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ISNA JOINS INTERFAITH LEADERS CALL FOR DAY OF FASTING TO BRING PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

ISNA JOINS INTERFAITH LEADERS CALL FOR DAY OF FASTING TO BRING PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007--Several religious leaders representing tens of millions of faithful Americans stood today in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol calling religious communities of various traditions to a day of fasting and prayer.

Represented at the news conference were leaders of Muslim, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Unitarian, and Baptist traditions. The Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, associate general secretary for interfaith relations at the National Council of Churches USA (NCC), and himself a Baptist, organized the news event.

Ancient practices were used at the news conference in the call to the nation. The ram's horn, or Jewish shofar, was sounded to "wake up" a nation. Ashes were placed on the leaders' foreheads as signs of repentance. A bell was tolled to call America's people of faith to join together on October 8 to fast from dawn to sunset, breaking the fast with their Muslim sisters and brothers.

"When you are fasting for Ramadan, you are enhancing your sense of compassion," said Dr. Sayyid Syeed from the Islamic Society of North America. "We will be asking mosques to open their doors to people of other faiths around the world on October 8 for prayer and dialogue."

Dr. Syeed said the Islamic Center in nearby Sterling, Va., will open its doors to interfaith neighbors Oct. 8 to break the Ramadan fast together. "We must return to the ancient disciplines so that we will turn away from violence toward reverence," said Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Shalom Center, Philadelphia.

In addition to events in localities members of the internet site Facebook are organizing virtual communities to observe the day of fasting and prayer. "Young people are unfairly and negatively stereotyped. We believe the opposite is true. We are connecting to a global effort," said Alex Winnette of the Unitarian Universalist Association. "We will take the lessons of our ancestors as inspiration (in this fast)."

Congregations may find material about fasting and other bulletin inserts at www.interfaithfast.org as well as an organizing tool kit to hold an event. A list of sponsoring organizations and individuals endorsing the day of fast is also at that website. Local religious groups are registering events at www.interfaithfast.org, a website managed by the Fellowship of Reconciliation.