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Remembering 9/11-Reflections on Nonviolence

Friends,

On this 16th anniversary of September 11th, I chose to commemorate the tragic day by rejecting aloud the idea that violence is the core language of humankind. Instead, it is nonviolence—a transformational force acknowledged by many faiths and belief traditions—that resonates with me and that has moved mountains throughout history.

Drawing strength from their own faith’s perspectives, icons like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela, as well as Tanenbaum’s lesser-known Peacemakers in Action, prove that nonviolence is an effective and loving way to combat oppression, violence and extremism in our time.

Learn more about the various ways our religious beliefs address nonviolence from our latest Combating Extremism resources:

Nonviolent resistance… avoids not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him.

–Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., “An Experiment in Love”

In Remembrance,
Joyce S. Dubensky, CEO