Today in Washington, D.C. (as well as in other cities around the country), the Save Darfur Coalition is sponsoring a large rally to urge U.S. leaders to take more action to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur. As reported by yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, religious leaders from Jewish, Muslim and Christian groups have been at the forefront of the Save Darfur movement. The Baltimore Sun calls this "the broadest coalition of faith-based groups ever assembled for a political cause". American Jewish World Service has take a leading role in the campaign. Its president, Ruth Messinger, along with 5 members of Congress and 5 others, was arrested on Saturday for demonstrating in front of the Sudanese embassy. The Jewish Holocaust experience has made Darfur a particularly resonant issue in the Jewish community.
There are other religious elements in the Darfur situation. The London Sunday Times points out that the violence in Darfur is Muslim-on-Muslim. It also says that "there have been tensions in the Save Darfur campaign over some American Christian groups' zeal for conversions. After complaints, Sudan Sunrise, a group based in Kansas, last week removed references on its website to its 'one-on-one lifestyle evangelism to Darfurian Muslims living in refugee camps in Chad'."
Meanwhile, yesterday President George W. Bush met with organizers of the Washington rally, saying that the United Nations needs to augment African Union troops already in Sudan. In his statement following their talks, Bush said that the U.S. is working through NATO to respond to the situation, and added, "those of you who are going out to march for justice, you represent the best of our country."
