LEAD STORY: by Andy Butcher

Christian Leaders Warn Against Anti-Islam Backlash

Suspected Muslim terrorist attacks must not motivate hate, but love

With increasing talk of military action against the suspected Muslim terrorists behind Tuesday's devastating attacks, Christian leaders have urged peaceful prayer to prevent an anti-Islam backlash.

The plane hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon could be "a critical turning point" for Muslim-Christian relations worldwide, warned the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Religious Liberty Commission in a special prayer alert.

"If this situation is not handled well, the world could find itself divided along religious/ideological lines with an intensity and hostility that has as yet been unknown in European and Western nations," it said. Stereotyping all Muslims as evil "flies in the face of Scripture, which commands us to love our neighbor and show impartiality because of our concern for their salvation."

Appeals from the WEF and others went out as reports began to come in of anti-Muslim incidents across the country. According to "The Washington Post," mosques were damaged by bullets, bricks and graffiti. The door of a mosque in San Francisco was splattered with blood.

But Terry Madison, president of Open Doors USA, which is involved in ministry to Muslims, said "if there was ever a time for Christian Americans to show concern and love to our neighbors of Middle Eastern heritage, it is today and for the many todays that will follow."

He said: "Our government's abuse of Japanese-Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor is a good example of what can happen when we blame the wrong group of people." If people created an enemy image of Muslims, "it is impossible for us to love them. If we hate them, it will be impossible for us to be motivated to share the gospel with them."

Lynn Green, the U.K.-based director of The Reconciliation Walk, a bridge-building initiative between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East, said that leaders needed wisdom to walk the "narrow path" of pursuing justice while not doing "further damage [to the] people who are the near neighbors of the guilty."

George Rafidi, head of Arab Outreach Ministries in Jacksonville, Fla., said he believed Tuesday's attacks were a "wake-up call" to the church to reach Muslims. "I'm praying that the church realizes more that we need to pray and reach the spiritual sons of Ishmael."

Paul Filidis, North American coordinator of the 30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus, an annual prayer event that globally involves more than 5 million Christians praying for the Muslim world, said he feared an overreaction "not just from the Christian community, but the government."

His concern was echoed in a message on behalf of Arab Christians in Israel from Bishara Awad, president of Bethlehem Bible College, who said that although a few Palestinians had been seen on television celebrating Tuesday's attacks, most had denounced them. "We urge American citizens and politicians to refrain from speaking or acting in a way which would increase or intensify the pain and suffering," he wrote. "The time to acknowledge our common humanity and fellowship under God is now."

Osama bin Laden, an extremist Muslim leader from Saudi Arabia based in Afghanistan, is widely believed to have been behind Tuesday's attacks. According to reports he has denied responsibility for the attacks, but welcomed them.

With heightened tensions between the United States and Afghanistan, the parents of two American women arrested there for alleged missionary activity were due to leave the country today. They have been there during the trial of their daughters who along with six other foreigners working for a relief organization were arrested last month after Christian materials were allegedly found in an Afghani home.

*** TESTIMONIES FROM THE TRAGEDY. Read the stories of Christians caught up in Tuesday's horror. Go to: http://www.charismanews.com/testimonies


NEWS BRIEFS: GROUPS UNITE FOR DAY OF MOURNING

Several Christian organizations have linked to help lead the nation in prayer this weekend as churches across the country prepare for record attendance. Millions are expected to observe tomorrow's National Day of Mourning and Prayer, and take part in special services and informal gatherings, Sunday.

Participants are being asked to join in "A Prayer by the Nation for the Nation in an Hour of Unprecedented National Sorrow," prepared by the National Prayer Committee, Mission America, the National Association of Evangelicals and the National Day of Prayer Task Force. The petition will appear as a full-page advertisement in tomorrow's edition of "USA Today."

Addressing God as the "source of all comfort and hope," the prayer declares that He has "spoken to us in precious promises" and asks that "as never before, awaken and sustain us as a nation with the triumphant hope we have in You and You alone."

Focus on the Family president James Dobson last night urged a national TV audience to teach children to pray as a way of helping them learn to deal with the tragedy. He told CNN interviewer Larry King: "Americans are very resilient. They have many resources, and two of the greatest are their families and their faith. And I believe that's where we will turn this time."