How America prays

The aftermath of 9/11 brought unexpected results in the life of Sophy Burnham, an author of books on spirituality, including "The Path of Prayer." The Washington, D.C., resident left Christianity years ago to explore other faiths. But prayer has taken her back this year to the Christian church of her childhood.

"We are such prideful beings that unless we are brought to our knees, we think we are in control – that's why suffering is our friend," she emphasizes. "God is with us – and when we hook into the universe of love we have enormous power...."

She is convinced that can affect world events. "We all understand that hatred and anger breed mob violence; why not accept that the energy of love will be felt?" she asks.

* * *

Islam literally means surrender to God, and all Muslims are expected to stop five times every day for ceremonial prayers. But they also pray at other times, and Muslim Americans say that they've faced their most challenging year ever – grappling with the "hijacking" of the faith by terrorists, responding to positive and negative reactions of others, and defending their status as US citizens.

Khadeeja Abdullah, a poised young Californian starting her freshman year at UCLA, is still uncertain about her college major – maybe Middle East studies or journalism. But she is certain about two things: the power of prayer and the need to show Americans that the perpetrators of the terrorist acts are not representative of Muslims. Yesterday, Ms. Abdullah offered a prayer she wrote about 9/11 at an interfaith service at the Roman Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles.

She remembers how distraught she felt on that horrific morning: "I prayed then that nothing would happen to anyone else, and that people would see the good in the hearts of other people and come together to find common ground."

And everywhere she goes, she says, she sees that: "Though there might be some people who are ignorant, the majority are opening their hearts and extending their hands."

The Abdullah family held prayer ceremonies at their home in San Bernardino County the week after the attacks. They have organized gatherings throughout the year, including a recent prayer vigil in a nearby park.

Islamic scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr left Iran during the Islamic revolution and teaches at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "I've seen incredible results from prayer in my personal life and in praying for others," he says. "We cannot gauge the extent to which it affects macro events ... but I believe in the infinite power of prayer."

Along with supporting those directly touched by the tragedy, he's prayed that there would not be a backlash against innocent Muslims and "for an opening for greater mutual understanding between Islam and the West."

But misunderstanding seems to be intensifying, he worries, with more strident attacks against Islam in the US media – including those calling Islam "an evil religion."

"In this country ... this is not allowed against Judaism or Christianity, or even Buddhism or Hinduism," he says, "and I pray that this phase of polarization and extremism ... will come to an end."

He's offering his contribution to a solution with a new book called "The Heart of Islam."

Islam has its own internal challenges, including counteracting extremism. Sherman Jackson, who teaches Islamic studies at the University of Michigan, says he prays to have the courage to say what needs to be said both to non-Muslims and to Muslims. At a national conference of the Muslim Students Association last week, for example, he challenged students to live up to Koranic principles of respect for all, and not be taken in by language that dehumanizes, such as the term "kafirs," misused in the Islamic world to denigrate non-Muslims as "infidels."

* * *

When George W. Bush was inaugurated in January 2001, the nation was deeply split over the election. Sculptor William Hunter, whose works are found in many public settings, worried it would be hard for the new president to do the job. He felt the nation needed to get behind Mr. Bush with prayer. Then the terrorist attacks made it urgent.

"If you look back in our history, we've always wanted to do right, we've always wanted to fix things, and after 9/11 people wanted something tangible they could do," Mr. Hunter says.

Page: 1 | 2 | 3