Alliance is full of faith in Utah

As the whole nation struggles with anger and fear in the wake of the Sept. 11 disasters, Utah suffers from its own deep divisions. Those troubles, say two of the state's most powerful citizens, prevent us from progressing.

Jon Huntsman Sr. and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, men who sit at opposite ends of the political spectrum, have formed the Alliance for Unity to bridge the divides between Utah's faith communities, political parties and ethnic groups.

But it wasn't last week's events that sparked their efforts. Rather, the alliance first convened five months ago — and its most recent meeting was last Monday, the day before the worst terrorist attack in history.

Huntsman, an industrialist, philanthropist and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, once served as a special assistant to former President Richard Nixon. He is an ardent Republican. Anderson, an equally fervent civil libertarian and Democrat, crusades for an overhauled national drug policy and many other liberal causes. The two have been friends for more than 20 years.

"Seldom do we agree on issues," Huntsman said in an interview. "But we respect each other."

The two men hope to serve as examples of how would-be opponents can help a community pursue the common goal of harmony. Huntsman says he has already seen evidence that that's possible.

"Seeing such a disparate group of people come together" during the alliance's two- to three-hour meetings have been "one of the most pleasant experiences of my life," Huntsman said.

But there are only five women among the committee's 18 members. And while the Jewish and Christian faiths are well-spoken for, Utah's Muslim community — including more than 10,000 in the Salt Lake Valley — has no representative.

"We're aware that we're a sampling. And we're a start," said Shelley Thomas, Huntsman's spokeswoman and an alliance member.

"Jon and Rocky started by filling the 18 chairs around one conference table," she added. "There will be projects," Huntsman said, "and major undertakings to unify the community," such as scholarships and programs for low-income families. Committee members have yet to make specific plans for such projects. These first five monthly meetings have been devoted to talking, to "spirited discussions . . . everyone has to speak up, even if they're a little more reserved."