3 Faiths Find Common Ground Against War in Iraq

3 Faiths Find Common Ground Against War in Iraq

Religious leaders form Interfaith Peacemaking Project in an
effort to affect U.S. policy.

By Stephen Clark
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 10, 2006

The buttoned-down Episcopalian minister was the first to
stand up and introduce himself. Then came a Jew wearing a
yarmulke. Then a Palestinian Christian attired in black
clericals. Next, a Muslim cloaked in an aqua hijab.

On and on they went, 50 people representing three faiths,
their clothing a reminder of their differences but their
presence a sign of unifying goals: to oppose the war in
Iraq, change U.S. foreign policy and find common ground
among three religions.

They gathered in a large meeting room at All Saints
Episcopal Church in Pasadena on Monday as part of the
Interfaith Peacemaking Project, a new initiative that aims
to rally Christians, Jews and Muslims against the war. They
began their work by critiquing a speech they heard the night
before by James Carroll, an author, former Catholic priest
and, now, antiwar activist.

Carroll was the first of three speakers scheduled for this
year. Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious
Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Iranian human rights
attorney Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, are the
other two. Their talks are intended to lay the groundwork
for the peace initiative -- and to prompt frank discussions
among members of the three faiths all linked to the prophet
Abraham.

"We're trying to start a new expression of what religion is
about," said the Rev. George Regas, rector emeritus of All
Saints and head of the project.

In his speech before 900 people packed into All Saints,
Carroll blamed religious differences for conflict, contempt
and violence, including the war in Iraq. But he said it is
possible -- and necessary -- for religions to find common
ground without compromising the integrity of their traditions.

"We are neighbors now," he said. "And as neighbors, we can
no longer define ourselves by the absolutes of bygone eras.

"Peace among religions is the only way to peace," Carroll
added, calling on each religion to abandon its supremacy
stance and critique itself.

"'My God is greater than your God.' No. 'Jihad vs. Crusade.'
No -- please, God, no," Carroll said to a standing ovation.

Responding to Carroll's lecture was a panel of three
religious leaders that largely agreed with him and expanded
on some of his points: Regas; Maher Hathout, senior advisor
for the Muslim Public Affairs Council; and retired Rabbi
Leonard Beerman. Connie Rice, a civil rights attorney,
represented secular humanists.

The interfaith movement is not new. After 9/11, many
interfaith groups around the country supported antiwar
efforts or expressed solidarity with Muslims and Arab Americans.

One group that won attention for its efforts was the
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, founded
by Regas. It sponsored conferences and speakers, and helped
coordinate antiwar marches in Southern California.

But observers say the group's status has diminished. Even
Regas acknowledges that it lacks deep involvement from the
Jewish and Muslim communities, making the coalition launched
this week necessary.

"This is just another effort at a new level," Regas said.

Coalition leaders, who acknowledged that the antiwar efforts
have lacked urgency and momentum, noted that the modern
civil rights movement and the fight against the Vietnam War
took years to gain national prominence. They believe their
movement is finally taking off.

All Saints Church has built a reputation for its left-wing
political activism, which has sometimes led to trouble. In
2004, on the eve of the presidential election, Regas
delivered an antiwar sermon that triggered an investigation
into the church's tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue
Service. No action has been taken yet.

Still, All Saints has not slowed its political pace.

The Monday participants split up into groups, dissected
Carroll's speech and bounced ideas off one other. The goal:
produce a draft of an interfaith charter, which will be sent
to the 900 people who heard Carroll speak. Those people have
until September to respond, when the next speaker's
appearance is scheduled.

The 50 participants hope to complete the draft within nine
months.

The ultimate goal is to send the charter to faith
communities across Los Angeles as a teaching tool.

The participants agreed that, besides the quest for peace,
the doctrines of morality and forgiveness linked the three
faiths. But they struggled to reconcile diverse viewpoints
in their own religions and sometimes veered off into
political and religious discussions that bore little
relevance to the task at hand.

Some Muslims complained that Christians were hypocritical
when they condemned Muslim outrage over cartoons of Muhammad
yet got upset over certain depictions of their religion.
Some Jews charged that the news media exclude them from
coverage of religion. Some Christians rejected the notion
that they fall into two categories -- right wing or left wing.

Many acknowledged the herculean task of working across
religious lines and ending a war.

"We don't see one another. We see what we've been taught to
see," said Susan Alderman, a Reform Jew and a peace activist
who has protested with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas. But
she added, "If we don't learn how to live on this tiny
planet, we're going to destroy it. So we have to try."

Although the discussions remained largely polite and
subdued, sparks occasionally flew. At the table where the
mission statement was being written, the Rev. Ed Bacon,
rector of All Saints, suggested saying that religious
leaders were trying to reclaim their religions that had been
hijacked.

"I'm not trying to reclaim religion. I'm trying to reclaim
the discourse," said Hussam Ayloush, director of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations. He agreed that terrorists
have received too much attention but didn't believe that
Islam had been hijacked. "We just feel we don't have the
same chance to express our views."

"I believe Christianity has been hijacked," Bacon shot back.
"And they're in the White House."

Bacon and other participants were upbeat about the
discussions and work so far. But the previous night offered
a reminder that bridging theological gaps isn't easy.

"I have the same skepticism for organized religion that I do
for organized crime," said Rice, the secular humanist.

She wondered how unity was possible when each religion
believes in ancient texts that declare the supremacy of that
faith's God. Throughout history, she said, such declarations
have led to violence. "How do you get beyond that hurdle?"
she asked.

Beerman, the rabbi, took exception to Rice's crime comparison.

"Disorganized religion is the thing to worry about, Connie,
not organized religion," he said, drawing laughs.

Then the discussion veered into other directions, Rice's
question never answered as the night wore on.


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