The Neighborhood Interfaith Movement (NIM) Presents Interfaith Advocate Daisy Khan and Local Religious Leaders in Celebration of the Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- This Sunday January 16, NIM is featuring Daisy Khan at its upcoming 28th Annual Interfaith Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Khan, who heads the American Society for Muslim Advancement and along with her husband Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf the development of the Muslim Community Center "Park51" near Ground Zero.  The event is being held for the first time in Center City at the Arch Street Presbyterian Church (1724 Arch St.), symbolizing NIM's widening role throughout Philadelphia. It will include a remembrance of those recently killed in Arizona, a terrifying wake-up call for the utter necessity of the kind of mutual respect which Martin Luther King devoted his life to.

The two hour program titled "We'll Walk Hand In Hand," begins at 3:00 pm and focuses on a presentation by and responses to Ms. Khan from a diverse interfaith panel, including Rabbi Eli Freedman (Congregation Rodeph Shalom), Imam Abdul Halim Hassan (immediate past Imam of Masjid Mohammad), Reverend Lamont Wells (Reformation Lutheran Church), and Losang Samten, Rinpoche (Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center).  Three city choirs and local youth will intersperse lively music and excerpts from MLK speeches throughout the event.

Rabbi George Stern, Executive Director of NIM, stated, "In light of the recent tragic events in Arizona, we hope that it is clear to all that mutually respectful dialogue is the only way forward. Opening people's hearts and minds to difference is hard work, and Daisy Khan is a wonderful partner to have in this effort." Rabbi Stern continued, "One thing is certain: If you give up on dialogue, you're giving up on Dr. King's vision.  Martin Luther King gave his life to the cause of nonviolent change, and that change begins with learning how to listen openly to one another."

Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center will present Ms. Khan with the Center's "Prophetic Voice" Award, which annually honors individuals who have acted for peace, social justice and healing of the earth in science, politics, religious life and the arts. "From our perspective, the calm fortitude Ms. Khan has shown in pursuing this path despite slander and threats is in the best tradition of the ancient Prophets, as well as such modern prophetic voices as Dr. King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, his friend, co-worker, and co-organizer," said Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director of The Shalom Center.

NIM, an organization allied with 58 Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Unitarian congregations, has quietly become one of the most effective and influential non-profits in the city, providing services to half of all nursing home and other long-term care facility residents and childcare training programs that affect one in eleven children throughout the city. "Our success is a direct result of our commitment to uniting diverse groups. Interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue is not theoretical to us; it enables us to build bridges and, for example, create effective childcare training programs across the city," stated Rabbi Stern. NIM has been wildly successful throughout the worst economy since the Great Depression, increasing its staff by a third and nearly doubling its budget over the past year.  

SOURCE Neighborhood Interfaith Movement