Leaders from various religious groups invited residents to Trenton to vow to "Stand Up for the Other" in a rally held Sunday afternoon.
TRENTON - Leaders from various faith groups in Trenton invited the community to come out Sunday to take a pledge vowing to "Stand Up for the Other."
The rally - held at the New Jersey State Museum - is also being held in cities around the world, including Paris, Morocco, Berlin, London and New York City.
Walter Ruby speaking at the "stand Up for the Other" rally in Trenton on Sunday Nov. 1. The goal is to get people of different faiths to work together to bring peace and end prejudice.
"We have to pledge to stand together against bigotry and hatred," said Walter Ruby, Muslim-Jewish program director of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
"Especially now, with bigotry and hatred affecting people of all backgrounds," Ruby continued. "People of all faiths have to say 'enough.'"
The pledge, presented by Dr. Ali Chaudry, president of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, states those who sign should not only vow to be tolerant of all religions but to speak out if they hear others being intolerant or hateful.
"How is it all this work we've done for decades on the inter-phase of religions has not produced results?" Chaudry asked the crowd of people sitting in the state museum's auditorium on Sunday.
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The rally featured speeches about the many ways religious prejudice still exists today, such as in politics and on college campuses, and what people can do to help end it.
Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef and Dr. Jonathan Golden spoke about the enormous presence of Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism in America.
Choir performances were held in between speeches at the "Stand Up for the Other" rally on Sunday Nov.1. "Where does this bigotry come from?" Shareef asked. "There is no hatred in religion. There should be no component of hatred shown to someone of another faith. All of us are from that one creator."
The Rev. Darrell La Rue Armstrong - speaking about intolerance in political discourse - called on the audience to go further than confronting prejudice in religion and to stop all hatred.
"God is bigger than our religion," Armstrong said. "God is bigger than our race. God is bigger than our region. Let us not get caught in extremism as well as bigotry, prejudice and hatred."
The rally was organized by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the New Jersey Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee, the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Foundations and the Jewish Catholic Muslim Dialogue of Southern New Jersey.
Along with performances by the Shiloh Baptist Church Choir and the Adath Israel Choir, state senators also were present on Sunday.
"We need to get to know each other not by just name and face but by content," Shareef said. "And that content has beauty."
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
