The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) offered prayers to the Islamic deity, Allah. The prayer was led by a representative of the Muslim community on behalf of the Presbyterian Assembly. The representative, Wallid Said, prayed…
“Allah bless us and bless our families and bless our Lord. Lead us on the straight path – the path of all the prophets: Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.”
The Islamic prayer was the the first order of business for the assembly. The prayer was arranged by the Ecumenical and Interfaith ministry staff for the PCUSA. They apparently got what the asked for. The full transcript is as follows:
“Allah bless us and bless our families and bless our Lord. Lead us on the straight path – the path of all the prophets: Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Peace be upon them all Amen.
“In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, let us praise the Lord. The creator of the universe, the most merciful, the most compassionate and the Lord of the universe who has created us and made us into nations and tribes, from male and females that we may know each other, not that we might despise each other, or may despise each other. Incline towards peace and justice and trust in God, for the Lord is one that hears and knows everything and the servants of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful, gracious are those who walk in the earth in humility and when bigots and hateful and Islamaphobes address them, they say peace. Peace be upon them and peace be upon Allah.”
You can see the prayer at the 14 minute mark below.
https://vimeo.com/171349413
The clerk of the general assembly apologized later in the day, having heard that “some” were offended by the prayer. He apologized, stating that it was not their goal to offend anyone.
Whether the clerk offered a private apology to God for offending Him with the stench of unjustifiable blasphemy is unknown, but no public apology to the Almighty was made.
HT Layman.Org
