InterfaithNews.Net

When this newsletter

first wrote about the Darfur genocide 14 months ago, we had some hope
that the governments of the world would have put a stop to the rape and
pillaging by this time. Sadly, this is far from the truth. U.N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan recently wrote, "The looming threat of complete
lawlessness and anarchy draws nearer, particularly in western Darfur, as
warlords, bandits and militia groups grow more aggressive." More action
is needed, including continued diplomatic pressure and a further expanded
African Union presence in western Sudan. At long last, the United States
government is moving closer to supporting new measures; though approval by
the House of Representatives is still necessary, it is a major step forward
for the Senate to have passed its Darfur Peace and Accountability Act this
past week, as reported by the Save Darfur
Coalition.

Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative, writes in his October letter about the International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21^st.

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.

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.

The United Religions Initiative Global Council in March voted to endorse the Darfur Unity Statement in recognition of the continuing necessity for international intervention in the Darfur region of Sudan. Originally signed by over 100 non-governmental agencies in July of 2004, the Save Darfur Coalition’s Unity Statement remains relevant today with over two million refugees in need of aid and death toll estimates in the region now exceeding 300,000.

Egyptian activist and URI Global Council member Dr. Mohamed
Mosaad critiques attempts at fighting "fundamentalism" by shutting
down discourse. Instead he proposes that fundamentalism, in particular Islamic
fundamentalism that promotes violence between religions, should be countered
by likewise returning to the holy books (the fundamentals) in true
intra-religious dialogue.

The Niwano Peace Foundation, a Buddhist organization that annually recognizes and honors interreligious work through the Niwano Peace Prize, will this year honor Christian theologian and interfaith activist Hans Küng at a ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, on May 11, 2005.

Amidst tensions surrounding the days-old murder of a Shiite religious
leader in this multi-religious, but Sunni-dominated nation, a peace pole was
planted in Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore, on January 15th.
Planted near the Pakistan Day Memorial, it was a small but hopefully
significant further step in efforts to bring the religions of Pakistan into
greater harmony and goodwill. May peace prevail in Pakistan, may peace
prevail on Earth.

Even as continued violence has stalled efforts to bring food aid to
desperate refugees, the U.N. has failed to enact meaningful measures to reign
in the Sudanese government. This month's breakthrough talks between the
government and southern rebels must be applauded; nevertheless, the
government's failure to disarm local militias has shown the potentially
duplicitous nature of their negotiations. While religious responses to the
warfare have been relatively few and far between, religious groups can play a
strong role in agitating for greater action, as seen in the following
article.

Just as a negotiated-peace began to take hold in southern Sudan, a new crisis arose in the western Darfur region this past winter and spring. Half a year after escalation of the atrocities, estimates of the dead range from 30,000 to 50,000, and well over a million people have been internally or externally displaced. Men and boys have been systematically murdered; worse yet, a conscious effort at genocide has once again turned to mass rape of the remaining women. International response has been harsh yet guarded, and far too slow. We must push our political leaders to appropriate action under international law.