URI has issued a new tool kit to promote religious tolerance and respect for diversity in the United States around the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.
“The time has come for us to really heal the wounds of 9-11,” said URI Executive Director Charles Gibbs. “We won’t achieve that by marginalizing the Muslims in our midst; we’ll achieve that by embracing them as valued members of our community, in the spirit of a nation founded on the principles of religious freedom and hospitality.”
The tool kit, Actions for Interfaith Solidarity, offers ideas for individual and group activities to bridge religious divides and build relationships of trust. They include direct outreach, interfaith gatherings, community service projects and social networking. The tool kit also includes resources for learning about Islam and reaching out to legislators and the media. An abbreviated tool card is also available.
The ideas in the tool kit are culled from the work of URI’s nearly 50 member organizations in the United States and Canada—from Los Angeles to Seattle to New York—who have been healing divided communities and promoting interfaith cooperation for more than ten years.
