Read this thoughtful reflection on the Sojourners blog about how interfaith encounters can help us change our perceptions and become better advocates for one another. As the author states, it was not until she attended a Muslim prayer service at her university that she realized how needed a Muslim prayer room was, saying: "It wasn't until I went to jumah that I even considered how easy it had been for me to be a Christian student all these years. I realized how much public space my Christianity ...
Message from Imam Feisal: “Let Our Image of God Unite Us”
What is a "sacred space"? What makes a place "sacred"? How does religion exist within spaces, such as mosques, churches, and synagogues? These questions prompted Imam Feisal to consider how we—as individuals, members of communities, and people of faith—locate ourselves in the world, and how we can let our common love for—and the love of—God unite us beyond barriers. Imam Feisal explored these ideas in depth in an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. At ...
Op-Ed by Imam Feisal: Let Our Image of God Unite Us
In this op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Imam Feisal encourages us to expand our faithfulness in God beyond the "local"—to see the connections that exist between ourselves and other people of different communities, beliefs, and cultures and let our common love of God unite us. We are caught now on a divide between self-affirmation and affirmation of those different from us. Is my ultimate address Philadelphia or the mind of God? Are my neighbors only other Muslims or all created in ...
A Lesson in Religious Freedom
Read this engaging piece by Hiba Siddiqi for Religion News, in which she talks about how her high school's Muslim prayer room was an expression of the religious freedoms Americans value, respect, and fight for, and how the presence of the prayer room in her school served to normalize the Muslim members of the school community. As she explains: "I used to tell people that exposure to a thing results in the normalization of that thing, but I now realize that the only way to transcend lines of ...
American Muslims: Running for Local Office
Recent studies and surveys have shown that the American Muslim community is a very civically engaged demographic, particularly concerned with issues of social justice. Now, an emerging group of American Muslims has decided to run for office in their local communities. At the link below, read more about some aspiring—and inspiring—American Muslims who ran in local elections in the Chicago area. Read more (The Atlantic) ...
