http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=28966
[Baptist Press News] 22 Sep 2008--The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is urging five religious organizations to cancel a Sept. 25 dinner with Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in conjunction with his visit to the United Nations.
The American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, World Council of Churches, Quaker United Nations Office and Religions for Peace are set to host an "international dialogue" on the topic "Has Not One God Created Us? The Significance of Religious Contributions to Peace" at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan.
"It is our hope that as religious and political leaders, this communal meal and exchange of views will enable us to explore faith perspectives for dealing with global issues such as poverty, war and prejudice while deepening mutual understanding," the invitation to the event said.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and a USCIRF commissioner, is among those scheduled to speak at a rally against the dinner Sept. 25 outside the Grand Hyatt on East 42nd Street starting at 5:30 p.m. The rally, which is to include a number of organizations such as the Jewish Action Alliance and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, also is meant to protest Ahmadinejad's presence at the United Nations and to oppose Iran's nuclear weapons program and threats against Israel.
USCIRF, which recently warned of Iran's plans to impose the death penalty for people convicted of so-called apostasy, wrote a letter to each of the organizations, stating that the invitation and the platform for Ahmadinejad would be counterproductive to the groups' peace goals.
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