Hunger is an Interfaith Issue

Help us battle hunger in Louisville

Friends, most of us don't think of hunger as a religious or interfaith issue but it is. Lack of adequate food is a problem for Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Baha'is, Hindus and practitioners of all religions represented in our community

You can come together with people from other religions and help to eliminate hunger in Louisville and Southern Indiana by taking part in this year's interfaith Dare to Care Hunger Walk. Join us at 2:15 on Sunday, September 19 at Waterfront Park.

And here's a link that you can use to sign up to be a member of the Interfaith Paths to Peace team!
http://thehungerwalk.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=426634&lis=0&kntae426634=0C83CB44FB1B4A3780569278BAFE65C8&supId=0&team=3896178&cj=Y

Finally, Some good news about violence in Louisville

Friends, I should probably knock on wood about what I am about to say. There were no homicides in Louisville during the month of February (and so far none in March, though it is still early).

Here is an article about that.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100301/NEWS01/3010328/Louisville+has+murder-free+February

It isn't clear yet why the rate of deadly violence evaporated in our second month, but for whatever reason I hope that trend continues. In fact, I hope that when we get to January 1, 2011, we will be able to celebrate a year in which there were no murders in February, March...and right on through to the end of the year.

That hope may be in vain, but I do hold onto a wish that the rate of homicides in Louisville Metro continues to be low.

This does have interfaith implications. Death (and especially its subcategory of homicide) is no respecter of persons or religions. All of us need to muscle as much information as we can to help people find non-violent ways to resolve their differences.

The Often Unheard Voice of Muslims Denouncing Violence

Last night I attended the second annual dinner of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Kentucky (CIOK). The dinner program (which was attended by hundreds of people, including Jews and Christians) began with a moment of silence honoring the victims of the massacre that occurred at Ft. Hood last week.

What is remarkable about that is that I often hear people say that Muslims don't acknowledge or denounce violence committed by members of their religion.

In fact they do, and they are speaking out more forcefully and more frequently.

There was an article in last Friday's Courier-Journal in which reporter Peter Smith asked local, regional and national Islamic leaders for comments about the horrifying shootings in Texas. Without exception they all denounced the violence and indicated that no true practitioner of Islam would undertake such a despicable act. Those interviewed included leaders of Louisville-area Mosques (among them, a member of my organization's board: Bashar Masri), the Council of Islamic Organizations of Kentucky, and the Islamic Society of North America (the major national affiliate group for Muslims) among others.

Here is a link to Peter Smith's article, so you can read for yourself.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009911060348

In the recent past the news media often seemed to report only negative things about Muslims. That is starting to change, and I congratulate Peter Smith and the Courier-Journal for seeking out articulate Muslim leaders to help us understand how Muslim Americans really feel. Moreover, the recent statements by mainstream American Muslims underscore for me the fact that our Muslim brothers and sisters each day are moving more deeply into the mainstream of American life and that they embrace the kind of peacemaking values all of us espouse. Or maybe it's just that we are finally beginning to hear about Muslim values and opinions that have been there all along. I suspect the latter is the case.