August 2021 Resource Roundup

Our monthly Shoulder to Shoulder Community & Congregational Network Call is an opportunity to convene and connect with interfaith and community organizations and leaders throughout the country who are, in some capacity, addressing anti-Muslim discrimination in the U.S. In our meetings, members share resources, problem solve, and reflect on this important work. The notes below are a selection of public resources and events shared by network members and our various partners and friends. If you’re interested in learning more about our S2S Community Network, contact us and/or check out our website.

S2S Programmatic Updates:

• Special Edition Educators Training, “Overcoming Fear: Addressing Anti-Muslim bias in the classroom and community” concluded on August 17th and had 40 participants.
• Next Shoulder to Shoulder training will be October 26–29th, Tuesday-Friday 3–4:30 pm ET. More details & registration coming soon.
• #AboutMyName Collaborative Storytelling Project: The Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) and the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign (S2S) are uplifting voices of young people (& beyond) of different faiths and cultural backgrounds in sharing the story of their name. Here is the email describing the project with the prompt. Please share with your networks, most especially your young adult/youth contacts!
• Upcoming Public Conversation on “Multifaith Solidarity: 20 Years Since 9/11” on Thursday, September 9th at 1–2 pm ET with Imam Khalid Latif, who serves as University Chaplain for New York University and Executive Director of the Islamic Center at NYU. Register Here
• Bystander Intervention 101 Training: Shoulder to Shoulder was proud to partner with the Houston Coalition Against Hate, OCA-Greater Houston, and Hollaback! for a few special sessions within a series of bystander intervention trainings. The next and final training is scheduled for September 18th at 1–2:30 pm ET. This FREE 1.5-hour, interactive training will teach you Hollaback!’s 5D’s of bystander intervention methodology for safely standing up to hate and bigotry in person and online. We’ll talk about the types of disrespect — from microaggressions to violence — that people with marginalized identities face and the history of identity-based violence. You’ll also learn what to look for and the positive impact of bystander intervention on individuals and communities. We’ll talk through five strategies for intervention and how to prioritize your own safety while intervening. There will be time for practice, and you’ll leave feeling more confident intervening the next time you see identity-based harassment online or in person. Check out this list of additional bystander intervention resources.

Resources & Upcoming Opportunities shared from various partners, friends, and leaders in the field:

If there’s something you’d like to see added in future resource roundups, please let us know!

Fellowship Opportunities:

• ISPU Educators| Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) and MultiFaith Network will train faith leaders to be ISPU Educators! If you’re a faith leader interested in securing one of the 30 slots available at this training. Preview webinar: September 1 at 10 am — 1 pm ET Faith Leaders Training | ISPU
• Muslim Jewish Solidarity Committee Emerging Leaders Fellowship is a nine-month leadership development training for young Muslims and Jews. The young leaders come together to learn and build skills across a wide range of disciplines, foster community across faith lines and apply their learning to a social impact final project. The deadline to apply is September 13.
• Resetting the Table Leadership Cohort for Clergy & Religious Leaders | Equips religious leaders with tools and skills to contribute to healing political divides in our country and communities. Focused on navigating political divisions in faith communities, the program will offer a fully-funded package of training, practical tools, resources, and consultation for building vibrant, productive discussion and learning across political divides, supported by RTT’s veteran trainers and celebrated toolkit. They are looking for dynamic religious leaders and institutions who are looked to as models and important voices in broader denominational, regional, and public life. Open to clergy members, faith leaders, or religious communities. Deadline: Friday, September 10th email michele@resettingthetable.org with questions. Link for application
• Sojourners | Rising Leaders Fellowship: a one-year intensive leadership development initiative for Gen Z and Millennial BIPOC faith leaders involved in spiritually grounded justice efforts. The fellowship is designed to foster relational resiliency and will be structured around three areas of development: relationship with self, organizational change, and movement building. The application can be found on this website and closes on August 31. Interested people can email questions to risingleaders@sojo.net.

Afghanistan (some collected links & calls to action)

• The Afghan-American Coalition is an alliance of organizations and community advocates championing humanitarian assistance to Afghans both within Afghanistan and those seeking refuge in the U.S. Members are mobilized to amplify the needs of Afghan communities at risk. For more information on the Coalition’s call to action and resources, please visit afghanamericancoalition.com, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
• Is the Taliban's treatment of women really inspired by Sharia? An opinion piece by Dalia Mogahed, Director of Research at Institute of Social Policy and Understanding
• Refugee Council USA rcusa.org/afghanistan
• Immigration Relief for Afghans
• bit.ly/afghanistanemergency
• Take Action: Urge the Administration to Expand Refugee Protections for Afghans Fleeing Violence and Persecution
• Resource Compilation: Protections for Afghans and Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services: Prayers and Book series

20th Commemoration of 9/11 (some collected links & resources)

• 9/11 Learning Hub featuring stories from Sikh Americans and other BIPOC communities that The Revolutionary Love Project team collected over the last twenty years: https://valariekaur.com/911hub/
• Culturally Responsive and Inclusive 9/11 Commemorations with Amaarah DeCuir, EdD. 9–11 Teaching — CICW @ SU (contemporaryislam.org)
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of America | Pastoral Guidelines for Inter-Religious Observances of 9/11 — Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Perspectives
• Remembering and Reflecting: Teaching September 11, 2001, in a diverse classroom | Council on American Islamic Relations | Guidebook
• University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education | Teaching Beyond Sept 11
• Family and Youth Institute | 9/11 Anniversary Response Guide For Educators
• Solidarity Teach-in hosted by the Building Movement Project and SolidarityIs Tuesday, September 14th from 3 — 5 pm ET. This teach-in will explore how various movements and communities have deepened connections to build power over the past two decades. | Livestreaming to YouTube and Facebook | Register in advance and save the event (with the Livestream link) to your calendar here: bit.ly/solidarity20years
• The Costs of War Webinar “20 Years Later: The True Costs of our Post-9/11 Wars.” Wednesday, September 1, 2021, from 10 — 11:30 am ET, Dr. Neta Crawford will present the Project’s updated estimates on the most comprehensive and widely-cited assessments of the financial and human costs of the past 20 years of war. The last time the Project released these numbers was in 2019 when they estimated that the post-9/11 wars had cost $6.4 trillion and 801,000 lives. Register for live link: https://forms.gle/jZVi1zEYWNpGCJGTA
• Courageous Conversations: Seeing No Stranger: Diversity Over Division | Wednesday, September 8th, 7 — 9 pm CDT As we mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and look ahead to a multicultural future, what are we learning about American diversity and division? Can inclusion be a bipartisan endeavor? Join Courageous Conversations at Barrington’s White House with special guests Eboo Patel, founder, and president of Interfaith Youth Core, in dialogue with conservative commentator David French, Senior Editor of The Dispatch and author of Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. Register here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/courageous-conversations-seeing-no-stranger-diversity-over-division-tickets-164998140881
• 20 years after 9/11 Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire Friday, September 10th, 5–6 pm ET. In Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire leading scholar, Deepa Kumar traces the history of Islamophobia from the 16th century to the “War on Terror.” In the twenty years since 9/11, she writes, Islamophobia has functioned in the United States as a set of coercive policies and as a body of ideas that take various forms: liberal, conservative, and rightwing. Kumar will be joined by Noura Erakat, Naomi Klein, Jasbir Puar, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for a discussion of all the ways these racist ideas have been stoked since 9/11 and what we can do to oppose them. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twenty-years-after-911-islamophobia-and-the-politics-of-empire-tickets-166803530851

General/Misc.

• A few network members are using the deep canvassing approach to engage their communities in difficult conversations. Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and Leadership Lab are two examples of organizations teaching this skill.
• Addressing opposition to critical race theory and inclusive social studies. In Minnesota, the community wrote op-eds protesting the removal of teaching about religion from social studies guidelines. Here’s just one https://www.startribune.com/dont-separate-religion-from-state-social-studies-standards/600087023/
• New Book: More Than a Cup of Coffee and Tea: A Generation of Lutheran-Muslim Relationships Edited by Rev. Dr. David Grafton with contributions from Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Rev. Dr. Todd Green, and others.
• Restorative Justice Solutions for Hate Crime, on August 31, 2021 (9 am ET): https://www.osce.org/odihr/494062 The webinar is organized as part of the Enhancing Stakeholder Awareness and Resources for Hate Crime Victim Support (EStAR) project. It will explore the general picture of the existing restorative justice practices and their implementation. Leading experts and practitioners in the field will highlight the benefits and considerations in applying restorative justice solutions for hate crime and ensure that victims are placed at the center of such solutions.
• Islamophobia: What Christians should know (and do) about anti-Muslim discrimination A conversation with Jordan Denari Duffner Thursday, September 9, 7–8pm Register Here
• De-Securitizing Muslim Identity Fall Lecture series (Center for Security, Race, and Rights) includes experts who provide theoretical and strategic critiques of the securitization of Muslim communities and experts who work with Muslim communities on issues unrelated to national security. Speakers include Professor Abdullahi An’Naim (Sept 13), Professor Juliane Hammer (Oct. 8), and Professor Shirin Sinnar (Nov. 11). Register at: https://go.rutgers.edu/nklp4kcl
• Religious Liberty Has Been White Too Long | Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Freedom has a range of discussion guides available from BJC and Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Learn from Black scholars, explore diverse Asian American perspectives on religious freedom, listen to and debrief podcast conversations on Christian nationalism, and discuss ways churches can identify and respond to the threat of Christian nationalism.
• “Facing Racism in our Muslim and Jewish Communities” | NewGround: Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change. In this year, in which there is increasing openness to reckoning with racial bias and injustice, NewGround wanted to create space for their communities to do some of this work side by side. At NewGround, they know we always learn more about ourselves by hearing about one another’s experiences. Hear a conversation with two leaders: Chava Shervington of the Jewish Multiracial Network and Margari Hill from the Muslim Anti-Racist Collaborative. Watch the recording of the conversation.

A closing note to ponder:

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks The Home We Build Together p. 180

Faiths, as we know, unite and divide. They unite by dividing: by identifying an ‘us’ as opposed to ‘them’. Hence both the good and harm they do come hand-in-hand. We are the children of the light; they are the children of the darkness. That generates light but also darkness. There is only one non-utopian way of creating the good without the harm, and that is to create programmes of what in Hebrew is called chessed, in Latin caritas, or in English, loving kindness, across boundaries. We must love strangers as well as neighbours, in the simple sense of love-as-deed, practical help. That imperative flows from the covenant of human solidarity, and in a national context, from the covenant of citizenship.