Declaration of Peace

The following Declaration of Peace was signed in March 2002 by six Lodi religious leaders, including Muhammed Adil Khan, who was one of five Lodi men arrested in the FBI's ongoing terrorism investigation. Khan was arrested on immigration-related charges.

We are six people gathered for a common purpose. Among us are a Jewish Rabbi, a Christian Minister, a Muslim Imam, and a believer from each faith. We acknowledge that fanatics and extremists have, throughout history, committed acts of terror and inhumanity against us all. Together, we repudiate these acts, and declare then to be contrary to our Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths.

We are people of faith who worship God, yet we acknowledge and respect our differences of faith: The Jewish people worship God and await the coming of the Messianic age; Christians worship God as revealed in their Savior, Jesus Christ; Muslims worship God, and believe Muhammad to be his last Prophet.

We want to send a message of reconciliation to the world. Therefore, we seek a day when our three faiths can gather together in the spirit of the words of our religious teachings:

"Our God and your God is one." (Koran 29:46)

"O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth." (Psalm 8)

Today, we seek common ground. We affirm that through our Patriarch Abraham and his sons Isaac and Ishmael, we share a common heritage among our faiths.

Thousands of years ago, when Abraham died, his sons Isaac and Ishmael joined together in peace to bury him in Hebron. We join together in that same spirit as Jews, Christians and Muslims to affirm our common quest for peace, and to celebrate our common heritage. We affirm each other's right to practice his or her faith free from bigotry, intolerance and judgment.

Therefore, this year we will join together in the third week of June, and follow the light of peace, which will show us the way out of conflict. We invite members of all synagogues, churches, and mosques, along with their leaders, and all people of goodwill, to join us.

Dated: March 24, 2002, Lodi, California

Rabbi Jason Gwasdoff
Temple Israel
Stockton, CA

Rev. Norman Mowery
First United Methodist Church
Lodi

Imam Muhammed Adil Khan
Lodi Muslim Mosque/Farooqia Islamic Center

Robert K Kolber
Stockton, CA

Randall W. Rosa
Lodi, CA

Taj M. Khan
Lodi, CA