We must be open to those fleeing slaughter by the worst dregs on our planet.
By Larry Snider
I have spent the past fifteen years looking and much more importantly listening, (including spending a lot of time learning how to listen with heart as well as mind open), to the story, history and truth of others. The others were simply of another faith, Muslims and Christians and Jews and more coming together to try to understand the many things we share as well as the things that separate us. Doing 'interfaith work' doesn't give you any special understanding of the meaning of our differences. And I remain no expert on any kind of extremism, be it Muslim, Jewish or that which is ascribed to any religion. I have learned to respect and even begin to understand the beliefs of others.
I have established friendly, caring relationships with Muslims here in Bucks County, in Mercer, in Philadelphia and all the way to Israel and the West Bank. I have met a number of Imams and was lucky enough to attend the weddings of two so far, Imam Abdul Malik-Ali at Masjidul Taqwa in Trenton and Imam Abdul Halim Hassan, the emeritus Imam of Masjid Mohammad in Philadelphia.
I look at immigration through the schooling of my parents who were both first generation Americans whose own parents arrived on ships from Russia and Lithuania. They taught me at a young age to respect people of every color, race and creed and to be thankful that my own grandparents found/made a home here in America.
We face increasing difficulties dealing with the immigrant population that has crossed our Southern border illegally to have a chance at the American dream that we all hold so dear. Many do the jobs that American workers have been unwilling to do for wages that American workers don't want. Some have found their way through the thicket of rules and regulations and advanced. Some came expressly for their children and the future that they and others yet born would have. A few came to take advantage of lax immigration laws, to steal, sell drugs and commit crimes and live in the shadows. It is this last group that has drawn the lion's share of attention and kept a generation of Congresspersons from drafting an Immigration Bill that can make it through both Houses and then to and beyond the President's desk to deal effectively with the issue of immigration.
And now after the tragedy in Paris people of both parties are waking up with questions about the idea of taking in 10,000 let alone 100,000 Syrian refugees who are fleeing the deadly Syrian Civil War when at least one of the Paris terrorists made his way West on a false passport under the cover of the flow of thousands of Syrian refugees. I happen to have my share of problems with our President, even though I am a Democrat who voted for him twice. I don't believe his response to the Syrian Civil War has been sufficient. The outcome has been/is that nature abhors a vacuum and that that vacuum has been filled with bad actors from nations that are not interested in creating a better future for the people of Syria. I do believe we as Americans have a responsibility to do our share to accommodate a number of Syrian refugees taking all necessary steps to make damn sure that no one enters our country with a license from ISIS to attack and kill our citizens. We are and must remain the dreamscape for the world that brought my grandparents and likely yours to our shores early in the last century.
We must be open to those fleeing slaughter by the worst dregs on our planet. We are the best, last chance for many and carry the tales of our own immigrant experience. We must choose the light of understanding by welcoming and learning about and from those of every faith that are already a vital part of our region. We must reach out in this time of darkness and unending fear to bring light into every corner of our community. It is our essential character to share our blessings with those now in greatest need and to work to help them to overcome the tragedies they have faced by becoming valued participants in our American destiny.
Larry Snider is President of ICMEP; Interfaith Community for Middle East Peace, a non-profit located in suburban Philadelphia. He can be reached at ld.snider@yahoo.com.
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