Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to those who lost families, friends, and acquaintances in the September 11, 2001 attacks. I would like for us all to extend our sympathies, our compassion, and our prayers to those who died this day, and those who were left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and their dreams. I would like for all of us to extend our shared remembrance to the brave men and women who gave their lives to help protect and save others in the terrible attack on September 11, 2001. The heart and prayers of this nation go out to you this day and every day. We remember.

We often say “it is a good day to be responsible for equality and liberty.” And indeed it is. Even on 9/11, perhaps especially today, it is always a good day to be responsible for equality and liberty. Across the nation today, Americans will remember this day as Patriot Day, as designated by the President of the United States. The Presidential proclamation for Patriot Day points out that the Americans we lost on 9/11 came from diverse identity groups. The Presidential proclamation for Patriot Day also points out that the Americans we lost on 9/11 also came many faiths. We know that included Muslim Americans.

Those who died on 9/11 lived in an America that believed in our equality and liberty for each of us, including our freedom of religion, our freedom of worship, and our freedom of conscience – without question, without reservation, without exception. That is the America we love, the land of the free and the home of the brave. That is the America that we need to reclaim for all Americans – Muslims, non-Muslims, and people of every faith and identity group.

Just like there were terrorists on 9/11 that have sought to divide America, there are those extremists that seek to divide us again today. There are those who seek to spread anti-Islamic hatred across America. There are those who seek to deny Muslim Americans their Constitutional freedom of religion and freedom of worship from coast-to-coast in California, Tennessee, Kentucky, New York to intimidate those who seek freedom of worship. There are those who protest against mosques in eight states across America today. There are those who have tried to use pipe-bombs against a mosque in Florida, those who have sought to vandalize mosques, those involved in arson, and those today in some parts of America who plan to burn the Qur’an.

But we will not be moved – from the truths that we find self-evident as Americans. We will not be divided. We will stop the virus of hatred towards one another, and we will not turn against one another, but we will remain a UNITED States of America. We will defend the freedom of religion and worship for Muslim Americans, because it is the AMERICAN thing to do.

We will also not be moved, we will not be divided on the Constitution of the United States or the law. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion for all. We will defend the Constitution of the United States of America. United States federal law also ensures the right of all Americans to practice their religion without intimidation by oppressive zoning or other restrictions, as we continue to see growing across America today. We have a petition to President Obama and Attorney General Holder to call upon them to enforce the Constitution and to enforce the Religious Land Act to ensure such freedom of religion for Muslim Americans today. The first step in overcoming our divisions is to remember that our Constitution and our law applies to all Americans, including Muslim Americans.  We cannot make deals with hate or compromises on freedom.

On this National Day of Service, we must join together to serve our nation by seeking to heal the wounds of this growing national hatred against Muslim Americans. To those who seek hate, I only offer love. To those who seek to never forgive, I only offer forgiveness. Instead of an upraised fist, I offer an outstretched hand in healing and hope to all Americans. We got to this situation together, and we must heal as a nation together. Enforcing the Constitution and law is only part of the solution to our national divisions. We must also remember the importance of respecting one another, and with that respect, trusting one another.

America has seen other crises of intolerance, distrust, and hate before. We faced such crises together not just with our minds, but most importantly with our hearts. There was a time in America when many people believed that black Americans did not have the same rights as white Americans. We challenged that hate with logic and law. But I saw that struggle against hate with my own eyes, and I know that America needed more than that.

We have defied the power of hate with the power of love. We must do so once again. Winning minds without winning hearts will give us no victory over hate. We must Choose Love, Not Hate – Love Wins.

We can be a UNITED States of America, responsible for equality and liberty, and respecting freedom of religion and worship for Muslims, non-Muslims, and people of all beliefs and conscience. But to do so, we must respect one another, we must find a way to trust one another, and we must open our hearts to love one another – as fellow Americans and fellow human beings.

In the words of an American folk song which I share with my Muslim American friends here and around the nation:

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

God bless you all and God guide the United States of America.

NYC: Planned World Trade Center 1 and Pentagon Interfaith Chapel Stained Glass Window