MFA Religious Leaders Statement: End the Atrocities in Syria
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MFA RELIGIOUS LEADERS STATEMENT – END THE ATROCITIES IN SYRIA
We are members of the Religious Leaders Circle of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, a project of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. The Multifaith Alliance (www.multifaithalliance.org) is a coalition of more than 75 national and international faith-based and secular organizations committed to ending the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation. We stand with them and raise our voices, providing centuries of moral authority and a call to conscience that reminds us: “Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.” Leviticus 19:16.
The “complete meltdown of humanity” as a consequence of the war in Syria demands that we immediately end the genocide. There are already 400,000 – 500,000 dead. There are 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees. There are 13.5 million in need of humanitarian aid within Syrian borders: 6.6 million are internally displaced; 6 million are children. The numbers are rising daily with the siege of Aleppo: at least 150,000 more refugees can be anticipated. After World War II we promised, “Never Again.” Yet, our world leaders have stood idly by while a 21st century horror is perpetrated against the men, women and children of Syria.
As leaders of the major religions of the United States, representing the collective conscience of Christians, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs – and as the religious leadership of the Multifaith Alliance – we condemn the actions of the perpetrators and the political torpor that has allowed the genocide of Syrians to continue. We summon the leaders of Syria, Russia and Iran to immediately cease the atrocities being committed against the innocent people of Syria and begin to alleviate their pain. We call upon all world leaders to ensure an end to these crimes against humanity and save the people of Syria.
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them and do nothing.” (Albert Einstein)
Rev. Dr. Serene Jones
President
Union Theological Seminary
Bruce Knotts
Director
Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office
Rev. Marcos A. Miranda President
New York State Chaplain Task Force
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik
Executive Vice President
New York Board of Rabbis
Dr. Satpal Singh
Professor
State University of New York at Buffalo
Monsignor Kevin Sullivan
Executive Director
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National Director
Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances
Islamic Society of North America
Imam Dr. Chadi Zaza
President
Rahma Relief Foundation
The Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees is the United States’ leading interfaith response to the Syrian refugee crisis. A coordinating body, network and vehicle for harnessing the power of the faith-based and civil society collective, MFA’s mission is to raise funds in support of organizations that provide direct services to Syrian war victims, heighten awareness of the growing dangers of inadequate responses to the Syrian humanitarian crisis, and plant the seeds for future stability in the region by fostering people-to-people engagement. Comprised of more than 75 participating organizations, MFA enlists the moral authority of religious and civil society leaders to address the ongoing suffering of Syria's war victims and addresses the three great fears that interfere with humane and sensible public policy: economic impact, terrorism and Islamophobia. For more information visit: www.multifaithalliance.org or contact: Marlene Adler (marlene.adler@multifaithalliance.org)
