Tomorrow begins a major Seattle conference, Confronting Islamophobia: I am My Brother’s Keeper, to be held at St. Mark’s Cathedral and sponsored by a host of Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups. The keynote speaker is Imam Faisal Rauf, founder of Cordoba House and the former religious leader of the Park51 mosque.
On Saturday afternoon, I will speak at a panel on Islamophobia as Attack on Core American Values: Religious Freedom and Free Speech. I hope you can join us.
 May 6-7, 2011 How does one assure that “never again” can be a strategy as well as a goal? To consider this question a coalition of Jewish, Christian and Muslim groups is hosting a conference on Islam and Islamophobia. When the poison of prejudice infects a society, it is as much at risk as the victims of intolerance. Disdain for, and fear of Muslims exists among rich and poor, liberal and conservative. Islamophobia has increased in virulence and reminds many of the rise of antisemitism in Germany in the 1930s. The conference will include outstanding speakers, workshops, and an interfaith prayer service, ending with dinner at one of several mosques. The keynote speaker, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf from New York, will open the conference on Friday evening May 6th. Saturday will include speakers, workshops and lunch, ending with an interfaith service including the Muslim evening prayer and a re-commitment to international human rights. The service will be led by Imam Fazal Hassen, Bishop Greg Rickel and Rabbi Jim Mirel. The evening will end with supper hosted by several local mosques including AbuBakr,Tukwila, Umar al Farooq Montlake, Terrace, MAPS, Redmond, ZIANAB Center Lynwood and others. With the time shared, we hope to learn more about Islam, identify prejudice and bias, and consider strategies for confronting Islamophobia in our own community. Prejudice is personal, national, and international. It shapes, and is shaped by our media. This event will provide strategies and forums for continuing to confront Islamophobia. Keynote Speakers: What’s Right with Islam IS What’s Right with America – Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is an American Sufi imam, author, and activist whose goal is to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West. Since 1983, he has been Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque in New York City. In 2010, Imam Abdul received national attention for his plans to build The Cordoba Center/Park51, an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, two blocks away from Ground Zero, and has been in demand as a speaker globally. He is the author of What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America and What’s right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West. Getting to the Heart of Islam – Jamal Rahman is a Muslim Sufi minister originally from Bangladesh. He is co-founder and co-minister at Interfaith Community Church in Seattle, WA, co-host of Interfaith Talk Radio, and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. Sheik Jamal teaches classes, workshops, and retreats locally, nationally, and internationally. He is the author of The Fragrance of Faith: The Enlightened Heart of Islam Islam and the West: The Burden of the Past and the Challenge of the Future ~ Yvonne Haddad is Professor of the History of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at George Washington University. Her fields of expertise include twentieth-century Islam, intellectual, social and political history in the Arab world, and Islam in North America and the West. Currently, Professor Haddad is conducting research on Muslims in the West and on Islamic Revolutionary Movements. She is the author and editor of a number of books, including Muslim Christian Encounters and Islam, Gender, and Social Change. Workshops include: The New Fault Line in Encounter Between Muslims and the West – The Common Word – The Qur’an and the Bible – Myths about Islam – Meeting The Other: the Heart of Interfaith – Islamophobia as Attack on Core American Values: Building Bridges Around Civil Liberties Across Faith Traditions – Islamophobia in US Middle East Policy – Propaganda in the Digital Age – What does it mean to be an American Muslim? – Jesus Christ and His Mother Mary: A Muslim View – Islam and the Environment: Sharia, Canon law, and the Constitution – Sponsors: The Diocese of Olympia, The Episcopal Church in Western Washington Registrations fees: Saturday 9:30 – 5:45 $45:00 Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158529 |
Sounds very interesting! It is quite interesting to read that Feisal Abdul Rauf, who’s involved with the Cordoba centre in New York City, is a sufi imam. I remember getting emails from family members about how vicious it is of the Muslims to build a mosque close to ground zero, how they want to establish their world dominance, etc. These people have no idea what Cordoba means in this context, they know almost nothing about Islam. For them, Islam is one big black unknown, which they fear and hate. They are not aware of various teachings within Islam, like Sufism, Sunnism, all kinds of Shia sects, different schools of Islamic thought and jurisprudence. They don’t really care and are not interested in dialogue. They found a convenient target for their righteous fury and hate, and proudly feel that by attacking Islam they protect Western values and civilization.
Sufism is one of the mildest, peaceable, most tolerant and humble branches of Islam. That’s why the charges of Islamist radicals cavorting in the mosque was so laughable.
Not directly relevant, but good lick with the speech and the event. Good idea, good cause.
(might be nice if the Iranians eased up on the Sufis and the Bahais.)
sorry, for the typo, but let me more clearly say good LUCK.