Ten Years Later: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Every time that the calendar flips to September 11, we take a moment to look back at the tragic events of that infamous day in 2001. As we look back, we remember not just the struggle of that day, but the countless examples of heroism and courage that we witnessed. We remember how we all united and stood strong together. This year, though, as a decade has passed and our world has changed, we have a particularly welcome opportunity to look forward. Ten years ago, Osama bin Laden became the face of the Islamic faith. For nearly ten years, he became a symbol of intolerance, hatred, and extremism that was unfairly linked to an entire religion. Today, though, is the first September 11th in which Osama bin Laden’s face is no longer on our Earth. And, as fate would have it, at the same time he was killed, myriads of new faces emerged to represent the Muslim world. The Arab Spring began in spring of 2011, as thousands – perhaps millions – of young Muslims took to the streets in a revolutionary spirit to tackle tyranny. Within a matter of months, the face of the Muslim world changed. Members of a religion that was marred by terrorism and oppression suddenly were fighting against terrorism and oppression. Yes, the part year marked a changing point for the Middle East and for the world. Here in America, it has been a decade since we lost our innocence. Children are entering our school system who were not even born on September 11. We are drawing troops down in the war on terror, and changing our approach to the remaining global threat. Perhaps the greatest thing to see is the work being done in New York City. In the place that the Twin Towers stood, there is an even larger building that is being erected. This tower is a symbol to the world: If you knock us down, we won’t just recover; we will rise up stronger than ever.

Thoughts on Bloomberg's exclusion of Prayer at The 9/11 Memorial Service

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week that there will be no “clergy-led” prayer at the September 11th memorial. The decision was made not only because of the issue of prayer alone, but the issue of appeasing all religions and not showing favoritism towards one.

This decision is a terrible one for a host of reasons. Most importantly, to deny prayer a place in the memorial service is to deny the events of September 11, 2001. As the towers fell and Americans were in a state of panic, they prayed. We’ve seen images of people banning together to pray in the streets of New York. When the rest of America returned home at night, many of them prayed with their families. Millions of Americans attended vigils at their places of worship during the evening. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani asked for people’s prayers, and President Bush ended his evening address with a bible verse.

The fact of the matter is that when millions of Americans could have turned to fear, they turned to God. I remember as a child on September 11th, feeling safe for two reasons: The might of our military and the faith in God that I witnessed around me. And as America healed, America prayed. You simply cannot recall the events of that terrible day without including the role that faith played. Whether or not you believe that there is a God who had a hand in America’s recovery, you cannot deny that millions of Americans do believe in God and did turn to Him as they healed. Simply put, you can deny the existence of God, but you can’t deny the existence of faith, and the role that faith played in the healing of America.

Additionally, as America continues to heal from the tragedy of September 11, there has been an important effort to protect and maintain the dignity of all religions in our country. With the controversies surrounding the mosque near ground zero, and with an emerging debate about the role of Shariah Law in America, many fear that that we may be taking a step backwards in terms of religious tolerance. Rather than ban prayer, Bloomberg should have brought all faiths together to pray. He could have united the faiths of America on one stage, for one event, for one prayer. It would be a symbolic gesture to the world – a renewal of the tagline that defined post-9/11 America, “United We Stand.”