A Prayer for the Day commemorating and remembering the 25th anniversary of 9/11
A Prayer for the Day commemorating and remembering the anniversary of 9/11 with Daisy Khan founder of the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE).
This week Prayer for the day is commemorating and remembering the anniversary of 9/11 talking to people impacted and involved in the recovery work at the time and within communities in the 25 years since. With Daisy Khan author, speaker and founder of the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE).
Good Morning.
Twenty-five years ago, I had a successful career as an architectural designer. I was climbing the corporate ladder and living the American dream.
And then came September 11th.
As the towers fell, something else began to crumble. Trust was replaced by fear, and many Americans came to see their Muslim neighbors through suspicion and anxiety.
I could have stayed where I was, but I felt called to do something different. I left my career, not to rebuild buildings, but to help rebuild trust, one conversation, one relationship, one bridge at a time. I learned very quickly that governments can make laws, but only people can build trust.
The Qur'an teaches us: "God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves."
Today, as we remember all those whose lives were lost, all who still carry grief, and all whose lives were forever changed, I offer this prayer.
O Allah, God our Lord, change what is within us.
Change our fear into friendship.
Change our suspicion into understanding.
Help us see one another not as strangers, but as neighbors.
Give us the strength to choose compassion over despair.
Help us to replace tall fences of hate with long tables of love.
May the memory of September 1th not only remind us of what hatred can destroy but mobilize us all to build the trust that hatred can never overcome.
God, as You have changed what is within us, may You change the condition of our people, our leaders, our communities, our nations, and our world.
May the healing we seek begin with each of us and may the peace we long for spread far beyond us.
Ameen.
All American spellings are intentional
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