Various media sources have reported that a a multi-denominational religious coalition that includes Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, and Islamic groups representing the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood has called for one-day fast to protest against the U.S.-led war in Iraq. One report describes the purpose of the fast as follows:
Organizers say the dawn-to-dusk Oct. 8 fast is intended for U.S. religious communities to act as catalysts to transform the meaning of the day from one of conquest to community, and from violence to reverence.In a statement, organizers asserted, American culture, society and policy are addicted to violence at home and overseas. In our time, the hope of a decent future is endangered by an unnecessary, morally abhorrent, and disastrous war. Ending the war in Iraq, the statement added can become the first step toward a policy that embodies a deeper, broader sense of generosity and community at home and in the world, with the fast being a shared spiritual discipline in a number of religious traditions.The organizers explain that the event is scheduled for October because different faith traditions, in an unusual convergence share a season of sacred self-assessment and self-transformation.
This same report identified the following organizations as sponsors of the fast: the American Friends’ Service Committee, the National Council of Churches, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Episcopal (Anglican) Peace Fellowship, Pax Christi USA, and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. It also appears that the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is supporting the call. Both ISNA and CAIR are major parts of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and previous posts have discussed relationships between the U.S. Brotherhood and religious groups such as the National Council of Churches.