U.S. Religious
Journalists Condemn "Sacrilege on a Holy Ground"
A statement on yesterday's terror attacks in Amman, Jordan
Petra, Jordan (November 10, 2005) -- As Christian journalists visiting Jordan,
we join people of faith and good will around the world in
condemning yesterday's terrorist attacks in Amman. We have observed among the
gracious, hospitable people here the same shock and grief many of us in the U.S.
experienced following the attacks on our own country on 9-11.
We not only decry the cowardly strikes against innocent people, but we recognize
and are saddened by the connection with the violence that has been brought upon
neighboring Iraq by our own country's military action.
The terrorists who attacked Amman yesterday seek to instill fear, not only in
their direct victims but also in anyone who would consider a visit to this
breathtakingly beautiful land, which has been at the very heart of so many of
our religious traditions. Those of us who have walked in the footsteps of our
biblical forebears and marveled at the magnificant and ancient wonders of this
crossroads of history can testify to the power of this place to reach the
deepest part of our humanity.
We grieve with and pray for our Jordanian sisters and brothers. We pray that
people of faith around the world will refuse to allow fear to separate us from
the people of Jordan and the Middle East, but will instead reach out and connect
ever more deeply as we move forward in hope.
Signed,
Jim Rice, Managing Editor, Sojourners magazine
Patricia Edwards-Konic, Editor, Quaker Life magazine
Everett Thomas, Editor, The Mennonite
Sherri Wood Emmons, Managing Editor, DisciplesWorld
Jim Pitts, Chairman, Smyth & Helwys Publishing