14/09/2001

We cannot change the past, but are responsible for how we remember it

The atrocities in Washington and New York have been described by President Bush as an act of war. It is war of a modern kind, not between states, but waged with indiscriminate violence by terrorists seeking to destroy a whole way of life.

The precise identity of those responsible remains unclear but a connection with Middle Eastern terrorist groups has been assumed. It is at this point that the old wartime adage �Careless talk costs lives� has a fresh relevance. Any language which demonises the whole Islamic world and drives a wedge between Muslims and their neighbours makes a tragic and dangerous situation infinitely worse.

At noon today there will be a Service of Remembrance at St Paul�s Cathedral in solidarity with the American community and the many British people who have been caught up in the massacre. Muslim and Jewish leaders will be among those present to remember the dead and to pray for the injured and bereaved.

The service is taking place, however, against the background of fears that a clash of religions is becoming once again a major ingredient in modern conflict.

Religion in many parts of the world is crucial to social cohesion and is therefore likely to be co-opted in any struggle that centres on the identity of any particular group or people. Folk wisdom understands how the highest ideals are bent to the most malign purposes. As Jonathan Swift lamented: �How is it that we have just enough religion to hate one another but not enough to love one another?� The Muslim Council for Britain has issued a strong statement to the effect that �terror makes victims of us all�. The council is right in branding this as an attack on the whole civilised world. As bishop of a city which has been the victim of terrorist attacks in the past, it is good to stand shoulder to shoulder with British Muslim leaders in an unequivocal condemnation of these crimes.

America has promised rapid action and it is right that those responsible should be pursued and brought to justice without adding to the tally of innocent victims in indiscriminate reprisals. There is, however, a longer-term task.

This week�s events have been a reminder that no power on earth can insulate itself against the murderous hatreds that exist in our modern world. This is likely to be even more the case as we move into an era of bio-terrorism. Modern societies are complex and vulnerable. They depend on a high level of international trust as well as the security supplied by military force. As religious convictions play an ever larger role worldwide at the start of our new millennium, so relations between faiths become an increasingly important component in good international relations.

The need to make some progress is urgent but the work required will take a long time. Fortunately, it has already started. The Rome-based St Egidio community and Coventry Cathedral have been leaders in peace-building between religious groups. In London, The Times has supported the development of a Centre for Preventing and Transforming Conflict which is under construction in the Church of St Ethelburga, itself the victim of a terrorist attack.

Part of any improvement in relationships is appreciation of the story of other faith communities and care about what we remember and celebrate in our own story. The past cannot be changed but we are responsible for how we remember it. The World Trade Centre attack deserves to be remembered as a barbarous act condemned by all religious traditions.

At the same time I hope we will not forget people like Riyanto. A few months ago, Riyanto, a 25-year-old Muslim from East Java, was killed. He was a volunteer standing guard over a Christian congregation during its Christmas service. He saw someone place a bag by the church and became suspicious. It blew him to pieces as he tried to carry the bomb away from the worshippers. He deserves to be remembered.

If Europe is to find the moral courage to defeat terrorism, it has to rekindle conviction about the things that are worth dying and living for. An indiscriminate tolerance for all views, which lacks clarity about what is good and true, undermines the will to resist the terrorist. At the same time it opens up a vacuum which can easily be filled with irrational calls for violence against scapegoats.

Christians will not make their proper contribution to this struggle unless they are robust about their faith and convictions. But they also need to be urgent about finding allies in other faith communities for a common defence of the values and laws which make civilised coexistence possible.

Richard Chartres, Bishop of London