Religious communities must stop blessing war and violence...
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| March 13, 2010, at 07:41 AM | ICUJP: Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace / Main / HomePage |
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HomePageINTERFAITH COMMUNITIES UNITED FOR JUSTICE AND PEACERethink Afghanistan ScreeningBrave New Films and ICUJP Host a Screening and Panelcenter Sunday, January 10, 2010  (link to pdf of flyer) Panelists: Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald, and Gene Smith, Deputy Director for Congressman Howard Berman St. Michaels and All Angels Church $20 Admission Position Statement on Afghanistan/PakistanExecutive Summary November 2009 Guiding Principles and Purpose ICUJP - Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, rooted in the belief that religious communities must stop blessing war and violence, seeks to be an alternative voice to the “war on terrorism” and to speak truth to power as the U.S. government continues its policy of military intervention in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have not forgotten the enormity of the evil unleashed on America on September 11, 2001. As we said in opposing the bombing of Afghanistan in October 2001, we are deeply troubled and profoundly saddened that the cries for retaliation have taken us into war, further widening the suffering and destruction. In bringing to justice those who are instruments of evil, we should not become the evil we deplore. Eight years after the United States began bombing Afghanistan we are no closer to solving the problem of “terrorism” but much closer to destroying a nation that has already suffered deeply. This is a war over oil and pipelines, a war for empire, a war that squanders resources desperately needed for health and education, a war that has created hundreds of thousands of widows and orphans. It is a war utterly inconsistent with the highest teachings of our religious traditions. We reaffirm the guiding principles we articulated in January 2002, representing the core of our sacred traditions, which we reaffirm today: (1) the power of love to overcome hatred; (2) the power of mercy to conquer vengeance; (3) the celebration of our common humanity and the sacredness of human life; and (4) our calling to build a just, equitable, and peaceful world. As we said at that time: “Religious communities must lead the peacemaking enterprise and must speak boldly against the glorification of war and military solutions and against policies that degrade our brothers and sisters in the human family and exacerbate suffering. History has shown clearly that war does not offer the security we all seek. War squanders human talents, resources, and lives and diverts constructive uses of human will, energy, ingenuity, and intelligence to destructive purposes. As a solution to the problems of the 21st century, war is preposterous.” (January 2002 and affirmed today in 2009). Strategic Initiatives for Peace Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace proposes seven strategic initiatives that we believe are constructive and effective steps toward a just long-term peace. 1. Stop the bombing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We call for the removal of all US military forces and bases from the region in accordance with the most rapid feasible timeline. 2. Let non-military strategies lead the way. Listen to those who have struggled to help the Afghan people for so long – for example, World Vision, Red Crescent, Mercy Corps, Women for Afghan Women, RAWA, Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam, Tearfund, Christian Aid, Church World Service, Greg Mortensen, and many others. Listen to the voices of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. 3. Rid the world of weapons of mass destruction. Whether in the hands of governments or terrorists, nuclear weapons remain a mortal threat to world peace and security. We call on the US government to take concrete steps in leading the way toward ridding the world of all weapons of mass destruction. 4. Create a Department of Peace. As a balance to the enormous Federal government agencies of the Pentagon, Homeland Security, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and State Department, the proposed Department of Peace will be charged with peace education, actions and advocacy as well as the full agenda of dismantling the world-wide U.S. government’s military footprint, including within the United States. This means shutting down the 700-1000 foreign U.S. military bases, ending massive U.S. global weapons sales and transfers, and shifting the Federal government’s military and spying budgets to public education, public health, public housing, public arts programs, and other critical public institutions. 5. Support international peacekeepers and a world court. The US must recognize the World Court as the appropriate judicial body to conduct inquiries and trials of those accused of international terrorism. An effective peacekeeping police force under the control of the United Nations would be more appropriate than military intervention to conduct police actions such as the apprehension of terrorist criminals. 6. Ensure economic justice for all people in the name of human solidarity. We must eradicate the seedbeds of poverty, desperation, and powerlessness. Within the US, social expenditures on education, housing, health care, worker training and retraining are eclipsed by a grossly overblown military budget and the subsidies and bailouts of wealthy corporations and the corporate-leader elite at the expense of workers and the unemployed. In particular we call for: a. Justice for children. The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it creates for its children. Within the US, one-fifth of our children grow up poor, one-third grow up ignorant and millions are afflicted with poor health and without medical insurance. What happens to many, many children elsewhere in the world is even more scandalous and violates all of our sacred stories. Those who perpetuate the war economy must recognize that the poorest of the poor are our children.
b. Justice for workers. We call for the United States to be a moral superpower, ensuring universal health care, quality education, affordable housing, a living wage, the right to organize, and a clean environment. We note in particular the need for an end to all racism, xenophobia, and the super-exploitation of immigrant workers.
7. Protect civil liberties. Fundamental civil liberties must not suffer further from the great tragedy of September 11, 2001. We must repudiate and quell the fears and the reactionary legislative and judicial measures – such as the USA-PATRIOT Act -- that continue to erode civil liberties in the US. Incursions into the right of privacy and the use of secret detention and military tribunals undermine freedom of speech and of assembly, freedom from discrimination, freedom from secret courts based on secret evidence, and freedom from selective seizure of assets without due process. 8. Guard human rights. Neither the U.S. government nor international agencies should be allowed to take advantage of the current crisis to justify or intensify crackdowns on political opponents or religious groups or to advance unwarranted or punitive policies against refugees, asylum-seekers, and other non-citizens. At the same time we condemn the cynical use of human-rights rhetoric to justify military intervention. We most urgently demand an immediate end to the use of torture by all parties, especially the US government, and the prosecution of those who have ordered, sanctioned, or carried it out. ConclusionThe range of policies being considered at present by the US in relation to Afghanistan and Pakistan is apparently driven by geopolitics and is dangerously limited to military options, all of them unacceptable. It is urgent that we speak truth to power, no matter who is in power, and work for an end to US military intervention in the region. At the same time we must step up our efforts to envision and to build alternatives to the war machine. We call upon people of faith to join us in this challenging endeavor to create a new world in which terrorism finds no home and in which, as our sacred traditions demand, we treat our fellow human beings with dignity and generosity, mercy and love, and embrace our calling to be the world’s preeminent champions of peace and justice. Violence cannot yield peace. Instead, we call for an active, courageous, rational, and intelligent response to violence, a response that explores and offers alternatives to the destructive and ultimately ineffectual means typically employed to resolve complex global problems. We call for focused and effective humanitarian assistance and development. As members of religious communities from a diversity of faith traditions, we look to that divine spirit, to that we hold most holy, to strengthen, guide, and sustain us in this mission. - Historical Perspective on Wars in AfghanistanFriday, November 13, 2009, 7:00 a.m. Corporal Dr. Chuck O'Connell, Professor of Sociology, University California, Irvine, speaking on wars in Afghanistan throughout history. Immanuel Presbyterian Church (side entrance) 3300 Wilshire Blvd. L.A. 90010 @ Berendo St. FREE, Limited Early Bird Parking in Rear Jake Diliberto SpeaksFriday, October 30th, 2009, 7:00 a.m. Corporal Jake Diliberto, USMC (Discharged) speaks about his experience in Afghanistan. Immanuel Presbyterian Church (side entrance) 3300 Wilshire Blvd. L.A. 90010 @ Berendo St. FREE, Limited Early Bird Parking in Rear War, Violence & ReligionMonday, July 20th, 2009, from 7:00 p.m - 9:30 p.m. Rev. Dr. James Lawson
…whom Dr. Martin Luther King called “the leading theorist and strategist on non-violence in the world” Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr.
Emeritus Professor, Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate School, Co-founder, Progressive Christians Uniting Milia Islam-Majeed, Executive Director of the South Coast Interfaith Council, will present the Closing Prayers.
What: An important dialogue of the times and a call to action. Two historical figures of the Civil Rights Movement and Theology discuss the explosive topic of "War, Violence and Religion."
Is war and violence justified by any of our Religious/Spiritual traditions when done in the
service of combating oppression, tyranny, injustice or in self defense? ICUJP invites you
to witness and explore these and related issues with Q & A.
When: Monday, July 20 - 7:00 - 9:30 PM (ICUJP meets every Friday Morning - 7:00-9:00 AM - same location)
Where: Immanuel Presbyterian Church (side entrance) 3300 Wilshire Blvd. L.A. 90010 @ Berendo St.
FREE, Limited Early Bird Parking in Rear (Alternative Parking @ UTLA Structure - Berendo St. - North of Wilshire)
CARPOOLS are being arranged. Call 213-748-1643 or email icujp@pacbell.net and indicate your starting area.
Statement On the Crisis in Gaza and IsraelICUJP-INTERFAITH COMMUNITIES UNITED FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE firmly believes that people of faith and conscience must speak out against war and violence. WE INSIST that every human life is sacred and mourn the loss of Israeli and Palestinian life in the conflict in Gaza and Israel where the overwhelming burden has been borne by civilians. Over 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, according to the New York Times (1/19/09) have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on December 27, 2008 and each day brings news of more tragedies. Our shared faith history teaches us that the suffering of the oppressed can never be equated with the suffering of the oppressor. To remain silent in the face of this ever-increasing level of violence directed overwhelmingly against noncombatants is to give legitimacy to an intolerable situation. Full Text: 01.21.09.gaza.pdf ICUJP Convenes Third Interfaith Anti-Torture EventICUJP held its third anti-torture program at Temple Beth Shir Sholom on January 11, 2009, the 7th anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Prison, featuring Rabbi Neil Comess Daniels, Rev Louis Chase, Michael Rapkin, Esq., who represented a detainee at Guantanamo, and Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak. The event was co-sponsored by the Islamic Shura Council and Rabbis for Human Rights, under the auspices of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Israel Policy Forum: Proposal for Obama's First 100 DaysICUJP is encouraging you to view Proposal to the President-Elect for the First 100 Days in the Arab-Israeli Dispute and the Crisis in Gaza. This policy paper argues for the President-Elect to spend considerable attention to the current crisis. Upcoming Events:NEWS FLASHOn the evening of November 23rd at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, a call was delivered. People of faith and good will were called to face squarely the reality that torture has worked its way like a deadly virus into the bloodstream of American life. We were challenged to see our own complicity and to take decisive action. Speakers shared insights arising from the core principles of faith, personal experience of torture, and candid reflection on the recent and long history of a U.S. society that has tolerated this assault on human dignity and the national soul. Within the soaring majesty of the cathedral, as the panel deliberated and as a sublime Evensong service progressed, the mandate to see, to reflect, and to act was compelling. Jon Bruno, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, shared that he had devised a recommendation that a certain church body debate the merits of issuing a strong denunciation of torture. He decided instead to drop the written recommendation in the waste basket and simply state that there is no debating this issue. Torture under any circumstances is wrong. This is not up for debate. In this spirit of clarity, we move ahead. If you have not yet signed on to the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, please go to NRCAT.org. This website will provide all you need to become part of the national campaign. For local support and cooperative action, email us at ICUJP@pacbell.net. We of ICUJP are grateful to our hardworking co-sponsors for the St. John's event: Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Peace and Justice Commission, Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns (also of the diocese), Progressive Christians Uniting, and the St.John's Peace and Justice Committee. We are grateful to our speakers: Rev. Canon Henry Atkins, Dr. Sarah Sentilles, Dr. Glen Stassen, Eisha Mason, as well as Rev. Dr. Gwynne Guibord, panel moderator and Bishop Jon Bruno, Evensong Homilist. We appreciate the ongoing support of our original partners in this campaign: National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) and Islamic Shura Council. We also are indebted to the diligence of Virginia Classick. Active with Progressive Christians Uniting, she also serves on the national board of NRCAT Action Fund. Please note that this was the second of three major events, each of which is in the venue of a different faith tradition: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism respectively. The next event, sponsored by Rabbis for Human Rights, Islamic Shura Council, and ICUJP, will be at Temple Beth Shir Sholom, Santa Monica, January 11, 2 p.m. Contact ICUJP@pacbell.net for more information. Position Statement: Campaign Against TortureAN INVITATION TO Join in the Struggle Against Torture “The voice of the faith community cannot be silent in the face of torture. The soul of the country is at stake.” Dr. George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace invites you to join in the rising tide of organized resistance to the use of torture. This cruel, inhuman, degrading practice has become an integral part of the US “war on terror.” Torture is universally condemned by people of faith and conscience as a violation of our most deeply held values. ICUJP has joined with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, Progressive Christians Uniting, Rabbis for Human Rights, the American Friends Service Committee and many other groups in seeking an end to torture. Please see the announcements below and lend your support. Past events:A CONFERENCE!!!Afghanistan: Obama’s Iraq?  As US bombs rained down on Afghanistan in October 2001, interfaith voices called for "justice, not vengeance" and insisted that 'religious communities must stop blessing war and violence'. Now, with additional US troops on their way to that war-ravaged country, it's again time to speak out and to act. As we continue to insist on the complete withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq, we must do the same with respect to Afghanistan. We must urgently take action while preparing to carry out a long-term struggle to dismantle the war system. Let us begin to create a culture of peace, based on social and economic justice, that will bring our world at last into one Beloved Community. This important conference will feature keynote speaker Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK and the Afghan Women’s Mission. It will address multiple dimensions of the expanding war in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, including:
We invite members of faith communities, students, peace activists, veterans and military personnel, and others to join us for a program of speakers, films, workshops, and action plans. Download the Flyer! Escalating the occupation of Afghanistan "will bleed us of the resources needed for economic recovery, further destabilize Pakistan, open a rift with our European allies and negate our improved image in the Muslim world prompted by our withdrawal from Iraq. Escalation will not increase US security or secure a better future for the Afghan people - indeed, more troops will certainly mean more dead civilians....Up to this point, the Afghan war belonged to George W. Bush, but Obama's escalation threatens to make it his own. There's still time to change direction. President Obama, don't make this your war!" --Katrina Vanden Heuvel, "Obama's War?" The Nation, March 9, 2009
sponsored by SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2009, 2-4 p.m. Please join us at Temple Beth Shir Sholom for a special afternoon with Attorney Michael Rapkin as he shares about his experience of defending Guantanamo Bay inmate Yousuf Abdullah Al-Rabaish; work on a text study with local rabbis on "The Question of Self-Defense and the Ticking Bomb"; and come away as a community committed to end torture. This event is co-sponsored with Rabbis for Human Rights and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. Temple Beth Shir Sholom 1827 California Avenue, Santa Monica 90403 Sunday, November 23, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Evensong following Panelists:
Moderator: Rev. Dr. Gwynne Guibord Preacher at Evensong: The Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno\\
Held at: Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m.Keynote Speaker: Chaplain James YeeHeld at IMAN Center This event was one of a series of events related to our ongoing Stop Torture Campaign Saturday, October 18, at 10 a.m.Dr. Wayne Cornelius: Encuentro EventSaturday, October 18 at 10 a.m. at Throop Church in Pasadena. 300 S. Los Robles Ave. Pasadena, CA 91101 (626) 795-8625 Sunday, October 12, at 2 p.m.Dr. Helen Caldicott: The Presidential Campaign and the Fate of the EarthSunday, October 12 at 2 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Long Beach. 241 Cedar Avenue Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 436-2256 Click here for flyer with full details (PDF file). MPAC document dissects the "Obsession" propaganda videoPart of the "Truth Over Fear: Countering Islamophobia" campaign.Please take the time to look over this pdf file to understand the scope of the attack and what we can, and must, do to counter it! Tom HaydenWar & Politics in the Era of ObamaFriday Morning, April 3 - 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM Former politician and always activist Tom Hayden delivers a critical analysis on post Bush reconstruction, Obama’s challenge and civic responsibility followed by Q & A ICUJP Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and any donation is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. War Is Not The Answer ~ Religious Communities Must Stop Blessing War & Violence |
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