THREE DENVER GIRLS: An Almost Tragic Story and the Love of God

On October 17, three teenage girls from Denver flew overseas in a bid to join ISIS in Syria before being stopped in Frankfurt, Germany by the F.B.I.  The girls, ages 15 and 16, apparently were lured by an online campaign to join ISIS militants.  All three, who have not been publically identified out of safety concerns, were immediately returned to their families in Denver.  It is known that two of the girls are of Somali origin, while the third is Sudanese.

The American pot of hysteria was stirred once again.  This is at least in part the fruit of the work being done to create a politics of fear built on the notion that Americans are “at risk” as a nation, not only from the violence of a “militant Islam,” but also from the cultural integration of Muslims in the West, “stealth jihadists.”  Coming mostly from the radical right, the goal is to seek power, more than it is to protect America.  Fear works.  It makes the electorate easier to control.

But this story of the ISIS-bound girls has a more positive twist.  For openers, one of girls lives with her family in a low income apartment complex in Denver that was built and is operated by a non-profit organized by the United Church of Christ.  It is one of six UCC projects that happens to be home to Muslims from as diverse places as the Sudan, Nepal, Syria, Somalia, a Russian Republic, Ivory Coast and even the Philippines.

So what happens among these immigrant Americans?  Volunteers are teaching ESL.  Parents, particularly mothers, are working to build trust among their teenagers and younger kids.  Any time a crisis arises, as when a daughter impulsively heads for Syria, or when a father was shot a few months ago in a case of mistaken identity, the whole community comes together in a ritual of support and reconciliation  We have observed that it is the Muslim women, who in spite of the fact that they are intensely controlled by the male dominated culture, are the drivers of human goodness.  And, to our great joy, the non-Muslim neighbors are included in these rituals of love.

As a white Christian male and board member of the UCC non-profit housing entity, my perspective is that all religions, including Christianity, are metaphorical expressions of the work of one God as seen through the lenses of the many cultures in which these various religious beliefs and practices have evolved.

Micah, a Hebrew of faith, described God for all of humanity, regardless of religious theology and practice.  “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

This is a commandment of love, not hate or fear.  Muslims hear it as clearly as Christians.  And, in terms of their local politics, Muslims struggle with fear as often as do Christians!  Hence the American radical right, the Middle Eastern ISIS, or even Russian and Chinese dictatorships.

I believe the grasping for power in politics and culture drives religious belief and practice, much more than the other way around.  Hence, it is not the Muslim faith that is creating the terrorist unrest of which the world is so fearful today.

The women in our UCC apartments, Muslim or Christian, are united in fulfilling a Biblical New Testament truism found in 1 John:14:  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”

May our sixteen-year old find peace in God’s love.