Our Moslem Sisters and Brothers

An American citizen said to me some weeks ago that middle America would not vote for Barack Obama because he was (supposedly) a Moslem. “Would that not be all the more reason to vote for him,” I asked? 

The gap of animosity between Christians and Moslems is being prised wider all the time. This week we heard that one of the perpetrators of September 11^th in Guantanomo Bay may receive the death penalty and a leading  member of the Hezbollah was murdered in the Gaza strip.

Yet, I have a lasting memory of very pious old Moslem men deep in contemplation reading the Koran outside makeshift homes in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Abraham, whom we meet today was told by God: “By you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  This would include Christians, Hindus, Moslems and Jews.

The future of our civilization may depend on how you or I reach out in understanding and prayer to our Moslem sisters and brothers today. 

Fr. Michael McCullagh, C.M.

17th February, 2008