The message Sunday from a politician, a clergyman, a rabbi and a Muslim activist to a Jewish congregation in Uptown that saw its synagogue recently defaced by anti-Semitic graffiti was the same: A hate crime against one group is a crime against all humanity.

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today urged Americans of all faiths to pray for the safety of 13 West Virginia coal miners trapped underground since early Monday.

The Hanania household has a curio cabinet adorned with a menorah and Torah, doorways with hanging mezuzahs (a tiny scroll for blessings and luck) and an elaborate ketubah marking a Jewish marriage.

The high holidays are behind us, together with their emotional and spiritual peaks. Whether these peaks occurred in a synagogue, outside in a Sukkah, or on a street filled with dancing Torahs, they have all left their mark. How they will shape our year remains to be seen.

Attendants of the Chicago Interfaith Gathering Symposium hope to explore and build toward solutions to this question at this year’s gathering at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Augustana Chapel, Nov. 10-11.

In the spirit of unity, people of many cultures gathered Oct. 5 to experience an evening of Muslim tradition. Officials and residents from Burr Ridge, Darien, Willowbrook and Oak Brook met at Ashton Place in Willowbrook for a meal and program hosted by the Muslim Educational and Cultural Center of America.

CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director, Yaser Tabbara, spoke today at the Muslim Educational and Cultural Center’s (MECCA) third annual interfaith Iftar (breaking of the fast) marking the first day of Ramadan.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that the Muslim community in Chicago’s Southwestern Suburbs is marking the start of Ramadan by opening its doors to neighbors, interfaith leaders, law enforcement and elected officials.

The growing commitment of religious leaders to capitalize on their traditions and holidays as a form of outreach to other faith groups is a wonderful example of the good that comes out of religion (“3 major faiths mark overlapping October holidays,” Sept. 30).

On Friday, September 9, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will host an interfaith candlelight vigil at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., to mark the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.