InterfaithNews.Net

On September 11, the Washington National Cathedral (in Washington, D.C.,
USA), will host delegates from Christian denominations worldwide as they call
for United Nations member states to support the
Millennium Development
Goals.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center points out the confluence of
holy days from many different religions in October, encouraging faith
communities to use that time for shared celebration, prayer, reflection,
and peacebuilding.

It is a sad mark of the persistence of ethnic, cultural, and religious
bigotry that so many people continue to paint all Muslims as fanatics and
terrorists, as evidenced by violence against individual Muslims and their
religious institutions. It is equally disturbing that the same brush is
often applied to non-Muslims of North African, Middle Eastern, and Indian
origin, particularly to Sikhs.

In June, a ground-breaking conference was held at the United Nations that
brought together government representatives, members of the United
Nations system, and religious NGOs. There they discussed the need for
strengthened interfaith dialogue and its importance for peacebuilding.
The following convenor’s report summarizes the goals, conclusions, and
recommendations of the conference.

Reacting to the bombings in London, the Fiq Council of North America on July 28 became the first known Muslim group to issue a fatwa against terrorism and religious extremism.

July 2005 letter from Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative, to the Friends of the URI around the world.

From Paul Chaffee, Interfaith Center at the Presidio

Blistering weather reports from Las Vegas notwithstanding, 140 interfaith
leaders from Canada, Mexico, and the United States gathered in southern
Nevada on August 12. For four and a half days the group explored a complex
set of themes – “Hospitality, Generosity and Sharing –
Interfaith Action in Our World.” The weather turned out to be dry and
kind, the heat tempered by passing storms. University of Nevada Las Vegas is
beautiful and proved an exemplar of the hospitality we were discussing.

For the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5th), I asked Dave
Randle to send an update on the status of the Call to Global Healing. While
the Call is rooted in environmental consciousness, you will find that it
has moved well beyond and has led the Utah URI Cooperation Circle into the
heart of conflict in working to provide aid and support to people in
need.

The Archbishop of Canterbury warns that the price of our continued failure
to protect the earth will be violence and social collapse

In his April letter, URI Executive Directory Charles Gibbs writes
"I refuse to live in an 'Age of Terror' … I choose… to
live in an 'Age of Transformation'." Please read on for more
of this beautiful and inspiring message.