Faith Leaders Launch ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ Campaign

Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders stood united when they launched a brand new ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ campaign in Colorado, U.S.A.

Rabbi Joe Black, ADL board member and senior rabbi of Temple Emanuel; Jeremy Shaver, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Colorado; and Imam Karim Abuzaid, imam of Colorado Muslim Society. Photo: Anti-Defamation League.

The aim of the ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ campaign is to group people of three religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – to counter hateful ads that have been placed on Colorado’s RTD (Regional Transportation District) buses and to respond to recent national tragedies.

In July, a mass shooting in a theatre in Colorado killed 12 people and injured 59. Also, in mid-December at least 27 people, including 18 children, were killed when at least one shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

“Our country is in the midst of a lot of divisions,” Senior Rabbi Joe Black of Temple Emanuel told the Denver Post, adding that “hatred is only going to further violence and the breakdown of society.”

The campaign will place ads, purchased for around $5,000, on buses to promote love instead of hate and will remain on each bus for a month.

The ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ message is “a shared concept in the three religions,” Colorado Muslim Society Imam Karim Abuzaid said.

Religious leaders in Colorado have collaborated before. Leaders have stood together on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.