Interfaith Prayers

I'm going to start a series of weekend posts called "Interfaith Prayers," where we remember people of faith who are suffering or in crisis.

For our prayers this week, let's remember the awful sectarian violence in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims. The second story recounts the revenge-killing of 36 Muslims who had nothing to do with the death of a Buddhist monk. Comments about these stories try to attribute blame, or to point out that one religion has persecuted more people historically than others, or to remind people that Christians are persecuted, too. But I believe we can think of persecution as something that unites (in a horrible way) persons of different faiths in a common human experience. We can pray for victims and families, the cession of violence, and political solutions, regardless of these other concerns.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/28/us-myanmar-violence-idUSBRE94R0P520130528
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/06/massacre-muslims-myanmar_n_3554547.html

There was also a bombing near a mosque in Pakistan this week. http://news.yahoo.com/bomb-hits-shiite-mosque-pakistan-attacks-spread-120724250.html;_ylt=A2KJ2PbBXOFRrAMAJnrQtDMD

In Pakistan, Muslims and especially Christians have been threatened with accusations of blasphemy, as discussed in this article from March. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/09/pakistan-mob-blasphemy-christian-muslim_n_2843853.html

Also, let's remember the ongoing situation in Egypt, including the threat of general violence and sectarian violence. As the second story indicates a Coptic priest was recently killed there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/06/fatwa-egypt-mursi-_n_3555181.html?ref=topbar
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/06/coptic-christian-priest-killed_n_3554234.html