Following
the death of the Boston Marathon terrorist Tsarnaey, a great controversy arose
about his place of burial. No community
wanted the remains of this despised individual in their cemetery out of shear
hatred and out of fear of reprisals, vandalism and negative attention.
Ultimately,
a Muslim cemetery in Virginia was willing to bury his remains, the logistics of
which were organized surprisingly by a Christian woman.
Martha
Mullen is a mental health counselor and a United Methodist seminary graduate
(United, Dayton, Ohio). Hearing about
the controversy over the radio she sent emails to various faith organizations
to see what could be done. She heard
back from Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, which arranged for a funeral
plot at the Al-Barzakh cemetery. "It
was an interfaith effort," she said (CBS/AP 05/13/13).
A
variety of local groups have protested the decision from which they were
excluded and uniformed until it was a done deal. Ms. Mullen has faced significant vitriol and
threats as a result.
"I
can't pretend it's not difficult to be reviled and maligned," Martha
Mullen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "But any time you can reach across the
divide and work with people that are not like you, that's what God calls us to
do...My first thought was Jesus said love your enemies," she said.
Mullen,
a member of the United Methodist Church, said she was motivated by her own
faith and that she had the full support of her pastor.
"Nobody
is without sin," she said. "Certainly
this was a horrific act, but he's dead and what happened is between him and
God. We just need to bury his body and
move forward. People were making an issue and detracting from the healing that
needed to take place."
Whether
one agrees with this action or how it was made, the objective will marvel at
the courage and convictions of Martha Mullen.
To offer grace and dignity to one who did not earn it, to act with
compassion to one who showed none to thousands of others, to risk scorn and
personal safety to stand up for one's beliefs, is Christ-like indeed.