As alumni and alumnae of Duke who are committed Christians and Jews, we were proud to hear of the invitation to the Muslim community at Duke to sing their call to prayer from the Chapel tower, then dismayed and embarrassed that the invitation was withdrawn in the wake of a backlash—seemingly, from fellow Christians.
Although the Chapel was constructed as a Christian church and is used for Christian worship, it is also an interfaith center that hosts 25 religious groups, including Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus. Hospitality is central to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, three faiths that revere Abraham, who welcomed three strangers and then discovered that he was entertaining angels. All of us believe that there should be no separation between love of God and love of our sisters and brothers.
Those of us who are Christian understood the initial invitation as an expression of the hospitality of Jesus, whose message of God’s love is to all people. We believe his teaching that loving God and loving our sisters and brothers are inseparable—having observed the enmity aimed at Muslims in our nation, we consider it a matter of Christian witness to challenge their marginalization. The Chapel’s invitation was an act of Christian love and a demonstration of confidence in the good news of Jesus Christ, who made a point of seeking out those his society considered outcast.
It is true that some Muslims are violent and intolerant of other faiths—alas, so are some Christians. We have read comments suggesting that the sins of some Muslims are a reason to scorn the faith of all Muslims; we grieve that the sins of some Christians in vilifying our Muslim brothers and sisters have brought disrepute on the name of Jesus.
We will not second-guess those who decided to withdraw the invitation for the adhan to be sung from the Chapel tower, as we do not have all the facts about the security threats. But we want to go on record as supporting the invitation, and we regret that our great university felt the need to bow to external pressure.
The Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig
T '76
The Rev. Deborah London Wright
T '74
The Rev. Margaret Henderson Jorgensen
T '68
The Rev. Henry G. Brinton
T '82
The Rev. Dr. Louise Upchurch Johnson
T '74
Tom Zych
JD '83
The Rev. Lou McAlister East
T '76, Div '94
The Rev. Dr. Chris East
T '75, Div '79
The Dr. Ken Evers-Hood
Div '14
The Rev. Dr. Allison Krahling Seed
T '74
Sadie Brinton
T '10
Dr. David Boger
T '74
The Rev. Amy Williams Fowler
T '77
The Rev. Leslie A. Klingensmith
Div '93
Michael Stein
T '97
Katherine Butler Olson Fisher
T '67
Elizabeth Littleton Murphy
T '75
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