A group of Muslims in Tulsa, Oklahoma has started a new charity called Muslims4Mercy. Their mission is to provide food to local homeless people, but they also hope that their initiative might help bring people together. As one Muslims4Mercy organizer said, ”With all the negativity often seen on the news, we are really excited about Tulsans seeing Muslims giving back.”
Interfaith Vigil for Charlottesville
Over 100 people of different religious and cultural backgrounds came together for an interfaith vigil honoring the three people who died during the hateful rally in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month. In addition to honoring the victims, the vigil also sent a powerful message of peace. As one participant said, the remedy for hatred is “more speech—speech to challenge the hatred, speech to educate the haters, speech to expose their moral vacuity.” View photos from this event at the link below.
“Ask a Muslim Anything” Events Break Down Misconceptions
At this time of heightened bigotry, there has been a rise in events hosted by Muslims that are designed to help dispel misconceptions and bring Muslims and non-Muslims together. One New Hampshire man, Robert Azzi, has begun a series of “Ask a Muslim Anything” events, which he has been leading at community centers, churches, and town halls across New Hampshire. The events give him the chance to teach people about his faith and reach out to neighbors, but the positive response he’s received from these events also give him a sense of hope. He says: “It reinforces in me that these are really good people… You know, the haters aren’t here. The haters don’t come out. This is a Muslim town hall. I’ve never used that line before, but that’s what it is.”
Between Swimming and S’mores, Muslim Campers Build Bonds and Learn
For 55 years, Muslim children have been coming to Muslim Youth Camp in Northern California, the country’s oldest Muslim summer camp. In addition to the normal American summer camp activities—swimming, sing-alongs, roasting s’mores, and playing sports—campers attend classes designed to help them grow in their faith, build a sense of community, and, at a time of heightened anti-Muslim sentiment, learn how to deal with and respond to bigotry. According to Amira Quraishi, daughter of the camp’s late founder, Marghoob Quraishi, “My father, he saw Islam as a force for good, equality, social justice and pursuing knowledge… He saw that these were new Muslims in a new country and they needed to try to figure out how they were going to be Muslim in America… The way my dad described it is that he just started walking and then after 20 years looked back and noticed people were coming with him.”
Stephan Said: “After Charlottesville, Richmond Can Be Love’s Victory”
Read this thoughtful piece by musician and activist, Stephan Said, in which he argues that, rather than just fighting against hatred, racism, and violence, we must instead make it clear what we are fighting for: “a world that includes all of us.”
