A Church and a Conversion Call For Obama

In ” A Church for the Obamas ” Sally Quinn thinks the president-elect and his family should attend Washington National Cathedral. “Washington National Cathedral,” declares Quinn, “transcends politics and even the separation of religions. Though nominally an Episcopal church, it welcomes everyone. It is at once deeply Christian and deeply interfaith. The Episcopal Church has a long history of inclusiveness.”

Until recently, notes Quinn, the cathedral has been mainly a place where people from out of town have come to worship and marvel at the beauty of the stained-glass windows and exquisite stone carvings.”  But more recently under the direction of Sam Lloyd, dean of the cathedral, a major effort is underway to build a congregation of its own. “We wanted people to have the experience of being part of a faith community,” says Lloyd. “A space for people to come on their own terms.”

Meanwhile, in this video Egyptian Cleric Hassan Abu Al-Ashbal has other things in mind for President-Elect Obama. He calls on him to convert to Islam, warning that “in religions other than Islam there is utter humiliation.”

“Obama, . . . Convert to Islam and you will be saved. All glory and honor lie in following Allah and His messenger Muhammad. Know that true religion is the religion of Islam and all other religions are fabricated religions, which are null and void—religions that were abrogated by the shari’a of Muhammed.”

“A space for people to come on their own terms” or not, one suspects that Hasan Abu Al-Ashbal won’t be invited to speak at the Washington Cathedral anytime soon.