I want you to think about the last time you were in a room or at a gathering where the people in attendance were predominantly Muslim. Unless you are yourself a practicing Muslim, chances are you had to think hard to identify that instance, if you could identify one at all.
Here in the U.S., given the demographic realities, one doesn’t often get the chance to be in the midst of large numbers of American Muslims if s/he isn’t intentional about it.
As a result, too many people across our nation only know about Islam through global news coverage and not through actual experiences with Muslims. The issues, activities and identities of American Muslims are often obscured by the focus in the media on whether or not they are condemning terrorism (side note, they are).
And yet, the only way to get to know a community is not through singular representations, but by interacting with lots of members of that community — in all its diversity — to get a sense of the bigger picture. We learn and grow through being with one another, far more than any of us could ever learn from the 24-hour news cycle.
This weekend, I am attending the largest annual gathering of Muslims in North America with 24 emerging Christian and Jewish religious leaders. These are leaders from all over the U.S., from a number of different denominations and seminaries, who seek to be effective and authentic religious leaders in the religiously diverse context that is America today. Many are activists who have been working for years on issues that intersect with anti-Muslim bigotry- they work on racial discrimination, on immigration, on LGBTQI inclusion, and on interfaith understanding.
They come here with me to listen and learn. Throughout this weekend, we will have halal dinners with Muslim leaders and activists, sit in on panel discussions about American Muslims and #BlackLivesMatter activism, be present for the launch of a large-scale Inclusive Mosque Initiative and observe a kids’ Qur’an recitation competition. We’ll sink ourselves into the vast experience of the ISNA convention to absorb experientially the diverse concerns and passions of the American Muslim community.
All of this is part of a conversation, one that we’ve already entered and that will continue to take place after the weekend is over, about how religious leaders and communities in America morally and spiritually respond to diversity and to the bigotry and discrimination that plagues our society in a multiplicity of ways. This ongoing conversation is what is going to move us forward as in co-building an America that lives up to its best self and allows all of us to live authentically and freely with one another.
Join our conversation by following #ERLS2015 and @S2SCampaign throughout this weekend and in the coming months, to hear the stories and experiences of these emerging religious leaders.
@ISNAHQ @ISNAConvention #ISNA2015 #ISNA52Chicago
