masjid-Al-Muminum here in our city for many years. His wife, Linda, was the manager for a dozen years or so at My Sister's House, the local shelter for women and children fleeing abuse. Though he was a great talker, theirs was not a faith-expression of words. They acted. And in so doing, they made a difference.

Salahuddin held his convictions strongly. He was not going to be intimidated by anyone. But he encouraged others in their convictions, even if they differed from his. Following 9/11, he bore down hard, insisting that Christians, Muslims, Jews, and anyone else talk to each other, get to know each other, walk and work together. Our community of faith and his celebrated numerous Thanksgiving Eve worship services together.

I know that the heat continues to be turned up by some Christians insisting that their way is the only way to God. I reject that notion and have long since moved past it. The way of Jesus works for me. But there are many roads on this one journey and Salahuddin found the way that worked for him. To believe there is only one road is to claim complete understanding of the mind of God and, for me, is an arrogance to the nth degree.

I know. I know. Many will want to quote John 14:6 about Jesus announcing, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." That's clear enough, right? Well, take a deep breath and hear me say - I don't believe Jesus ever said that. In the Synoptic Gospels Jesus doesn't talk a whole lot about himself. In John's Gospel, he just talks on and on. The "I am" statements are prime examples. It only makes sense to me that much later followers, looking back at who Jesus had become for them, put those words into Jesus' mouth and now the church has tried to make them mandatory for everyone. No sale, here. But by the way, while we are on the subject, what was "The Way" of Jesus? Was it not for everyone to die to self and come alive to a whole new unfolding experience? And that is the main thrust of all major faith expressions.

Salahuddin helped teach me this.

He was strong and gentle, intense and humble, lover of family and a gift to friends. And I will miss him. Rest in peace, Salahuddin Hasan.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

One of the more memorable lines from the movie FORREST GUMP is from the lead character when he says, "Stupid is as stupid does." This was something his mother had taught him. I take that to mean that just because someone or something looks stupid, such is not enough of a qualifier. Stupidity is expressed in words or action.

If that is the proper criteria, I am now ready to say that Franklin Graham is a stupid man. Franklin is the son of the world famous evangelist, Billy Graham, and now heads the Graham Evangelistic Association. He bills himself as an evangelist, but I seldom hear him utter "good news." Most of his public comments are harsh, unloving, and accusatory. His father may be closely aligned politically to his son, but the famous evangelist almost always had the good sense to express himself publicly with openness, love, and compassion for all. Not so with son Franklin.

His latest embarrasing utterance is to imply that President Obama is a closet Muslim. That is one of the foolish ideas floating around that further helps divide our nation and Graham knowingly plays into this when he indicates that Obama's father was a Muslim (He wasn"t really. He renouced that early on and lived out his days as an atheist). Graham's rationale for this is that because father Obama somehow had a connection to Islam, the seed of Islam passes through the father to the child. Thus, our President is a Muslim.

Forget the whole notion that President Obama made a choice several years ago to be a follower of Jesus. That is at the very heart of Graham's supposed theology. Choose whom you will serve and then follow. Obama has done just that. But the rub is that, politically, Graham has serious disagreement with the president and therefore seeks to undermine his standing and influence by tossing out a bogus idea. It's untrue, but why should one let truth get in the way of one's convictions.

As I say.......stupid!

I wish that we found ourselves in a time when rational folk could sit together and rationally discuss ideas without benefit of lies and accusations. But that is not the tenure of our times. Bill Moyers once said that one will never be able to change the mind of a fundamentalist by offering solid, persuasive ideas. You can't change their minds; you have to fight them. Regrettably, it sometimes turns into a street fight.

One of the saddest parts of this whole escapade is that so many will accept what Graham says simply because he is Franklin Graham. His statements and motives will not be put under a hot searchlight and examined. He said it; therefore, it must be true.

How stupid!