>>> COMING UP -- FRED DE SAM LAZARO ON ONE MINNESOTA MUSLIM'S FIGHT AGAINST RADICAL ISLAMIST RECRUITMENT.

>>> AND 50 YEARS LATER, KIM LAWTON LOOKS AT THE CONTINUING LEGACY OF THE VOTING RIGHTS MARCHES IN ALABAMA.

>>> PLUS, BAHAI'S FASTING IN SPIRITUAL PREPA CUSTOMIZED INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP RETIREMENT PRODUCTS.

>> WELCOME.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US.

THE NATION'S LARGEST PRESBYTERIAN DENOMINATION, THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH U.S.A., GAVE ITS FORMAL APPROVAL THIS WEEK TO GAY MARRIAGE.

THE 1.8 MILLION MEMBER DENOMINATION VOTED TO CHANGE ITS CONSTITUTION'S DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE FROM BEING "BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN" TO QUOTE "BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE, TRADITIONALLY A MAN AND A WOMAN."

LAST YEAR THE CHURCH'S GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVED THE CHANGE, WHICH WAS RATIFIED THIS WEEK AFTER RECEIVING THE MAJORITY VOTE FROM LOCAL DISTRICTS.

THE DENOMINATION'S INCREASING OPENNESS TOWARD GAYS IN RECENT YEARS HAS DIVIDED CHURCHES AND CAUSED MANY CONSERVATIVES TO LEAVE.

OTHER DENOMINATIONS THAT OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE GAY MARRIAGE INCLUDE THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST AND THE UNITARIANS.

THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA DOES ALLOW CLERGY TO PERFORM GAY WEDDINGS ACCORDING TO THEIR CONSCIENCE.

>>> U.S.

RELIGIOUS GROUPS HAD VARIED REACTIONS TO THIS WEEK'S ELECTIONS IN ISRAEL.

SOME WERE PLEASED BY PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU'S VICTORY.

THEY PRAISED HIS STRONG STAND AGAINST TERRORISM AND IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM.

BUT OTHER GROUPS RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF NETANYAHU'S RECENT STATEMENTS, ESPECIALLY HIS SURPRISE POLICY REVERSAL ON A POSSIBLE TWO-STATE SOLUTION IN THE PALESTINIAN CRISIS.

NETANYAHU FIRST SAID THERE WOULD NEVER BE A PALESTINIAN STATE ON HIS WATCH, THEN HE BACKTRACKED, SAYING A PALESTINIAN STATE IS NOT POSSIBLE NOW.

SEVERAL FAITH LEADERS URGED ISRAEL TO KEEP PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD ON THE TABLE AND TO MAINTAIN ITS COMMITMENT TO THE PEACE PROCESS.

>>> FAITH-BASED GROUPS ARE AMONG THOSE MOBILIZING TO HELP VICTIMS OF THIS WEEK'S DEADLY CYCLONE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS OF VANUATU.

TEAMS OF AID WORKERS ARE TRYING TO ASSESS THE EXTENT OF THE DESTRUCTION AND THE DEATH TOLL, BUT THAT'S A CHALLENGING TASK.

MANY OF VANUATU'S MORE THAN 80 ISLANDS ARE ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY BOAT OR HELICOPTER.

OFFICIALS SAY ON SOME ISLANDS, ALMOST ALL BUILDINGS WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED AND CROPS WERE DEVASTATED.

RELIEF GROUPS ARE SENDING IN FOOD, WATER AND TEMPORARY SHELTER AND PLANNING FOR LONG TERM AID.

>>> IN PAKISTAN, PROTESTERS DEMANDED PROTECTION FOR CHRISTIANS IN THE WAKE OF THE SUICIDE BOMBINGS OF TWO CHURCHES IN LAHORE THAT LEFT 17 DEAD AND INJURED MORE THAN 70 OTHERS.

THE PAKISTANI TALIBAN CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COORDINATED ATTACKS AT AN ANGLICAN AND A CATHOLIC CHURCH IN A PREDOMINANTLY CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD.

AT THE VATICAN, POPE FRANCIS DENOUNCED THE BOMBINGS AS PART OF A GLOBAL WAVE OF ANTI- CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE.

>>> INTERFAITH PROTESTS ALSO TOOK PLACE IN INDIA, URGING THAT NATION TO PROTECT ITS CHRISTIAN MINORITY.

LAST WEEK, AN ELDERLY CATHOLIC NUN WAS RAPED DURING AN ASSAULT ON HER CONVENT SCHOOL.

IT WAS THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF ATTACKS AND THREATS AGAINST CHRISTIANS THERE.

THE HEAD OF INDIA'S CATHOLIC BISHOPS SAID HIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE AS CONCERNED ABOUT THE WELFARE OF ITS PEOPLE AS IT IS ABOUT ITS COWS.

MANY OF INDIA'S HINDU MAJORITY CONSIDER COWS SACRED.

>>> ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS HAVE CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SHOCKING ATTACK THIS WEEK ON A MUSEUM IN TUNISIA'S CAPITAL THAT KILLED 23 PEOPLE AND WOUNDED DOZENS MORE.

MOST OF THE VICTIMS WERE FOREIGN TOURISTS.

TWO GUNMEN WERE SHOT AND KILLED, AND TUNISIAN OFFICIALS HAVE ARRESTED AT LEAST NINE OTHERS WHO THEY SAY ARE CONNECTED TO THE ATTACK.

TUNISIA SUCCESSFULLY HELD ITS FIRST DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS LAST YEAR, BUT THE LARGELY MUSLIM COUNTRY HAS SEEN AN UPTICK IN EXTREMISM IN RECENT MONTHS.

ISIS AND OTHER RADICAL ISLAMIST GROUPS HAVE BEEN CREDITED WITH RECRUITING YOUNG MEN, MOSTLY, SOME OF THEM FROM EUROPE AND THE U.S., WITH SKILLFULLY MADE PROPAGANDA VIDEOS.

WE HAVE A STORY TODAY FROM FRED DE SAM LAZARO ABOUT A YOUNG AMERICAN MUSLIM WHO IS MAKING HIS OWN VIDEOS TO FIGHT BACK.

HE GOES BY THE NAME OF AVERAGE MOHAMED.

>> Reporter: IN GEOGRAPHY, CULTURE, AND CERTAINLY CLIMATE, MINNESOTA SEEMS ABOUT AS DISTANT AS ONE CAN GET FROM THE HORN OF AFRICA.

YET MINNESOTA IS HOME TO MORE 30,000 SOMALIS, THE LARGEST SUCH COMMUNITY IN THE U.S.

MOST ARE REFUGEES FROM A WAR-TORN NATION THAT'S LONG BEEN A HAVEN FOR ISLAMIST EXTREMISTS.

GROUPS LIKE THE AL QAEDA-LINKED AL SHABAAB AND ISLAMIC STATE, OR ISIS, HAVE TARGETED THIS COMMUNITY, MAINLY THROUGH VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET.

THE FBI SAYS UP TO 40 YOUNG MEN FROM MINNESOTA HAVE TRAVELED TO SOMALIA OR SYRIA SINCE 2007.

>> HE WAS THE SECOND KNOWN AMERICAN KILLED WHILE FIGHTING FOR ISIS IN SYRIA, AND HE WAS FROM RIGHT HERE IN MINNESOTA.

>> Reporter: THE MEDIA ATTENTION AND EXTREMISTS'S TACTICS HAVE BEEN DEEPLY OFFENSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY, SAYS 39-YEAR-OLD MOHAMED AMIN AHMED, WHO'S LIVED HERE SINCE 1998 AND WORKS IN A CONVENIENCE STORE.

WHAT OFFENDED YOU THE MOST?

IS THERE SOMETHING THAT PUSHED YOU OVER THE EDGE?

>> THE FACT THAT THEY CLAIM MY FAITH.

IT IS THE GREATEST INHERITANCE WE HAVE IS OUR FAITH.

MY GOAL IS TO COMPETE AND TAKE THE VALUES OF THE MAJORITY OF THE MUSLIMS AND GO AFTER THE KIDS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 8 AND 16 AND COMPETE FOR THEIR MIND-SPACE.

>> Reporter: ALSO FOR THEIR MEDIA SPACE.

>> KNOCK, KNOCK.

AVERAGE MOHAMED HERE.

>> Reporter: ENTER AVERAGEMOHAMED.COM, A WEBSITE AHMED STARTED LAST YEAR.

>> ISIS, ISLAMIC STATE MADE A VIDEO WHICH IS ACTION-PACKED, SHOWING AMERICAN SOLDIERS BEING KILLED AND HURT, CALLED "FLAMES OF WAR."

AND I SPOOFED IT.

I SAID WELL, WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IS "FLAMES OF HELL," BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IS NOT WAR.

IT IS GENOCIDE.

YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN THE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE, RIGHT?

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COMPETES WITH THAT.

>> Reporter: AHMED SCREENS HIS VIDEOS BEFORE TARGETED AUDIENCES -- ON THIS NIGHT, MEMBERS OF A LOCAL SOCCER CLUB AIDED BY THEIR COACH, AHMED ISMAIL.

>> YOU GUYS HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THESE PEOPLE ARE PLAYING A GAME.

IT'S NOT PART OF RELIGION, IT'S NOT PART OF ISLAM.

ISLAM MEANS PEACE AND SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD.

>> Reporter: FOR THE YOUNG MEN, THOUGH, THE LESSONS THEY GET HERE CONTRAST WITH STEREOTYPES MANY SAID THEY MUST ENDURE.

>> I'VE BEEN ACTUALLY CALLED A TERRORIST.

IT WAS A FRIDAY, SO I HAD THE QAMEEZ ON, LIKE HE'S WEARING, AND THIS GUY JUST SAID, "ARE YOU GOING TO BLOW UP SOMETHING?"

>> I WAS ON MY PHONE, I WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, LIKE READING THE QUR'AN.

I WAS WAITING FOR THE BUS, AND THERE WAS THIS DUDE.

HE WAS WHITE, HE WAS STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME.

SO HE WAS LOOKING AT WHAT I WAS DOING, BECAUSE I WAS WEARING A BIG JACKET, A BLACK JACKET.

WHENEVER HE LOOKS BACK AT ME, HE THINKS KIND OF LIKE I'M A TERRORIST OR SOMETHING.

>> WHEN THEY SAY YOU ARE TERRORIST, TELL THEM NO.

YOU ARE WRONG.

I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

I DISAGREE WITH THOSE PEOPLE WHO'S DOING THOSE BAD THINGS, I DISAGREE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO YOU, WHETHER HE'S A JEWISH, OR HE'S A CHRISTIAN OR HE'S A BUDDHA.

>> WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION IS WHEN YOU JOIN ISLAMIC STATE?

>> Reporter: SUCH MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS ARE CRITICAL TO HELP INFLUENCE THE CHOICES OF YOUNG MEN NOT FULLY GROUNDED IN THEIR NATIVE CULTURE, NOT FEELING ACCEPTED IN THEIR ADOPTED ONE.

ABDI SAMATAR IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND ONE OF THE STATE'S EARLIEST SOMALI RESIDENTS.

>> THE MINDSET IS ONE THAT HAS NOT A GOOD GRASP OF ITS OWN FAITH, DISCONNECTED FROM THE LARGER MINNESOTA COMMUNITY, MAYBE DOING WELL OR NOT SO WELL IN SCHOOL -- SEES THEMSELVES AS BLACK PEOPLE IN A WHITE SEA OR A "FOREIGN SEA."

SO THE ATTEMPT BY THE YOUNG SOMALI MAN TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT CARTOONS AND IMAGES THAT WOULD SORT OF COUNTER THE IMAGES THAT THE TERRORISTS PUT ON THE WEB, FOR INSTANCE, IS I THINK AN IMPORTANT AND INSIGHTFUL AGENDA ON HIS PART.

>> Reporter: BUT SAMATAR SAYS IT WILL TAKE MUCH MORE TO TRULY IMPACT RECRUITMENT, NOT JUST OFFSETTING EXTREMIST PROPAGANDA, BUT ALSO POLICY CHANGES.

FOR EXAMPLE, HE SAYS THE US HAS NOT PUSHED FOR REFORMS IN THE HIGHLY UNPOPULAR GOVERNMENT NOW IN SOMALIA.

>> WE HAVE SUPPORTED QUITE A DYSFUNCTIONAL GOVERNMENT THAT IS BY ALL STANDARDS THE MOST CORRUPT REGIME THAT IS IN THE WORLD, AS TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL TELLS US, AND SO THAT PLAYS IN VERY STRANGE WAYS TO THE RECRUITMENT OF AL SHABAAB AND ALL KINDS OF TERRORISTS IN SAYING THAT THE UNITED STATES IS NOT SERIOUS ABOUT OUR INTERESTS.

>> Reporter: FOR HIS PART, AHMED SAYS HE HAS GOTTEN SOME NEGATIVE RESPONSES TO HIS EFFORTS.

ONE CALLED HIM AN APOSTATE.

BUT HE'S NOT AFRAID FOR HIS SAFETY, HE SAYS.

PUBLIC RESPONSE HAS BEEN GLOBAL AND OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE.

>> I'M GETTING LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF EMAILS FROM PEOPLE WISHING ME WELL AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, TELLING ME ABOUT WHAT THIS PARTICULAR MESSAGE DID FOR THEM OR WHAT THEY UNDERSTOOD IT TO BE, AND HOW IT HELPED THEM IN TERMS OF TALKING ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

>> Reporter: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO RESONATE WITH AN 18-YEAR-OLD LIVING IN MINNEAPOLIS?

>> I FOCUS-GROUP IT.

SO BASICALLY, I WALKED UP TO A BUNCH OF KIDS, OVER 250 OF THEM, AND I ASKED THEM, "WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SUICIDE BOMBING?

IS IT AN ISLAMIC PRINCIPLE?"

MOST OF THEM SAID, "I THINK IT IS."

NOW I WENT BACK TO SOME OF THESE KIDS AND SHOWED THEM SOME OF THESE VIDEOS, AND THEY COME BACK AND THEY SAY, "OH, NOW WE KNOW BETTER."

>> Reporter: IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS THAT HE HOPES TO SCALE UP, HE SAYS.

FOR NOW, IT IS FUNDED ON A SHOESTRING AND HIS OWN SAVINGS.

ONE WAY HE'S KEPT COSTS DOWN IS TO WORK WITH A GRAPHIC ARTIST HE'S NEVER MET, IN INDIA.

>> THE STORYBOARD COMES FROM ME.

AND HE PASSES IT OVER TO ME, AND WE SPEND A COUPLE OF DAYS GOING BACKWARDS AND FORWARD, TAKING THINGS OUT, ADDING THINGS, IMPROVING ON THEM.

AND THEN HE CREATES THE PRODUCT, AND HE SENDS IT BACK TO ME.

>> Reporter: AND THIS IS A HINDU GENTLEMAN IN INDIA?

>> THIS IS A HINDU GENTLEMAN IN INDIA.

THE SOUND BOARD AND ENGINEERING IS DONE BY A CHRISTIAN WHITE GUY HERE IN MINNESOTA, AND I'M A MUSLIM WHO IS CREATING THIS.

IT'S DIVERSITY.

>> Reporter: HE'S HOPING TO ADD DIVERSITY TO THIS INHERENTLY GLOBAL EFFORT WITH MORE CARTOONS AND MORE LANGUAGES-——ARABIC AND URDU, FOR EXAMPLE, TO BE USED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD.

>> REMEMBER -- PEACE UP, EXTREMIST THINKING, ESPECIALLY ISLAMIC STATE, OUT.

>> Reporter: FOR "RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," THIS IS FRED DE SAM LAZARO IN MINNEAPOLIS.

>>> WE HAVE A SPECIAL REPORT NOW LOOKING BACK AT THE VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF HALF-A-CENTURY AGO.

EARLIER THIS MONTH, PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS MARKED THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY, WHEN STATE TROOPERS ATTACKED CIVIL RIGHTS MARCHERS IN SELMA, ALABAMA, PART OF DALLAS COUNTY.

AFTER BLOODY SUNDAY, THERE WAS A SERIES OF MARCHES, CULMINATING WITH ONE THAT ENDED UP IN THE STATE CAPITOL OF MONTGOMERY ON MARCH 25, 1965.

KIM LAWTON HAS OUR STORY ON THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND THE CONTINUING LEGACY OF THE MOVEMENT.

>> Reporter: THESE MARCHERS 50 YEARS AGO WERE RALLYING FOR A VERY POLITICAL PURPOSE -- ACCESS TO THE VOTING BOOTH.

BUT MANY OF THEM SAW IT AS A DEEPLY MORAL AND SPIRITUAL CRUSADE AS WELL.

THEY SAY IT WAS THEIR FAITH THAT ULTIMATELY ENABLED THEM TO PREVAIL.

>> HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE LORD ON OUR SIDE WE WOULD HAVE PERISHED.

WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.

>> Reporter: IN THE EARLY 1960s IN SELMA, REVEREND FREDERICK DOUGLAS REESE WAS A SCHOOL TEACHER, A PASTOR, AND PRESIDENT OF THE DALLAS COUNTY VOTERS LEAGUE.

IN AN AREA WHERE SEGREGATION WAS SLOW TO BE DISMANTLED, AFRICAN- AMERICANS ENCOUNTERED MANY ROADBLOCKS WHEN THEY TRIED TO REGISTER TO VOTE.

>> ONLY 2% OF THE BLACK POPULATION IN DALLAS COUNTY WAS ACTUALLY REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 1965.

THE REALIZATION WAS IF WE COULD GET THE VOTE THEN WE COULD GET POLITICAL POWER, AND IF WE COULD GET POLITICAL POWER, THEN WE CAN CHANGE OUR SOCIETY AND OUR WORLD.

>> Reporter: STUDENT ACTIVISTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY CAME TO HELP LOCAL RESIDENTS ORGANIZE PROTESTS FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

THEN IN EARLY 1965, REESE AND SOME OF HIS FELLOW PASTORS INVITED REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND HIS REPRESENTATIVES TO HELP RAISE THE PROFILE OF THE EFFORTS.

>> WE WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER, THEY WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS THAT GOVERNED THEIR LIVES.

>> WE ARE WILLING TO BE BEATEN FOR DEMOCRACY.

>> Reporter: ONE OF THOSE WHO CAME TO SELMA WAS PROMINENT CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST REVEREND C.T.

VIVIAN, WHO LED AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO THE COURTHOUSE TO TRY TO REGISTER TO VOTE.

>> WHENEVER ANYONE DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE, THEN EVERY MAN IS HURT.

>> Reporter: THEY WERE DENIED ENTRANCE BY WHITE POLICE OFFICERS AND SHERIFF JIM CLARK, WHO WAS KNOWN FOR BEATING THE ACTIVISTS.

VIVIAN FORCEFULLY CONFRONTED HIM.

>> YOU ARE NOT AS EVIL A MAN AS YOU ACT.

YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART WHAT IS RIGHT.

>> Reporter: AFTER THIS CONFRONTATION, CLARK PUNCHED VIVIAN IN THE FACE AND HAD HIM TAKEN TO JAIL.

>> I FELT SORRY FOR JIM CLARK.

NOT AT THAT MOMENT.

BUT IT WASN'T -- I WASN'T ANGRY WITH HIM AT THAT MOMENT, ALL RIGHT?

SEE THAT'S WHAT NONVIOLENCE DOES.

IT OVERCOMES, ANY, ANY HATRED YOU HAVE.

>> Reporter: AS WAS THE CASE THROUGHOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS AND NONVIOLENCE TRAINING TOOK PLACES IN CHURCHES, SUCH AS SELMA'S BROWN CHAPEL AFRICAN-METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

>> YOU HAD HYMNS THAT WERE SUNG, BUT INSTEAD OF USING THE WORDS OF JESUS THEY WERE CHANGED TO WORDS OF FREEDOM.

YOU HAVE PREACHERS PREACHING, BUT INSTEAD OF PREACHING SALVATION, THEY'RE PREACHING CIVIL RIGHTS.

AND YOU HAVE ALTAR CALLS, BUT INSTEAD OF GOING DOWN TO CONFESS AND CONVERT, YOU GO DOWN TO VOLUNTEER AND MARCH.

>> Reporter: AS A YOUNG TEEN, LYNDA BLACKMON LOWERY HEARD KING SPEAK AT A CHURCH MEETING WAS INSPIRED TO GET INVOLVED.

>> THE RIGHT TO VOTE MEANT THAT YOU COULD CHANGE THINGS FOR THE BETTER.

I KNEW THEN THAT I WANTED TO DO WHATEVER HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.

I REALLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING AT 13, BUT I KNEW I WANTED TO DO THAT.

>> Reporter: THERE WERE A SERIES OF MASS MEETINGS, ACTS OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND ARRESTS IN SELMA.

THEN CAME SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 1965.

KING WASN'T IN TOWN, BUT ABOUT 600 DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED AT BROWN CHAPEL AND THEN MARCHED TO THE NEARBY EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE.

17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT LEADER CHARLES MAULDIN WAS NEAR THE FRONT OF THE LINE.

>> WHEN WE WERE AT THE TOP OF THE BRIDGE, THE PINNACLE OF THE BRIDGE, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT UNTIL WE GOT THERE.

WE LOOKED DOWN AND SAW THE STATE TROOPERS ON THEIR HORSES AND THE POSSE MEN, AND THAT'S WHEN WE KNEW IT WAS NOT GOING TO BE A VERY PLEASANT DAY.

>> YOU ARE ORDERED TO DISPERSE.

GO HOME OR GO TO YOUR CHURCH.

>> Reporter: WITHIN MOMENTS, VIOLENCE ERUPTED.

MAULDIN SAYS HE WASN'T AFRAID BECAUSE HE KNEW THEY HAD THE MORAL HIGH GROUND.

>> PART OF HAVING A MORAL HIGHER GROUND IS THAT YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T RESPECT PEOPLE ENOUGH TO FEAR THEM.

YOU'RE WILLING TO GIVE YOUR LIFE AND ONCE YOU'RE WILLING TO DO THAT, THEN THERE IS NO FEAR.

>> Reporter: STUDENT LEADER AND FUTURE CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS WAS SEVERELY BEATEN ON WHAT BECAME KNOWN AS "BLOODY SUNDAY."

SO WERE DOZENS OF OTHERS, INCLUDING LOWERY.

>> I ENDED UP WITH 7 STITCHES OVER MY RIGHT EYE AND I STILL CARRY THAT SCAR.

THEY SHAVED THE BACK OF MY HEAD AND I HAD 28 STITCHES BACK THERE AND I STILL HAVE A KNOT IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD FROM THAT.

>> Reporter: THE MORNING AFTER BLOODY SUNDAY, KING SENT AN URGENT TELEGRAM TO CLERGY OF MANY FAITHS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ASKING THEM TO JOIN HIM IN SELMA.

HE SAID "THE PEOPLE OF SELMA WILL STRUGGLE ON FOR THE SOUL OF THE NATION BUT IT'S FITTING THAT ALL AMERICAN HELP TO BEAR THE BURDEN."

>> HE'S SAYING, "COME, HELP US STAND FOR WHAT'S RIGHT."

AND THEY DO, THEY COME.

>> Reporter: VIVIAN SAYS MANY WHITE CHURCHES INITIALLY HAD BEEN RELUCTANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE.

>> THEY REALLY DIDN'T HAVE WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO CHANGE, BECAUSE THEY HAD TO BE CONVERTED FROM THE CULTURE.

CULTURE DECIDED THEIR RELIGION, NOT CHRIST.

>> Reporter: BUT BLOODY SUNDAY BECAME A TURNING POINT, AND AFTER SEEING MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE VIOLENCE, PEOPLE FROM MANY RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS WERE PROMPTED TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS.

VIVIAN WHEN YOU SAW BLACK AND WHITE TOGETHER MOVING FORWARD TO GET RID OF SEGREGATION, GET RID OF MISUSE OF PEOPLE, WHEN YOU SAW IT, RIGHT, IT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN ALL AMERICA.

IN WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON CALLED FOR VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION.

>> IT'S NOT JUST NEGROES, REALLY IT'S ALL OF US WHO MUST OVERCOME THE CRIPPLING LEGACY OF BIGOTRY AND INJUSTICE.

AND WE SHALL OVERCOME.

>> Reporter: ON MARCH 21ST, JUST THREE WEEKS AFTER BLOODY SUNDAY, MORE THAN 3,000 MARCHERS ONCE AGAIN SET OUT FROM BROWN CHAPEL, THIS TIME PROTECTED BY THE NATIONAL GUARD.

OVER THE NEXT FOUR DAYS, 300 PEOPLE WOULD MARCH THE ENTIRE 54 MILES FROM SELMA TO THE STATE CAPITOL OF MONTGOMERY.

LOWERY, WAS THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO MARCH THE ENTIRE ROUTE.

SHE SAYS SHE WAS SCARED, BUT A WHITE FELLOW MARCHER HELPED ALLAY HER FEARS.

IT WAS JIM LETHERER, AN AMPUTEE WHO MARCHED ON CRUTCHES.

>> Reporter: JIM SAID BEFORE HE LET ANYBODY ELSE HARM ANOTHER HAIR ON MY HEAD, HE WOULD LAY DOWN AND DIE FOR ME.

ON MARCH 25, KING ADDRESSED SOME 25,000 PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THE STATE CAPITOL.

FOR MANY OF THOSE WHO HAD GONE THROUGH BLOODY SUNDAY, THE SENSE OF TRIUMPH WAS OVERWHELMING.

>> THERE WAS NO GREATER THOUGHT IN MY MIND, NO GREATER FEELING IN MY HEART, THAN TO KNOW THAT THE NATION HAD FINALLY PICKED UP OUR CAUSE AND WERE MARCHING FORWARD WITH IT.

>> Reporter: FIVE MONTHS LATER, JOHNSON SIGNED THE VOTING RIGHTS BILL INTO LAW.

>> I WAS COUNTING THE YEARS BEFORE I WOULD BE 18 AND COULD VOTE.

I KNEW THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED, WHAT WE DID, THE TIMES WE WENT TO JAIL, THE BEATING ON BLOODY SUNDAY.

IT WAS JUST BECAUSE OF US.

>> THAT'S THE BEGINNING OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA.

RIGHT?

SO THAT IT BECOMES MORE LIKE IT SAYS IT SHOULD BE.

>> Reporter: VIVIAN SAYS IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT RELIGIOUS GROUPS TODAY NOT LOSE FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION.

>> WE MUST GET RID OF VIOLENCE.

NOT BECAUSE OF RACISM, BUT BECAUSE VIOLENCE IS TOO DESTRUCTIVE.

YOU CAN SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMS WITHOUT VIOLENCE.

>> Reporter: MAULDIN BELIEVES ANOTHER ENDURING LESSON IS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR GOOD.

>> IF PEOPLE AS YOUNG AS 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 COULD CHANGE A NATION, THEN IT'S ALL IN THEIR POWER TO DO THE SAME.

AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO COMMIT THEMSELVES TO MAKING THIS COUNTRY A BETTER PLACE NOT FOR THEMSELVES BUT FOR EVERYBODY.

>> Reporter: MANY BELIEVE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT CAN BE A MODEL FOR OVERCOMING POLITICAL CYNICISM.

>> IT'S A MARVELOUS MOVEMENT BECAUSE OF THE BRAVERY, BUT ALSO JUST THE BASIC DECENCY AND THE CALL FOR HUMANITY TO COME TOGETHER TO MAKE OUR WORLD A BETTER WORLD.

AND A LOT OF THAT SEEMS TO BE LOST TODAY, THAT WE HAVE SOCIETY IN A WORLD IN WHICH CONSUMING IS EVERYTHING AND, AND POLITICS IS SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE DON'T CARE TO PARTICIPATE IN.

>> Reporter: HE SAYS THE EVENTS OF 50 YEARS AGO SHOW A PROFOUNDLY DIFFERENT WAY.

I'M KIM LAWTON IN SELMA.

>>> FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, CARDINAL KEITH O'BRIEN, THE FORMER CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SCOTLAND, HAS RENOUNCED THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF BEING A CARDINAL, ALTHOUGH HE WILL KEEP THE TITLE.

HE IS THE FIRST CARDINAL TO RESIGN SINCE 1927.

>>> FINALLY, ON OUR CALENDAR, THIS SATURDAY MARKS THE NEW YEAR FOR SEVERAL FAITH GROUPS, INCLUDING HINDUS, ZOROASTRIANS AND BAHAIS.

THE BAHAI FAITH BEGAN IN PERSIA, NOW IRAN, IN THE 19TH CENTURY.

THERE ARE UP TO 5 MILLION BAHAIS NOW AROUND THE WORLD, PREACHING THE UNITY OF ALL PEOPLE.

BAHAIS PREPARE SPIRITUALLY FOR THEIR NEW YEAR WITH A 19-DAY FAST.

WE VISITED A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ABDUL KARIM EWING-BOYD, AS HE AND HIS FAMILY PREPARED TO BREAK THE FAST.

>> THE RULES FOR THE FAST ARE LAID OUT IN THE KITAB-I- AQDAS, WHICH IS THE MOST HOLY BOOK.

FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET BAHA'IS ABOVE THE AGE OF 15 ARE TO REFRAIN FROM EATING AND DRINKING.

IT'S A TIME FOR PRAYER.

IT'S A TIME FOR MEDITATION.

IT'S A TIME FOR REFOCUSING AND CONCENTRATING ON THE SPIRITUAL LIFE.

>> MY LIGHT IS IN THEE.

GET THOU FROM IT THY RADIANCE AND SEEK NONE OTHER THAN ME.

>> MOST PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE FAST IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU DON'T DO, BUT FOR ME WHAT THE FAST IS IS A TIME FOR ME REASSERT MY RATIONAL SPIRITUAL SELF OVER MY BASE AND PHYSICAL SELF.

IF I'M HUNGRY I SHOULD EAT.

IF I'M THIRSTY I SHOULD DRINK, BUT BECAUSE OF A RECOGNITION OF A GREATER AND HIGHER NEED, I CHOOSE NOT TO.

>> DO WE HAVE EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE?

>> IT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY TO REMIND ME OF MY RELATIONSHIP TO GOD AND MY RELATIONSHIP TO MY SPIRITUAL REALITY.

I'M A SPIRITUAL BEING HAVING A PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE DO SIMPLY BECAUSE GOD TELLS US TO DO IT.

THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE ARTICLES OF FAITH.

IF I CAN FIND THE WAYS TO MAKE MY LIFE A TOOL FOR THE BETTERMENT OF MANKIND AS I'M INTENDED BY MY CREATOR, THEN THAT IS A MOVEMENT TOWARDS PERFECTION FOR ME.

>>> THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK AND WATCH US ANYTIME ON THE PBS APP FOR iPHONES AND iPADS.

THERE IS ALSO MUCH MORE ON OUR WEBSITE, WHERE YOU CAN LISTEN TO OR WATCH EVERY PROGRAM.

JOIN US AT PBS.ORG.

AS WE LEAVE YOU, MUSIC FROM THE CHRISTIAN POP DUO, "FOR KING AND COUNTRY."

THEIR ALBUM, "RUN WILD, LIVE FREE, LOVE STRONG" WON A GRAMMY EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR BEST CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC ALBUM.

THIS SONG FROM THAT ALBUM IS CALLED, "WITHOUT YOU."

♪♪PRODUCTS.

THAT'S WHY WE'RE RETIREMENT COMPANY.