Faith leaders around metro Atlanta Monday reacted with relief to the news that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. military operation in Pakistan, but they also urged Americans to pray for peace.
"I think that in a dangerous and broken world, force is sometimes necessary to constrain evil," said the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. And while he thinks the appropriate steps were taken by the Obama administration, "in the long run the best way to foster peace is to fight poverty" and to remove the walls that divide people.
Warnock also said he was pleased to hear President Obama say America is not at war against Islam.
"It wasn't just an important political message to send to the Islamic world but also an important moral message," he said.
Bin Laden, the leader of al Qaida, had eluded U.S. capture for a decade.
The announcement that the most wanted man in the world was dead was met with huge cheering crowds in Washington, D.C. and New York, scene of the two of the terrorist attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.
Rabia Khan, a counselor who lives in Alpharetta and a Muslim, expressed her relief that bin Laden is no longer a threat. "I'm just thankful for people of all faiths," she said. "People who lost their lives on 9-11 were Muslims and non-Muslims. Their families can have some closure. We've all been praying that he be put to justice and God's justice is the best justice."
The Rev. Dean Taylor, interim rector at St. James' Episcopal Church in Marietta, said he posted a message on his Facebook page reminding people that as Christians they should not be allowed to "dance on the graves of our enemies." He said in an interview Monday that now "was more of a time for humility and prayer than for celebration." Still, he conceded, it's understandable that people are relieved "that this evil person can do no harm to others."
Taylor said he hopes going forward that there will be stronger ties between all faiths. "There's more that binds us together than keeps us apart," he said. "I think that's the spirit of Jesus."
After the 2001 attacks, parishioners gathered at The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta for a memorial mass.
Monsignor Henry Gracz said families of victims, some of whom lived in Atlanta, may feel some measure of relief. But should the United States have killed bin Laden? "That is almost impossible to answer," he said. "I always believed that captivity without freedom would have been more horrendous for him than death. That's the moral argument: Is it a lesser evil to have him out of the way? We still face these horrible contradictions between vengeance and justice."
Rabbi Michael Bernstein of Congregation Gesher L'Torah in Alpahretta sees irony in the timing of bin Laden's death.
His death occurred around Yom HaShoah, a period of remembrance for victims of the Holocaust. "It's impossible not to think about the two of them (9-11 and the Holocaust) together," he said. "For me, there's no question that there is a sense that justice was done." He said he sees echoes of the aftermath of Sept. 11, when people all over the world came together over the tragedy.
"I can't see how it won't lead us toward healing."
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