September 11th 2009

September 11th had always seemed abstract to me. It was something that influenced worldwide foreign policy, that guided public opinion and political thought; a shorthand way of justifying the erosion of civil liberties and the starting point for any debate around religious freedom. That was until I spent the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States with the other Faiths Act Fellows.

Some of the group told stories which spoke of personal loss or persecution in the social and political confusion which followed the attacks. Others explained how the events of 2001 had shaped their experiences and vision which had led to their involvement in multifaith work. As we paused for a moment of silent reflection, I realised what a pivotal moment it had been and how in fact my own journey has been shaped in some way by September 11th.

Later in the day I read reports of violent demonstrations in north-west London against what some see as the ‘Islamification’ of Britain. A thousand people gathered outside a Mosque in Harrow as riot police tried to control the situation. I was reminded that in fact many people do not see difference as beneficial, do not understand religious pluralism to be desirable, and that for some the concept behind the Faiths Act Fellowship is completely alien. I was reminded of the importance of our work.

But then I became frustrated and upset. ‘Why isn’t the world more like this training room in Chicago’, I thought?

At Mass on Sunday I started to feel upset again. The Church was probably the most welcoming, vibrant and community-focussed Catholic Church I’ve seen. I was frustrated that this seemed to be the exception. Why can’t all Churches be like this?

But then I started to think about it, and I realised that in fact, Old St Patrick’s Church is not doing anything radical. In being outward-looking, in having a special focus on social justice issues throughout September, in encouraging the active involvement of young people and women, it is simply doing things which the Catholic Church says should happen, but which are not an everyday reality for most. Old St Pat’s is, in that respect, closer to Church teaching than many other Churches, even though on the surface it might seem like something of a departure from tradition.

And I suppose it’s the same for us Fellows. We are not really being asked to do anything radical, in a sense; nothing which we are not fully equipped to do. The world we are trying to build is in fact little different from the world most people aspire to live in. Each of us already has the capacity to work with others, to respect diversity, to understand difference, to work for the common good – and in doing so, we are not so much pushing a radical new agenda as getting back to an old one: the agenda of cooperation and dignity which underpins our society.

So, why isn’t the world more like the IFYC training room? I think fundamentally it is – or at least, it has the potential to be. It’s up to each of us to remind ourselves of this, and work in our own small way towards creating the world of tolerance and diversity which is the antithesis of the attacks which took place eight years ago.