Religious Leaders of All Major Faiths and Elected Officials Come Together to Condemn Islamophobia

​America United Against Hatred and Bigotry, a press conference hosted by the American Muslim Peace Initiative, brought together representatives from all of Hartford’s major faith communities, as well as elected officials, on December 14, 2015 at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Leaders including Howard Sovronsky, President and CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Rabbi Debra Cantor, B’nai Tikvoh Shalom, Steve Ginsberg, Director, CT Regional Office, AntiDefamation League and Steve Glassman, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of CT. All joined leaders of the Muslim and other faith communities to stand united against hatred and facilitate a forum of mutual respect, collaboration and support.

The state of religiously based violence has increased exponentially both at home and abroad. Ignorance, prejudice, misunderstanding and fear abound and lead to separation, mistrust, hate and violence. There is an ever-increasing need for cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different traditions and religions.

The state’s Muslim leaders reinforced their loyalty to the United States, while political and other religious leaders from the Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Sikh faiths all stood in solidarity with the Muslim Community. These Muslim leaders also made their condemnation of ISIS clear, and acknowledged that ISIS’s actions have created a prejudice against Muslims in the U.S.​