e) Ecumenical Cooperation Service in Brazil: CESE, Coordenadoria Ecuménico de Serviço of Brazil, expresses grief and solidarity with the victims of the 11 September attacks and warns against an "exaggerated response", noting that "it would reduce the world's civilized nations to the level of those who committed Tuesday´s atrocities, and this would indeed be a victory for them and not for the world. We believe that a different world is possible, overcoming the fundamental causes of great conflicts between nations, such as social and economic inequalities and racial discrimination and hatred."
f) National Council of Churches of Japan: In a recent letter to the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, NCC Japan urges that "peaceful measures" be used in bringing the perpetrators of the US attacks to justice. The letter notes that "the words ‘Pearl Harbor,’ which were repeatedly mentioned during the period immediately after these terrorist attacks, remind us again of the Japanese surprise attack. As a result of that foolish act many civilians were sacrificed, both Japanese and from other countries, including the victims of the atomic bombs. War always affects ordinary people and creates a vicious circle of violence.
3. Statements and actions of US churches
a) US response: Churches, ecumenical organizations, and religiously-based organizations have been very active in responding to the September 11 attacks with prayer, statements, resources, advocacy, and disaster relief. Statements and actions of the US churches can be found on this website.
b) US Interfaith Statement: "Deny Them Their Victory: A Religious Response to Terrorism" was delivered September 21 to every Congressional office and to the White House. The nearly 3,000 signers cover a broad spectrum of the U.S. religious community, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist leaders, have joined their signatures to the statement. Signers from the Christian community include Protestant, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox, Historic Black Church and Historic Peace Church traditions. The breadth of participation has made the document one of the most inclusive religious statements ever released.
The statement urges that "those responsible for these utterly evil acts be found and brought to justice," but cautions that "we must not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on even more loss of human life". "Let us deny them [the terrorists] their victory by refusing to submit to a world created in their image," the signers argue, adding: "We must not allow this terror to drive us away from being the people God has called us to be."
4. Responses from other faith communities
Islam: Almost all authorized voices of the Islamic world have unequivocally stated their moral and political condemnation of the criminal acts of September 11. Islamic organizations and individuals have issued many statements condemning the terrorist attacks, addressing the need to look at root causes, reflecting on the Quran and religious teaching, and calling for peaceful action. A few that have been circulated widely in English:
Statement of the World Muslim Congress (Motamar Al-Alam Al-Islami), one of the oldest international Muslim non-governmental organizations, established in 1926 to promote Muslim unity and world peace, and a speech by Malik S. Khan, World Muslim Congress Permanent UN Representative
Call for world-wide coalition for peace and against another war by M. Abdus Sabur, Secretary General, Asian Muslim Action Network
Letter to US President Bush from Dr Chandra Muzaffar, president, International Movement for a Just World
Statement on the terrorist attacks in the US by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
Article by Asghar Ali Engineer, an internationally known scholar of Islam, on the attack on the World Trade Centre and its implications.
Christian-Muslim responses:
A group of concerned Muslims and Christians in Egypt, at the initiative of Marie Assad, former WCC deputy general secretary, called for prayer and fasting for peace, October 1-3.
A Christian-Muslim colloquium, convened by the Lebanese National Dialogue Forum, held on September 29, issued a communiqué condemning the criminal acts of September 11 and offering reflections on the difference between terrorism and people's resistance to occupation. It recommended the statements and initiatives of Christian religious leaders calling for dialogue between religions and cultures. (Full text available in Arabic).
d) WCC inter-faith dialogue resources:
Striving Together in Dialogue: A Muslim-Christian Call to Reflection and Action was published in early 2001 by the WCC and other partners, including Islamic organizations and specialized journals for use in discussions and educational programmes. The document reflects on various Christian-Muslim dialogue initiatives since 1991 where Christian and Muslim religious leaders, educators and activists have discussed the thorny and sometimes divisive issues of religion, law and society, human rights, religious freedom, community rights, mission and da’wa and communal tensions. This document draws largely on their questions, reflections and conclusions.
Guidelines for Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies was first published in 1979 and now, more than 20 years later, is still much in demand. The Guidelines are intended to encourage people to engage in the practice of interfaith dialogue.
5. Humanitarian concerns
a) An overview of the humanitarian considerations in Afghanistan is provided on this site
b) Action by Churches Together: ACT provides humanitarian alerts, news, and articles, including:
A Vulnerable Target: Increasingly Afghanistan looks like a likely target for American military action following the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York city's World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
ACT in Afghanistan: Three years of drought and a continuing civil war threaten the lives of millions of people in Afghanistan. Despite the current military tension in and around Afghanistan, ACT members and partners remain committed to helping civilian Afghans through their plight.
Caught between war, drought and closed borders: The fear of military action is not the only crisis facing Afghanistan. The country's already exhausted population is trapped between a triple curse of drought, war and closed borders.
ACT staff are heading to Pakistan to meet with partners and assess the regional humanitarian situation as it develops.
6) Summaries of intergovernmental responses
a) United Nations: The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that condemns the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September and lays out wide-ranging strategies to combat international terrorism. The resolution says all countries should prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism, as well as criminalize the willful provision or collection of funds for such acts. The resolution includes a number of other measures on issues such as data-sharing, granting of refugee status, and bringing those involved in terrorism to justice. The Council also established a Committee to monitor the implementation of its resolution and called on all States to report within 90 days on actions they had taken to that end.
The UN General Assembly opened its week-long debate on measures to combat international terrorism on 1 October. Representatives of governments around the world strongly condemned terrorism, while pledging to take specific steps to eradicate it. Participants advocated adherence to existing UN anti-terrorism treaties as well as the elaboration of new legal instruments to fight terrorism. There was also broad support among the more than 20 speakers for the recently-adopted Security Council resolution.
b) World Bank: The World Bank warns that poverty will rise in wake of terrorist attacks on the US. The Bank estimated that developing country growth would fall from 5.5 percent in 2000 to 2.9 percent in 2001 as a result of slowdowns in the US, Japan and Europe. World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn said "We have seen the human toll the recent attacks wrought in the US, with citizens from some 80 nations perishing in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. We estimate that tens of thousands more children will die worldwide and some 10 million more people are likely to be living below the poverty line of $1 a day because of the terrorist attacks."
c) NATO: NATO Defence Ministers, meeting in Brussels from 26-27 September, reiterated their support for their US ally, signaled that they were prepared for a long campaign against terrorism, and discussed practical measures being put into effect. They also considered the impact of the terrorist attacks on the future structure and tasks of the Alliance and the need for more flexible forces and intelligence-sharing. The impact of the attacks on relations with partner countries, particularly Russia, was also discussed.
d) Organization of American States: The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of American States, meeting on 21 September, adopted a resolution stating that the "terrorist attacks against the United States of America are attacks against all American states" and that in accord with treaty provisions, all states shall provide reciprocal assistance to address such attacks.
7. Resources for study and worship
a) Worship: US churches have gathered and composed many resources in response to the attacks of 11 September and continuing prayers for peace. Links to US church websites can be found on this site
Some additional US sites with worship resources include the Ekklesia Project and the Pax Christi Community
b) Requesting and sharing resources: A discussion board to request and suggest resources, add reflections and invite discussion can be found on this site.
c) Reflections and commentary. A good source for a variety of individual and organizational reflections and commentary can be found through Sojourners.
8. Calls for action
What can I dols for Action have been prepared by the coordinator of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, listing ideas for individual and collective action in pursuit of peace, justice, tolerance, and human rights.
World Council of Churches (WCC)
and the