When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his first inaugural address, our nation was frightened, dispirited and ready to look for villains to explain the economic trauma of so many during the Great Depression. Hitler was on the rise in Germany and later that year would become chancellor, giving a veneer of respectability to his platform of hate.

In the face of this, rather than give in to the climate of despair, Roosevelt declared the most famous words of his presidency, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

The world faced darkness and uncertainty, yet our president called for us to set aside our doubts and believe in our best selves.

He still calls to us more than 75 years later.

Once again, America faces economic turmoil as well as political and international uncertainty. Once again, many Americans wonder if there is a villain or a group to blame for our trepidation.

We, religious leaders in the Muslim and Jewish communities, call upon our neighbors in Pittsburgh to remember the words of our beloved former president and refuse to give in to their fears.

We are not naive idealists who turn away from the difficult challenges of our time. Terrorism and economic difficulty persist and threaten us. But we as a community depend on bridges of understanding so that our fear does not paralyze us or cause us to strike out blindly in hatred or violence.

Last week we saw in New York City what happens when fear spreads and turns into hate. According to police, a Christian, white, middle-class man named Michael Enright, after getting drunk, entered the taxi of Ahmed Sharif, an immigrant from Bangladesh. Once he determined that his driver was Muslim, Mr. Enright allegedly mocked the holy season of Ramadan and slashed Mr. Sharif's neck with a hunting knife. If the blade had penetrated any deeper, news reports suggest, Mr. Sharif would have died on the spot.

Fear leads to hate which leads to acts of violence. Mr. Enright had no reason to fear Mr. Sharif as a human being or a believing Muslim, only as a figure who represented Muslim terrorists in his head. But that is the point. Mr. Enright's impression was in his head.

Can you imagine the reaction if the accused attacker had been Muslim and the victim a Christian?

It is the responsibility of every religious leader to stand up and declare that both violence and the hatred that motivates it are unacceptable in our faith traditions. We believe this not only on theological grounds, but also because of our rich history here in Pittsburgh of living together as neighbors.

The first mosque in Pittsburgh was established in 1928, according to Amir Muhammed in his "Collections and Stories of American Muslims." For the last century there has always been a strong Muslim presence in the African-American community of Pittsburgh. The Muslim community has grown to include three mosques and three Islamic Centers in the greater Pittsburgh area.

It is imperative that we do not allow the hateful statements arising from the controversy over the building of a Muslim center in New York City, or those of cynical or misguided political leaders, to poison our neighborhood here.

We do not agree on all the great issues of our day. We have many principled arguments with each other, mostly about the unresolved issues between Israelis, Palestinians and their Arab neighbors. Some of our discussions have grown heated. But we have never stopped seeing each other as neighbors.

The week after the 9/11 attacks, which were condemned by local Muslim leaders, many of us from different faiths found ourselves at Friday prayers at the Islamic Center in Oakland, across from the former Schenley High School. There was fear outside the walls, but great sadness and tremendous caring across the many religious communities in attendance.

Those relationships, forged in the fire and ash of 9/11, are even stronger today. We provide just one example: Imam Tadese invited Rabbi Gibson to speak a the end of evening prayers last week as the Muslim community broke its daily fast during the month of Ramadan. The rabbi was received warmly, with respect and dignity.

For those who would stand on their right to foment hatred and fear, we would ask the following questions:

Have you ever spoken with a Muslim about his or her faith?

Have you ever visited one of the Pittsburgh-area mosques?

Have you ever been in a Muslim home or shared food with a Muslim?

Have you ever discussed with a Muslim the belief in one God that Islam shares with Christianity and Judaism?

We would say that if you have not done at least one of these things, your views may not be fully informed by the lives and experiences of your neighbors here in Pittsburgh.

The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh will hold an open house in a few weeks and we, together, an imam and a rabbi, urge you to visit and learn about your Muslim neighbors who are living, working and striving to make our community the best it can be.

We reject the harsh words concerning the Park51 Muslim Center in New York City, words of fear and hatred that can and do lead to violence.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Words for our time and our city, here and now.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.