The Justness of Gulf War
In summoning the citizens of America to join him in a day of prayer on Feb. 3, President Bush, in my opinion, missed the boat. At the moment, Christians, Jews and Muslims are represented in the forces now waging war in the Persian Gulf. Would it not have been a great step forward in the religious maturity of our nation had a weekend of prayer been declared, giving Jews an opportunity to pray on their Sabbath and Muslims on their sacred day of rest, thus announcing to the world that indeed the United States recognizes the equality of all faiths?
As assistant staff chaplain of the Ninth Air Force in World War II, I served with Catholic priests and Protestant ministers and was impressed by the evenhanded respect extended to all faiths.
If a new moral order will emerge after the war, certainly we will see the breaking down of the barriers of misunderstanding between the Judeo-Christian world and that of Islam. Has the time not come to officially recognize that while Christians worship on Sunday, Jews do so on Saturday and Muslims pray to God on Friday?
HARRY ESSRIG, Editor and Publisher of American Rabbi, Canoga Park
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