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NCC Board Repudiates Falwell's "60 Minutes" Comments on Islam
Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican Leaders Call Bush to Condemn Falwell's Remarks

October 7, 2002, NEW YORK CITY - The Executive Board of the (U.S.) National Council of Churches this afternoon (Oct. 7) voted unanimously to "condemn and repudiate" the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s statements yesterday on CBS-TV’s "60 Minutes" about Islam and the Prophet Muhammed, Islam’s founder, saying Falwell’s statements endangered the lives of Christians around the world.

Noting that "Falwell implied in his comments that he and his constituency control President Bush’s policies toward Israel and Palestine," the leaders of U.S. Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations called on President Bush to repudiate and condemn Falwell’s remarks.

Falwell’s "hateful and destructive" statements - among others, that "Muhammed was a terrorist" - "are NOT those of the majority of Christians in this country nor in the rest of the world," said the governing body of the NCC, whose 36 member denominations comprise 50 million adherents. "His statements about Islam and the Prophet Muhammed are not only factually untrue and offensive, but are dangerous to the national security of every nation where Christians and Muslims are seeking a peaceful relationship."

The board further characterized Falwell’s words as "not Christian and shockingly uninformed." Falwell’s comments "create ideal conditions for breeding terrorism among those who may not understand that he does not represent the majority of Christians or Americans," the Executive Board said.

"(H)is inflammatory words put at increased risk the lives of thousands of Christian missionaries and humanitarian aid workers, as well as their Christian partners abroad who are engaged in heroic efforts to be peacemakers and bridge-builders in difficult and dangerous circumstances."

On that point, the Associated Press reported this afternoon that thousands of Muslims in India's Jammu-Kashmir state demonstrated in the streets today to protest remarks Falwell’s remarks.

The full text of the resolution follows.

The Board also unanimously approved a letter to President Bush, signed by The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary, and Elenie K. Huszagh, President, and to be faxed this evening, which reads in part:

"We are prompted to write to you today to commend to your attention the depth and breadth of the correspondence you have received from the Christian community ... in opposition to a unilateral pre-emptive military strike against Iraq. On many occasions you have cited your reliance on principles of faith. It is just such principles that have motivated the letters from the many Christian leaders and their constituents who oppose such a strike. Millions of American Christians are members of the churches whose leaders have written to you in this moment of grave decision-making.

"Consonant with the Christian faith, we now urge you to reverse the momentum toward war. We further urge you to act with courage and forbearance in setting an example in seeking an alternative to war and addressing the very real dangers confronting the world community.

"Mr. President, we respectfully implore you to heed the strong beliefs of the broader faith community which calls you to move, even now, away from war and toward peace with compassion."

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

Resolution Refuting and Condemning the Statements Concerning Islam and the Prophet Muhammed Made by Rev. Jerry Falwell on "60 Minutes" Sunday, October 06, 2002

Adopted Unanimously by the National Council of Churches Executive Board

Meeting October 7, 2002, in New York City

WHEREAS Jerry Falwell stated in a "60 Minutes" (CBS) interview, October 6, 2002 " I think Muhammed was a terrorist. I read enough…by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war"; and,

WHEREAS Jerry Falwell implied in his comments that he and his constituency control President Bush’s policies towards Israel and Palestine; and

WHEREAS his views are not those of the majority of Christians in this country nor in the rest of the world; and,

WHEREAS his statements about Islam and the Prophet Muhammed are not only factually untrue and offensive, but are dangerous to the national security of every nation where Christians and Muslims are seeking a peaceful relationship; and,

WHEREAS his remarks create ideal conditions for breeding terrorism among those who may not understand that he does not represent the majority of Christians or Americans; and,

WHEREAS his inflammatory words put at increased risk the lives of thousands of Christian missionaries and humanitarian aid workers, as well as their Christian partners abroad who are engaged in heroic efforts to be peacemakers and bridge-builders in difficult and dangerous circumstances; and,

WHEREAS we believe Jerry Falwell’s words to be not Christian and shockingly uninformed.

WE, the Executive Board of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, representing 36 churches and over 50 million U. S. Christians, affirm to our brothers and sisters in Islam that we condemn and repudiate Jerry Falwell’s hateful and destructive statements delivered on CBS’s "60 Minutes", October 6, 2002, and we call upon President George W. Bush to repudiate and condemn Falwell’s remarks.

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