On Fires, Temples, and the Fallen...

Restore The Temple
The Holy of Holies - A Resplendent Glory Born of Fire, Mystery, and Religion
Source: Flybrite

On this auspicious holyday and solemn day of remembrance, let us reflect on life's passages... "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un;" and, let us salute one another in celebration of Life… “L’Chaim!”

Now, let us pause to consider several of the pressing issues of our day…

Regarding Terry Jones and his ongoing threats to organize an international Quran burning, I will not speak ill of him. However, I will lay the truth of his ways before you… Any fool can pick up the horn and blow, yet few can actually play the sacred songs. Allow the charlatans to pose as people of God, and their ignorance will be yours, too. Allow the likes of Terry Jones to lead you, and his every missed step will be yours as well.

Those who seek to find war will find war in loads too heavy to carry; Armed regiments and a breathtaking menagerie of implements dressed for no purposes other than death, cruelty, rape and destruction. Trust Terry Jones to lead you into burning books and Holy Crusades, and you trust him to lead you and your descendants into endless and untenable battle, to shield you from a trillion falling swords, and to lead you in Judgement of Eternal Damnation before your Creator. Play with fire if you wish: you will not be stopped – but you will be burned.

Zion is a lion and a lamb at One. Zion is in the fish and the daily bread; In the intimate knowledge of God. Zion is peace, justice, equality, and abundance for all.

To the desperate and hopeful, then, I beg you to take heed: Paradise will not be found toiling in the futility of war and division. You can pound blood and sand into rock – and those rocks into mountains – but you’ll never see the gates of Heaven open to cruel deeds.

Regarding Feisal Rauf and his plans to build Cordoba House at Park51, “an Islamic community center, two blocks (600 feet or 180 meters) away from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan…” I will speak no ill of him either.

It is right and appropriate that there be a place of honor and remembrance for the Muslim faith at the foot of the fallen Twin Towers. Much as there should similarly be sanctuary for Jews, Americans, Africans, Asians, and all those touched by this cruel and viral game of conflict, reprisal and holocaust.

Muslims have sacrificed dearly for – and invested deeply in – the construction of our world, our country, and our culture. The Middle East has brought us oil, palms, fruits, nuts and other essential commodities along with immeasurable contributions to mathematics, science, poetry and mystery. Muslims have helped build the world’s great universities and churches, along with media and business empires, from which many have benefited. They have paid with millions of innocent lives for the terrorist acts of a few.

Muslims represent the fastest growing and second largest group among humanity – closing in quickly on the ranks of Christianity. Play the peace hand first. Leverage reconciliation and redress of wrongdoing with candor, equality and trust. Raise the sword only as a matter of last and desperate resort: for in raising the sword, you will surely taste its blade, too.

So… Feisal Rauf may or may not be the right man to build an Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. However, it is right that one be built. It is right by the standards of Freedom and it is right by the cause of Peace. Don’t let the strong-arms, hate-baiters, obstructors, and eschatologists carry us into their delusional visions of Paradise won through war. Zion graciously entertains their offers, and respectfully declines.

Re-build the Towers, and restore the Temples. Let the destruction of the World Trade Center be symbolic of the day in which humanity began the profound intellectual leap beyond misguided extremism and violence. Let the empty cavity of Ground Zero serve as a warning to all those who'd use cruelty to achieve their ends: you will not do so in God's name and deceive good souls any longer. God is the tip of your spears, the food in your belly, and the road upon which you travel - but the rewards you seek can only be found in peaceful communities of Earth.

The root of the Abrahamic tradition teaches that through Redemption: evil and tyranny will not stand; knowledge of God will fill the world; nations will recognize the wrongs they have done; and, Israelites will be returned to their homeland, yet people from all cultures and nations will be included, too. In joy and guidance, then, seek forth to build that world of peace, justice, equality, and abundance for all. Selah.

David Davidson
09/11/2010