A Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University is the most vocal proponent of keeping crucifixes in Georgetown University classrooms, the Fides News Service reported today.
“I will put up a fight if anyone tries to remove the Crucifix from classrooms,” Imam Yahya Hendi said. “I am convinced that the Cross is an important religious symbol for all people. And I would object to the cross being removed from classrooms at Georgetown University,” he said while in Rome for a media conference Wednesday.
Georgetown, America's oldest Catholic University, was the first college — of any affiliation, religious or not — to hire a full-time Muslim chaplain.
“Georgetown has students of many different faiths,” Hendi continued. “Some Catholics wonder if as a sign of respect for non-Christians, crosses should be removed from classrooms. As a Muslim I have no difficulty in working in a classroom where there is a cross; in fact I am ready to put up a fight to make sure the cross stays in place,” he said.
In 1996, the majority of classrooms lacked crucifixes. A concerned group of students came together to work to have crucifixes replaced. Their quest was a success — in 1998, Georgetown's administration decided to place crucifixes in all university classrooms except those in the Bunn Intercultural Center.
As for the current call to remove crucifixes from Georgetown classrooms, the University media relations office told LifeSiteNews.com that they had no knowledge of any effort underway to do so.
See also:
Georgetown's Assault on Religious Devotion: Students Decry 'Hostility' to Devout Christians
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
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