By Mark Ellis —
A Christian is believed to have stolen two copies of the Quran on March 28th from the interfaith chapel at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. He left behind a scathing handwritten note directed at a female chaplain who oversees the prayerful space, accusing her of being a lesbian and a heretic.
The airport chapel customarily provides a Bible, a Torah (the Jewish Bible) and the Quran on its pulpit, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Rev. Alice White, co-director of the chapel, noticed the missing Qurans during her service there on the 28th. Apparently, this wasn’t the only incident sparked by the presence of the Islamic holy book.
“Six months ago, somebody got so outraged that they put a hole in the wall, because the Quran was up on the pulpit,” she told The Observer.
Rev. White said a man in his 30s was in the chapel at around 1:30 p.m. on the day of the theft. He greeted her without referring to her as “reverend.” He noticed her nametag and said, “Hello, Alice White.”
Before the man disappeared from the chapel, he slid an envelope under her office door. When she opened it, she found a page torn from the guest book with an inelegant note scrawled on it:
“Sorry to inform you, Alice White, but just because your tag says chaplain doesn’t make you one in the eyes of God. Or correct in your theology. Especially if you don’t take the Bible for its literal word – no lesbians, no Quran. If anything, you are a heretic. Love, Psalms 100. P.S. Deep down, you know this.”
While the Christian thief spoke of love, his actions and words did not strike Rev. White that way.
Currently, none of the chapel’s 18 volunteer chaplains are Muslims, but many Muslims stop there for prayers, according to The Observer. The chapel includes Muslim prayer mats positioned toward Mecca.
The governing board of the airport will now consider installing a security camera.
The Islamic Center of Charlotte said they will donate two additional copies of the Quran to the chapel.
