Recent events reveal some of our politicians have forgotten America was founded on religious freedom that included respect for those whose religious beliefs differ from our own.
Zohran Mamdani faces a flurry of anti-Muslim attacks after his New York City mayoral primary victory. With Islamophobia tolerated in U.S. politics and social media, Mamdani is subjected to references to 9/11 and deportation even though he is a United States citizen.
Reflecting on my life, I am so grateful for shared experiences with people who are now being targeted as not worthy by government decree or social media judgment. As an adjunct college professor, I taught Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men with two Somali Muslims students in the class. The young woman presented her Islamic prayers and the Catholic women in the group appeared shocked, exclaimed, “You pray for the same things we do!” The final essay was on their spiritual journey and the most impressive paper was written by the young Somali man.
Renee Bergstrom
An almost forgotten history reveals Muslims were brought here as African slaves. As Africans and Muslims, the people who lived their faith in the dreadful oppression of American slavery contributed to the social, religious and cultural fabric of this country. The American music we call “the blues” originated in the sounds of Islamic prayers.
I am currently on the advisory board for Sahiyo, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end female genital cutting. It is a privilege to work with these Asian Muslim leaders on a shared goal. Community is best built on issues rather than personal backgrounds.
Mamdani won the primary by listening to New Yorkers and offering solutions to their problems. This concern for fellow citizens is what is important, not the fact that he happens to be Muslim.
Other religions also have been dismissed as unworthy of political voice. Recently, Illinois Republican Mary Miller said it was “deeply disturbing” that a Sikh led prayer at the House of Representatives. She would have benefitted by a search for Sikh information.
How did some of our nation’s leaders manage to erase history to believe ours is a Christian nation instead of one founded on religious freedom? The chaos we are witnessing in our white supremacist “Christian leadership” is planned to take away our sense of community and to make us hate others just for being who they are. Those messages are in direct contrast to the teachings of Christ, who was a young Jew preaching love for all.
The wave of antisemitism in America is frightening with some of it based on opposition to what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. However, American Jews do not necessarily support Benjamin Netanyahu’s war tactics. For example, I just attended a gallery exhibit opening where two white, queer, anti-Zionist Jews displayed a community quilt that was a “landing site for grief and a memorial for the ongoing violence at the hands of the U.S. and Israeli Empire.”
“We who are white Christians have done nothing to deserve our privileges.”
How easily Jewish influence on American culture has been forgotten. Since before the nation’s founding, Jewish immigrants contributed their blood, sweat, toil and tears to build the American Dream. I was privileged to become faculty for the Academy of Communication in Healthcare whose founders and many current members are very caring Jewish doctors and other health care providers who mentored me.
Another of my mentors in relationship building is a brilliant, compassionate physician who was raised by Hindu parents. He asks people about their dreams for the future and takes time to sincerely listen. Hindu religious practitioners influenced Americans to adopt meditation and yoga.
With hope for a future based on love, I look to a dear friend who is a wonderfully creative artist and poet who follows Buddhist teachings. She brings deep questions to every group discussion and is a sought-after listener to people of all ages. Buddhism first entered America in the middle of the 19th century.
We who are white Christians have done nothing to deserve our privileges and really have no clue what it means to be “other” in the current United States political environment. Wake up, America! Let us stand together in unity against all discrimination and replace it with love and respect.
Futurist Jack Ulrich speaks about a spiritual revitalization that may evolve as our materialistic world falls apart. He sees love experienced in small groups and communities as being the lifeblood of a new world order. Let us reach out to those near us and include those whose religious practices differ from our own.
A. Renee Bergstrom is a Public Voices Fellow on advancing the rights of women and girls with the OpEd Project and Equality Now.