LIHUE — Standing in front of dozens of people at the Lihue Neighborhood Center Monday, William Swing wondered what Martin Luther King Jr. would think of the world today.
“If Martin Luther King Jr. and I were sitting on a bench in Lihue today, I know what I would say to him,” Swing said. “I would say, ‘Martin, you won’t believe what has happened to religion.’”
Swing, a former Episcopal Bishop and president of the United Religions Initiative, was the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration hosted by the Interfaith Roundtable of Kauai. During his address, he reminded the crowd the Civil Rights movement was founded on religion.
“But today, religion has fallen on hard times,” he said.
Swing cited Jewish persecution in Europe, Christian and Muslim persecution in the Middle East and the Oscar-nominated movie, “Spotlight,” which follows the stories of boys who were molested in Boston, as proof religion is going through a tough spell.
Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to bring religions together, Swing said.
“During his famous dream speech, he spoke with amazement that Catholics, Protestants, Jews and all the other religions had come together to march on Washington,” he said.
It was during that speech, Swing said, that Martin Luther King Jr. “hit upon a startling phenomenon,” he added.
“If each religion could, for a moment, come together, for the common good of society, the world would be enriched immeasurably,” he said. “Instead of each religion enriching their own identities, what if the religions could come together and serve the common good together.”
Ishaq Mohammed, an Islam representative for the Interfaith Roundtable of Kauai, conceded that while progress has been made in continuing Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of world free of prejudice, work remains to be done.
“Despite the achievements made in racial harmony, there are still those who work against the desire of unity. There are still those who believe a person of a different race or religion is inherently inferior and deserves less than humane treatment,” he said.
Mohammed asked the audience how they react when the see someone who looks, acts and sounds differently than them.
“Do you react to peace or with fear when you see someone with a head scarf, or a turban or a robe, or because they have an accent and speak differently than you,” he said. “Or do you, through peace, give them a chance and embrace them?”
He talked of his affinity for the violin, “Star Wars” and video games.
“I may have a lot in common with a lot of you sitting here today, but you wouldn’t know that unless we communicated,” he said.
Jane Tayloff, said the MLK Day celebration was a way for the community to come together for a higher purpose.
“Kauai is at its best when we connect to the world at large,” she said. “We’re here to remember a vision of peace and those who came before.”
When she thinks of Martin Luther King Jr., she is reminded of Mala Yousafzai-the Pakistani teenager who, after being shot on her way home from school, became an advocate for girls’ education.
“Their love for the world is all-encompassing, and we’re at a time in the world where we need to remember our heroes,” she said.
