The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, has joined a number of other religious groups in signing a statement to the Department of Energy opposing a plan to rebuild the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The statement in part says:
As religious leaders in the United States, we firmly oppose the administration’s multi-billion dollar plan to rebuild the nation’s nuclear weapons capabilities through the Department of Energy’s Complex Transformation proposal. The administration’s plans to rebuild the U. S. nuclear weapons production capacity is dangerous and expensive, and could reignite an arms race, encourage proliferation, and reduce national security. We believe that to restart U. S. nuclear warhead production and possibly build new weapons as called for by the Energy Department’s preferred plan, will risk the lives of the entire human family. We urge our political leaders to follow instead the course outlined by statesmen George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn by taking immediate and deliberate steps toward multilateral nuclear disarmament.
The statement concludes with a notable bit of language:
We hope and pray that all Americans will take advantage of this moment and join us as we work toward the total elimination of these weapons of mass destruction.
Others groups signing the statement included the National Council of Churches which has been cooperating with ISNA on an interfaith project and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Previous posts have discussed the increasingly warm relationship between ISNA and a major Reform Jewish organization.