The following remarks were delivered by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, during a vigil on January 11, 2022 calling on the Biden administration to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison.
Did you know, all the people still in prison in Guantanamo Bay are Muslims? And all the people previously imprisoned and tortured there were Muslims. For that matter, all the people tortured by the CIA at Gitmo or anywhere else, were Muslim. As a Christian, I have a problem with that. Never mind, having a problem with it as an American, which is a problem every American should have regardless of faith tradition since we pride ourselves on not having religious scapegoats in the land of the free and the brave.
As a Christian, I have a problem when any group of people are singled out as targets for persecution. Clearly, regarding decisions made about who gets tortured and who goes to prison at this particular facility, we have singled out a particular group. There is plenty of material in the Bible about how to treat people who are different from us, beginning with respect and hospitality.
Hospitality in the biblical sense means I set aside my own plans to welcome the stranger into my presence. I offer shelter, in some cases my own bed; I offer food, in some cases what I had planned to eat myself that day; and I offer protection, in some cases putting myself between the guest and those who would attempt to harm the guest. That’s biblical.
Guantanamo Bay Prison is the antithesis of all these things and the reality that no good or reliable information has come out of the practices enshrined there makes it even more distressing. Put bluntly, my faith tradition says, that’s a sin. When we start talking about sinful behavior, we also have to start talking about the people who are complicit in that behavior. Some of us actively and willingly and some of us passively and ignorantly. But here’s the sad truth about national sins like Guantanamo Bay. Those of us who are part of the nation are part of the sin. Those of us who are part of the nation and say nothing about the sin we see, are a bigger part of the sin.
The public square is not a place where we hear much about sin anymore. We hear about legal matters and political matters. But I’m here today to remind us that while sin means something particular to faith communities, it’s reality is no less present in the public square. If we are looking for an example of what sin looks like on the national level, look no further than Guantanamo Bay Prison. Shut it down. Stop this sinful behavior.
Guantanamo is a stain on the peoples of America and it would be closed now if not for Trump! As a veteran I am appalled that we have tortured human beings! This puts us in a group with the Nazis of WWII and the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam conflict.. I am proud to be a Christian and pray 🙏 that Biden will put an end to this injustice!
One final comment: During my military career long ago, I always felt that we should treat prisoners the way we would want to be treated if we were prisoners, and I believe that most of us officers felt the same way. I also seem to remember that there was a written code of conduct for us to follow; perhaps not the Geneva Convention but something similar.
I feel reasonably certain that all the prisoners at Guantanomo Bay are not nice people. However, our treatment of them shows that we are also not nice people. If I were God, how would I evaluate the prisoners and the guards? Would I place them all in the same category?
Probably not the same category. But as my friend Rabbi Eric Solomon said right after I spoke, “It’s not about what the people in Guantanamo Bay Prison did. It’s about how we respond.” He went on to note that God would not be pleased with our responses…
Our treatment of prisoners at GITMO is, no doubt, a sin. I am guilty for not having spoken out about this more than I have. You have said things well. Thank you.
I am a Christian and my heart goes out to these people but if this is the first time you have ever seen or heard of such behavior you must not know the story of every black person and there forefathers before them. I know this has really touched your heart for this is your race of people. You are just experiencing a glimpse of 63 years of being black. This is how our world has been for over 200 years or more and still exist today. I agree with you no one should be subject to such treatment only because of color of there skin. This has always been the black person world enter in by risks of being of color (black). I will keep these people in my prayers as I continually pray for my own race as well for only God can do this needed miracle on all people. Blessings and peace 🙏
Indeed, you are correct. The Council attempts to speak out whenever anyone experiences abuse and discrimination because of the color of their skin, the ones they love, or any other marginalizing tactic. No doubt, we don’t hear about all of them, but work with African Americans has been important to us since our founding in 1935. Thank you for your prayers.
Amen ! This should be required reading for every member of Congress who claims to be a Christian .
I am a NC Methodist and have worshipped under Edie Gleaves, Bob Bauman, Tim Russell in Wrightsville Beach and I have a completely different view point. The people at Guantanamo are there not because they are Muslims. They are there because they are terrorists who have murdered many people of all faiths! There is evidence that those released in the past have continued to be murdering terrorists. This is not about Muslims, but about keeping bad people from killing and injuring others…including Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc. I am grateful that you seem interested in pursuing a cause, but think you should reconsider. Perhaps by speaking to surviving relatives of those killed or by visiting with the wounded, you will gain a different perspective. Sincerely, Robert Moffett
While I understand your viewpoint, I invite you to read the stories of those who were kidnapped, detained, and tortured during this time and sent to Gitmo. I invite you to read the Geneva Convention that these actions violate. I would also recommend you become familiar with more than the facts that are being repudiated at this stage by those closest to this travesty.
I share your desire to make sure that bad people don’t endanger other people. I do wonder, however, why no Christians were rendered by our government and imprisoned without formal charges and held without hope of release.
It is sinful. Thank you so much for saying it eloquently and publicly.
Well said! I’m ashamed that I have said nothing.