Bill Berkowitz: Pastor Rick Warren -- Building bridges to Islam and his next big project

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY
by Bill Berkowitz

Since delivering the invocation at President Barack Obama's Inauguration in late January, Pastor Rick Warren has been on the down low... well, sort of. He hasn't totally disappeared from the public spotlight -- he's often speaking to some group somewhere -- but he's been staying out of the media spotlight by not appearing on the cable news networks.

After his last round of cable news network appearances, Warren got involved in a minor controversy when he denied that he had been a big-time supporter of Proposition 8 -- California's anti-same-sex marriage initiative. Gay marriage advocates pointed out that he was definitely on board the anti-gay marriage train (and they had the video to prove it), while Warren's Christian conservative colleagues felt blindsided by his "not so much" stance.

Now, Warren, founder of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California -- a megachurch with thousands of members -- and the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, has stirred up another hornet's nest among Christian conservatives by his recent appearance at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

This year's convention theme "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," "was a call for pluralism and bridge-building between different faith communities in the US, symbolized by ISNA's selection of perhaps America's top Christian leader as the keynote speaker," Frankie Martin, the Ibn Khaldun Chair Research Fellow at American University, reported at the ISNA Web site.

While Warren's appearance may not have been calculated to again raise his public profile, it comes only two months before he launches his next national project, the "National Life's Healing Choices Campaign," in association with Reader's Digest.

According to the Orange County Register, Warren appears to be heading into Dr. Phil territory as he puts the finishing touches on something called the National Life's Healing Choices Campaign, which will be launched in late September. "The campaign," the Register reported, "focuses on the eight principles of the Beatitudes of Jesus and leading people to recovery, whether personal or national, Warren wrote on his blog." It will be distributed to member churches nationally and internationally, much in the same way that "The Purpose Driven Life," was disseminated.

News of the project will also appear in the fall issue of Purpose Driven Connection, Warren's partnership with Reader's Digest. According to the Register, "The campaign is based on the book "Life's Healing Choices," by Saddleback Pastor John Baker, who heads the Celebrate Recovery Team "that seeks to help people break free of addictions and has helped thousands over the last 30 years."

Warren's media relations are run by A. Larry Ross' of A. Larry Ross Communications (ALRC), a highly successful full-service media and public relations agency. Ross, who also does media work for Reader's Digest, recently came to the defense of his longtime client, the Rev. Billy Graham after a newly released set of Nixon tapes -- of a 1973 conversation between Graham and Nixon -- was stained by anti-Semitic patter.

Warren speaks at Islamic Society of North America convention

Warren recently appeared at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). The Plainfield, Indiana-based organization "is an umbrella organization for Muslim groups across the country. The annual convention, now in its 46th year, regularly draws more than 30,000 people for lectures, prayer, and socializing," AP reported. On its Web site, ISNA maintains that "In addition to building bridges of understanding and cooperation within the diversity that is Islam in America, ISNA is now playing a pivotal role in extending those bridges to include all people of faith within North America."

"Less well known, and yet critically important are our efforts that go beyond the Muslim community in North America to include projects that are often more humanitarian than theological, more global than national, and altogether more complex and nuanced. These include efforts to stop the human tragedy in Darfur, for instance, or to alleviate the plight of those hit by the Tsunami in South East Asia, or to work with state and civic structures in addressing the challenges that Muslims in the West face."

Seeking some measure of "common ground," Warren told the several thousand convention attendees that "the two largest faiths on the planet" needed to work in concert to bust stereotypes and deal with a myriad of global issues. "Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," Warren said.

Over the past few years, Warren has had an uneasy relationship with longtime leaders of the Christian Right. While he claims that he is not of that movement, he is vehemently opposed to abortion and he has consistently opposed same-sex marriage. The Associated Press pointed out that he "has a record of upsetting fellow Christian conservatives by calling old-guard evangelical activists too partisan and narrowly focused.

Recognizing that his appearance at the ISNA event would be controversial, Warren told the crowd that "It's easier to be an extremist of any kind because then you only have one group of people mad at you. But if you actually try to build relationships -- like invite an evangelical pastor to your gathering -- you'll get criticized for it. So will I."

Blogger Eric Barger said that "Rather than trying to see how much we have in common with them [Muslims], concerned Believers might better spend their time pointing out the stark difference between Islam and Christianity." Steve McConkey, president of 4 WINDS, said in a press release that "Speaking at interfaith meetings should not be done if a person does not tell the listeners that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven -- period. By not doing this, a person is saying that all ways lead to God by works. ... By Warren's silence on the exclusive claims of Christ, he led his Muslim audience into believing that works will save a person."

A few days after his appearance, OneNewsNow, a news service of the Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association) featured a story headlined "Warren panders to Muslim group, omits gospel" in which it was reported that Jan Markell, founder of Olive Tree Ministries, a Messianic Jewish ministry, roundly criticized Warren: "I'm sorry, that kind of a 'let's all get along' [solution] is not possible -- and what he needed to do was tell them the truth," she said. "But that is not what Rick Warren does. He does not tell the truth, at least not when he's outside of his Saddleback Church."

Erick Stakelbeck, identified as a CBN (Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network) News Terrorism Analyst, pointed out that Warren's appearance as ISNA "wasn't the first time he has spoken before a controversial Islamist group." In 2008, Warren spoke at the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual conference. "MPAC's rap sheet may not be as bad as ISNA's or CAIR's, but they ain't exactly the Girl Scouts, either," Stakelbeck wrote. "Question: who does background research for Warren before he agrees to appear at an event? And was he aware of MPAC's and ISNA's dubious track records, associations and ideologies beforehand?"

Shortly after 9/11, U.S. law enforcement agencies looked into ISNA's -- as well as a number of other U.S.-based Muslim groups -- activities. Two years later, the Senate Finance Committee's investigation concluded and no action was taken. Committee chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) said, "We did not find anything alarming enough that required additional follow-up beyond what law enforcement is already doing."

At ISNA's Web site, Frankie Martin pointed out that in addition to Warren, Yusuf Islam (the entertainer who formerly recorded under the name of Cat Stevens) was also convention attendees. "In his speech," Martin noted, "Warren appealed for Muslims and Christians to work together to solve common problems which he said was possible without 'compromising my convictions or your convictions.'"

Martin described the convention as having an "evangelical-like atmosphere": "The sound system, giant video screens, and slick mass production values recalled America's Protestant mega-Churches."

Martin was in attendance in part to promote "Journey into America," a film he made with anthropologist and Islamic scholar Akbar Ahmed of American University and a team of young Americans. "Journey into America" "depicts a nine month journey we took to over seventy five cities and one hundred mosques to study how Muslims were fitting into American society and to promote better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims."

Warren also spoke of his PEACE Plan aimed at dealing with spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and illiteracy and lack of education. (PEACE stands for promote reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.)

He also made it clear that he was "not [just] interested in interfaith dialogue." He said he was more "interested in interfaith project."

"There is a big difference," Warren said. "Talk is very cheap. You can talk and talk and talk and never get anything done. Love is something you do. It is something we do together."

Regardless of his critics, Warren remains committed to his assorted missions; bridging religious and political differences, dealing with issues such as poverty and AIDS, building a massive media empire, becoming "America's Pastor." His new project could very well earn him an appearance on Oprah's program, further enhancing his celebrity.

BUZZFLASH GUEST COMMENTARY

Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement and a frequent writer for Z Magazine, Religion Dispatches and other online publications. He documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories, and defeats of the American Right from a progressive perspective.

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