WASHINGTON — Just because interfaith, interracial and varied ethnic groups share a common cause doesn’t mean a diverse coalition can hang together. It often takes prayer. And not just a “Bless this group, Amen,” invocation. A new study by three sociologists finds that three out of four interfaith civic coalitions turn to what the sociologists have dubbed “bridging prayer” — interactive, participatory and often innovative prayers and rituals that highlight their shared identity as people of faith. “Shared issues alone don’t necessarily ensure cooperation,” said Ruth Braunstein, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut. “But groups that cannot build a shared culture could find it very difficult to 

LOS ANGELES — It’s Friday night, and patrons are sitting and chatting over plates of tajine and hummus waiting for the evening’s main event, a stand-up comedy show. It could be any nightspot in this city. But a closer look reveals a bolder agenda than just good food and entertainment. The comedy show, part of a long-running series called “The Sultans of Satire,” features Muslim and Jewish comedians with roots in Iran, Afghanistan and Morocco. The room’s

CALGARY, Alberta — In our Calgary Muslim community of more than 60,000 hardworking Canadians, including over 17,000 young Muslims, the loss of even two people to violent extremism is unacceptable. However, a simplistic good Muslim/bad Muslim narrative — like Licia Corbella’s commentary (“Peace-loving Muslims must target radicals,” Opinion, June 14), where she quoted an Environics poll as if it proved the problem was that 12 percent of Canadian Muslims were sympathetic to criminals like the Toronto 18 — is incompatible with creating a robust response to the challenges of violent extremism and terror. If we’re mentioning polls, it’s worthwhile to consider that Gallup’s 2011 poll found that in North America, Christians and Jews are more likely to believe that targeting

SACRAMENTO — Wednesday night, Jews, Muslims and Christians will gather at Congregation B’nai Israel in Land Park to remember one of the most heinous events in Sacramento history – the predawn firebombing of three Sacramento synagogues. Exactly 15 years ago, on Friday, June 18, 1999, two white supremacist brothers, Benjamin Matthew Williams and his younger brother Tyler, set fires at B’nai Israel, Congregation Beth Shalom and Kenesset Israel Torah Center, causing nearly $3 million in damage. The blazes, among the worst acts of anti-Semitism in U.S. history, were followed by the firebombing of an abortion clinic and the murders of a gay couple – Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder – while they slept in their Happy Valley home in rural Shasta County. The brothers pleaded guilty to the slayings, claiming that homosexuality is a sin they had to stamp out. In November 2002, Benjamin Matthew Williams committed suicide in the Shasta County jail. Tyler Williams is serving a 50 years to life sentence for the firebombing and the murders. In response,