Where is Mikey Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation?
Via Star Tribune:
Minnesota Army National Guard leaders are packing an unexpected item when they head to their annual training camp next month — a lawn sign displaying the words “To Our Muslim Neighbors: Blessed Ramadan.”
The blue signs, part of a campaign launched by Minnesota Council of Churches three years ago, also will be showing up at several thousand churches, individual homes and educational centers across the nation to mark the expected first day of Ramadan May 15.
The campaign’s popularity, including media coverage from as far away as Indonesia, has caught the council by surprise. So did the request by the Minnesota Army National Guard last year for some signs to display at their headquarters — the first such request from an armed service group.
“It’s an opportunity to demonstrate that we support our soldiers, of all religious traditions,” said National Guard chaplain Philip (Buddy) Winn, who will post a sign at Camp Atterbury in Indiana for the annual training event next month.
“We’re extending good will — from our tradition to yours,’’ he said.
National Guard Sargeant Alkali Yaffa, one of about 50 Muslims in the Minnesota guard, called the signs “wonderful.”
“Those signs mean that people are celebrating with us,” Yaffa said. “They may not be fasting, but they are remembering.”
The Minnesota Council of Churches launched the Blessed Ramadan campaign in 2016 not knowing what to expect. But the presidential campaign had sparked anti-Muslim sentiment, and this was a visible way for the public to show their support, said the Rev. Jerad Morey, a council programs director.
The first year, more than 2,200 signs were distributed, mainly in Minnesota but also from coast to coast, said Morey. That’s in addition to signs that could be downloaded for free off the council’s website, a number not tracked.
The humble yard sign soon was showing up on social media and featured in other media ranging from the Voice of America to The Huffington Post to Minnesota news outlets.
About a dozen state councils of churches — organizations that typically represent mainline Protestant churches in each state — ordered them, Morey said. This year, the Councils of Churches in Wisconsin, New York and Oklahoma are new on board.
HT: Webb