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December 1, 2005 ADAMS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IMAM MOHAMED MAGID AND FELLOW PROMINENT CHRISTIAN, JEWISH, & MUSLIM LEADERS MEET WITH SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE TO ENCOURAGE BOLD EFFORTS TO REDUCE GLOBAL POVERTY THROUGH AID AND TRADE

WASHINGTON-Prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, including Imam Mohamed Magid, met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today to urge progress on the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations at the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting. Leaders also encouraged the administration to propose a $5 billion increase for poverty-focused development assistance in the president's FY 2007 budget request. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society(ADAMS) believes it is important to work together as Faith Communities for helping make this world a better place. Charity is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Imam Mohamed Magid said “Helping the poor and the needy in underdeveloped countries means we will be sharing our beautiful American and Faith values of helping people in need.” ADAMS is honored to work with Bread for the World and other Faith groups in this honorable cause. ADAMS is on the Board of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, Fairfax Faith Communities in Action, and Reston Interfaith Pantry and Shelter. "Progress on the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations is important to poor people around the world," said Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick met separately with President Bush about the Doha negotiations just before he joined other religious leaders for the meeting with Secretary Rice. "The administration has put a strong proposal on the table in the Doha negotiations," said the Rev. David Beckmann. "We hope President Bush and other world leaders will go the extra mile to achieve a breakthrough this month." Agricultural issues are at the center of current negotiations. A recent Bread for the World Institute report argues that the current system of agricultural subsidies and protection contributes to the persistence of hunger and poverty in the developing world. It is also not the best way to help struggling families and struggling communities in rural areas of the United States.

Religious leaders urged:
* Elimination of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies;
* expanded market access for poor-country products;
* freedom for poor countries to determine how they liberalize their economies; and,
* increased assistance to help poor countries develop their capacity to participate in trade.

Faith leaders also encouraged the administration to live up their pledges of aid to developing nations. "We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it," President Bush declared when he announced the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) initiative in 2002. The president promised major new funding for the MCA and his HIV/AIDS initiative. At this summer's G8 Summit, he promised to double U.S. development assistance to Africa by 2010. But funding has fallen short of the president's promises. Congress is approving less than half the increase in poverty-focused development assistance that the president requested for FY 2006. Currently, the United States spends less than one half of 1 percent of our federal budget on reducing global poverty and addressing the crisis of AIDS. The administration is right now putting together their budget request for FY 2007, and the religious leaders urged Secretary Rice to be bold. Bread for the World and many religious bodies will join together in a major grassroots campaign to win a $5 billion increase in poverty-focused development assistance for FY 2007. "Trade and aid are both important," said Rev. Beckmann. "Aid can help poor countries participate in trade, and changes in trade policy can open opportunities for struggling people around the world to earn a decent living."

Faith leaders who attended the meeting:
Rev. David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World
Rabbi Frederick Mark Dobb, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
Imam Mohamed HagMagid, Executive Director and Imam, All Dulles Area Muslim Society
Bishop Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplin, Georgetown University
Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Catholic Archbishop of Washington
Bishop Roy I. Sano, Executive Secretary, United Methodist Council of Bishops
Bishop Monroe R. Saunders Jr., Presiding Bishop, The United Church of Jesus Christ, Apostolic
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, Secretary General, Islamic Society of North America
Dr. H. Eric Schockman, President, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Dr. Daniel Vestal, Coordinator, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Rabbi Jeffrey A. Wohlberg, Adas Israel Congregation.
All Dulles Area Muslim Society(ADAMS) is one of the largest Muslim communities/mosques in the DC Metro Area and in the United States. ADAMS is a non profit 501c(3) Organization. ADAMS serves over 5000 families and has 7 branches(Sterling/Herndon, Tysons Corner, Fairfax, Reston, Leesburg, Ashburn, and South Riding) in Northern Virginia. ADAMS Center is governed by a 13-member democratically elected board of trustees comprising of men and women. ADAMS engages in regular interfaith, government relations, social services, and community service. ADAMS has one of the largest Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Girl Scout programs in the DC Metro area.