On Tuesday, September 11 Queen Elizabeth II sent the following message to the President of the United States and the people of America.
Mr President, may I express my heartfelt sympathy to the very many bereaved and injured and our admiration for those who are now trying to cope with these unfolding tragedies.'
Her Majesty's Prime Minister, Tony Blair immediately pledged Britain's total committed support for America. He vowed that Britain will stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the people of America in hunting down the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in New York, Washington and over Pittsburg by the Arab skyjackers on Tuesday.
Their barbarism will stand as their shame for all eternity,'
the Prime Minister told the nation in a special TV broadcast from No.10 Downing Street in London.On September 14 at a special session of the House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster, London's Parliament overlooking theThames, he expanded upon his original words and unequivocably reiterated Britain's support in America's hour of need.
Churches, temples, mosques and sacred spaces were immediately opened thoughout Britain on Tuesday as details of the terrorist atrocity became known. People of all faiths flocked to pray for the slain, the injured and the grieving. Mourners attended hurriedly arranged evening services in Britain's cathedrals thoughout the country and in churches everywhere the people came to say a prayer,light a candle. Their candles are a flickering witness to their shock, grief and anger at the brutal loss of innocent lives, the maiming of innocent people and torment of their loved ones in the carnage inflicted upon American people.
In an unprecedented display of religious unity, Britain's Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders joined hands on Wednesday to express their shared horror at the "evil" onslaught of terrorism in America. Dr. Zaki Badawi, Chairman of British Imams and Mosques, stood on the steps of London's Lambeth Palace with Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Britain's Chief Rabbi , Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, and Dr George Carey, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, to read their jointly signed statement. It said in part: "Such evil deeds have no place in the world we seek to share." The statement continued: "It is vital amid so much anguish and suffering to nourish all that we hold in common and to resist all that would drive us apart." The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Wales was not present. He is in New York to attend a religious seminar. By chance he was inside America's oldest church, Trinity Church, next to the World Trade Center at the time the planes ripped into the two towers.
 |
