There have been many televised and Internet reports about potential Koran burnings and Muslim worship centers of late. Sadly, most of them have been from a biased viewpoint that does nothing to alleviate concerns, but rather continues to feed irrational fears of the unknown and the “other.” This is nothing new to Martha’s Vineyard as we continue to see in letters to the editor that oftentimes overtly blame an entire group (read: ethnic group) of people for the actions of an individual.

I want to call your attention to the Interfaith Pledge that was read from the steps of the State House in Boston on Tuesday, Sept. 7, to which I affixed my signature, along with my bishops and a wide spectrum of other clergy as well. I do this particularly in light of the press that was given to a pastor in Florida, who had announced his intentions to hold a Koran burning party at his church on the anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, and encouraged people across this country and all over the world to do the same. This minister is getting a lot of free press for the hate speech that his 50-member congregation is putting forth.

On my blog last week I suggested that instead of a Koran burning party, his church might do well to sponsor a Koran reading party so that their membership might come to know and understand that their assumptions about this text are way off base. It may not surprise some to know that on my iPhone, along with my Bible app, I also have the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and other apps of religious texts that I can use for reference when I am riding on the boat to the mainland, or on the bus up to Boston for diocesan council meetings. There are those, I admit, who probably think that my views are as “whacked” as those of the minister in Florida, but for opposite reasons. However, I try to keep myself and my publicly stated viewpoints informed and educated.

How about you?

What follows is the text of the Interfaith Pledge, prefaced with a bit of background rationale for its creation.

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Historically, citizens of Massachusetts know too well the painful and dangerous effects of religious bigotry, persecution, and intolerance. American Indians, so-called witches, Quakers, Baptists, Jews, Roman Catholics, and others have borne the brunt of fears that bear no connection to reality. Such a danger looms again. We must not succumb.

Standing on the Statehouse grounds at the statue of Mary Dyer — Quaker, heroine of religious freedom, and martyr to religious intolerance — we call upon citizens, elected officials, journalists, and religious communities to pause, take stock, search our collective heart and soul, and here and now to resolve to end the surge of hatred and fear against Islam and Muslim Americans.

Addressing the matter of religious liberty, President George Washington in 1790 wrote to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, R.I., confirming that ours is “a government which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

Thomas Jefferson said of religious freedom that it was “among the most inestimable of our blessings;” (Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom).

Katherine Lee Bates called upon the Author of the Universe to confirm this nation’s soul “in self-control,” and our “liberty in law” (America the Beautiful).

The current anti-Islamic climate is an attack not only on Muslim Americans, but also on one of this nation’s most basic principles. There is no small irony in that we are being urged to sacrifice these principles in the name of “patriotism” and “national identity.”

If today’s controversy were focused solely on the proposed Islamic center and mosque in Manhattan, that would be distressing enough. It is not. There are some 10 or 12 proposed Islamic centers and mosques across the nation, and all have met with vitriol and resistance.

As people of faith and principle we cannot remain silent in the midst of the fear-filled suspicion and vilification of the Islamic community that is sweeping the nation. Whether in the Jewish, Muslim, Christian or other traditions, we share a sacred calling: to welcome strangers rather than fear them; to seek to recognize the presence of the divine in all whom we meet, and to be instruments of love and reconciliation for all with whom we interact.

Thus, with deep compassion for the families of the victims of 9/11 and for the enduring pain of all Americans, and with urgency and deep concern for this nation and for its people, we the undersigned declare the following:

WE CONDEMN all terrorists and all terrorist acts, whether committed in the name of Islam, Judaism, Christianity, or any other religion or creed;

WE KNOW that the terrorists who committed the heinous crimes of 9/11 were extremists who called themselves Muslim; in no way did they represent the vast majority of Muslims in this country or in the world;

WE AFFIRM that Islam, present in America even before the official establishment of this nation, is an integral and vital part of the American interfaith mosaic, and that Muslims contribute great value to both our interfaith endeavors and our civil society;

WE ARE PAINED that enmity against Muslim Americans is disfiguring our national soul, is life-threatening to Muslims, and bears the potential of turning good-hearted people against their neighbors;

WE RESPECT the Constitutional and human rights of members of all religious groups to practice their faith, including the equal right to build places of worship and gather together unimpaired by the influence of favoritism, bigotry, or discrimination; and

WE CONDEMN — both in general and in the particular context of attacks on the Park 51 Project — the cynical use of misinformation and fear-mongering by various politicians, commentators, and media outlets to stir up antiMuslim prejudice for political or other ends;

WE APPLAUD all efforts to build meaningful, honest, and enduring interreligious and intercultural relationships; and

WE DENOUNCE the use of innuendo, stereotype, or misinformation that promotes fear, distrust, or hatred of Muslims, Jews, Christians, or any other religious or ethnic group;

WE CALL upon this great nation whose soul is tempered by law, to reaffirm the deeply held values of diversity and pluralism as intrinsic to our national character and to stand firm upon the First Amendment and its beautiful, unequivocal guarantee of civil liberties and freedom of religion.

THEREFORE, we the undersigned pledge the following:

WE PLEDGE to confront instances of bigotry against any religious or ethnic group whenever and wherever we find them, and call upon all those who disparage entire groups on account of the acts of a few to look deeply within themselves, and to stop; and

WE PLEDGE to work actively to break down barriers amongst the various communities of belief in our city — and beyond — and to replace those barriers with mutual respect, understanding, and an outstretched hand.

The Rev. Robert Hensley is rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven.