Washington, D.C.— The Asian American Action Fund (AAA-Fund) is pleased that Rajan Zed, a native of Reno, Nevada, has become the first Hindu chaplain to recite the U.S. Senate's opening prayer.

"We welcome this historic milestone," said AAA-Fund Executive Director Alexander Nguyen. "The Asian American community, like America as a whole, is a community of many faiths," Nguyen added.

The occasion was marred, however, by protesters who disrupted the prayer. One of the protesters, all members of a Christian group known as Operation Save America/Operation Rescue, called it a "prayer of the wicked" and an "abomination."

"While we deplore all acts of intolerance, we salute the Senate for promoting religious diversity in its daily invocations," said AAA-Fund Board Member Gautam Dutta.

The AAA-Fund is a national Democratic political organization whose goal is to increase the voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in local, state and federal government, by encouraging AAPIs to volunteer on campaigns, raise money for candidates, and run for political office.