Faith Leaders Wrestle With Abu Ghraib Scandal

May 29, 2004

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64722-2004May28.html

On May 29, 2004 The Washington Post reported on interfaith reactions to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners: "The abuse has been addressed in sermons, Bible study groups and official statements from religious leaders. And the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance has asked people across the country to turn on lights or candles all night tomorrow as a way 'to acknowledge our anguish and need for self-examination, and to foster reconciliation,' the alliance's president, the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, announced this week. In all these responses, condemnation of the soldiers' behavior has been widespread. But so has reflection, as people of faith search for answers to why it occurred. Some blame a society that tolerates extremes of sexual expression in entertainment, while others cite an antipathy toward Muslims and a morality since Sept. 11, 2001, that regards the war on terrorism in absolutist terms."