We are Americans of the Christian faith. In view of recent actions of a few individuals in the State of Florida who purport to speak for members of our faith, we recognize the following:

That Islam is one of the great religions of the world;

That, as Americans and as Christians, we respect the rights of our Muslim brothers and sisters in America and around the world to worship according to their own beliefs and to adhere to the principles set forth in their holy book, the Qur’an;

That as Americans and as Christians, we deplore the actions of a few individuals who purport to speak as and for Christians in acts of hate, disrespect, and sacrilege towards Islam and its holy book, the Qur’an;

That we also deplore the violence that resulted in injury and death to innocent victims during the protests following the Qur’an burning, despite provocation;

That we believe that Christians everywhere have a responsibility to speak out against these actions, and we hereby urge and implore Christians everywhere to express to our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world our respect for their rights to exercise their faith;

That Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and as Christians and Muslims we are not merely neighbors but also brothers and sisters following the Abrahamic path along with our Jewish brothers and sisters; and

That in spite of hateful and violent actions by the few within each of our faiths, we will work for peace and reconciliation and mutual respect for peoples of all faiths who, we believe, are under the same God, the gracious, the merciful.

THEREFORE, with our signatures below, we hereby affirm the teachings of Jesus Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we commit to stand up with the vast majority of individuals within each faith who respect the rights of others to worship according to the tenets of their religion; and to strive for peace and reconciliation among all people.

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