January 2022 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:

• Public Conversation Thursday, Jan 27: Christian nationalism and anti-Muslim discrimination: Understanding the connection and taking action with Amanda Tyler, executive director at Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty. If you missed the conversation you can watch it on our Facebook page, Youtube, and our website. Additional resources from this conversation are listed below.
• Youth and Young Adult convening Feb 27, 3–5 pm ET (Registration coming soon)
• 2 in-person Faith Over Fear trainings (Grand Rapids, MI March 18 & 19 | Orange City, IA April 1 & 2) (Registration coming soon)
• Next week we will launch our online self-guided Faith Over Fear training with ReligionAndPublicLife.org.
• April 2022 Messaging campaign (Ramadan, Passover, Easter, and Vaisakhi will share the same week/day. This hasn’t happened since 1991)
• Reflections on the Role of Religion in Society: Nina Fernando — The Aspen Institute

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! Email Cassandra at info@s2scampaign.org

Events

• Saturday, January 29th, will be 5 years since the Quebec City Mosque shooting where 6 Muslims were shot and killed while leaving evening prayers. We’ve been invited to join people around Canada, the U.S., and the world in sending a personal note of support to the survivors and families of the victims in the lead-up to the 29th. Islamophobia.io is a tool developed and curated by a grassroots Canadian creative who aims to challenge Islamophobia through digital storytelling. You can read letters or submit your own story here: https://islamophobia.io/jan29
• The Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), spring 2022 CSRR De-Securitizing Muslim Identities Lecture Series includes:
• Feb 2: Massoud Hayoun presenting his book When We Were Arabs: A Jewish Family’s Forgotten History;
• Mar 8: Dr. Edward Curtis IV presenting his book Muslims in the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest;
• Mar 30: Dalia Mogahed of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding presents the latest data on Muslims’ contributions to economic development, philanthropy, arts, sports, and education in the United States.
• Registration for the spring 2022 lectures is at: https://go.rutgers.edu/nklp4kcl
• “From Uncertainty to Engagement: Interfaith Resistance to Christian Nationalism and White Supremacy” Rumi Forum, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, and Washington Theological Consortium present the 3rd Interfaith Leadership Forum on February 24, 2022. Religious nationalism is on the rise worldwide. In the U.S., it has primarily taken the form of White Christian Nationalism: the affiliation of being White and Christian with belonging and mattering in this country. Our program will explore the nature of global nationalism and its specific manifestation in the U.S. We will hear from an expert who has been studying this trend for over thirty years, followed by a panel of diverse faith leaders who will share their views on building interfaith solidarity to resist the White Supremacist Christian ideology threatening our nation. This program is a forum for people of faith to learn, become activated, and feel equipped to respond together effectively. Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAGVAFyENN2rmM9yocVKlnIsBWL6Chbpi58yqmwJuAcReRiA/viewform

Grants/Fellowships/Jobs

• The Welcome Fund RFP: Deadline Friday, January 28 The Welcome Fund was created by Welcome.US to ensure Afghans and others fleeing their homelands are supported and connected to welcoming communities across the United States. The Welcome Fund launches its first round of requests for proposals (RFP), which will commit at least $3 million dollars to support innovative community-based work that broadens community participation in resettlement. This RFP is for national, regional, and local efforts, outside of the resettlement agencies/affiliates, that are engaging community members to address the needs of Afghan newcomers. Learn More.
• Inclusive Leadership Development Program designed specifically for BIPOC women nonprofit leaders, The cohorts will meet virtually each month for a 3-hour session to build fellowship and also a toolkit of resources and best practices through a unique curriculum. The first cohort will be starting in a few weeks and be specifically for Muslim women nonprofit leaders. Application Deadline: January 31, 2022 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpxgBjrxsuaPYPYj1ynhgj8xdjIS2iSJiJew_uwhzfmc6ZIg/viewform
• Apply to receive industry training and networking opportunities with @YALLcomedy. Applications close February 18, 2022. YALL is a competitive incubation lab, pitch program and showcase that lifts up the best comedy writers and performers creating new comedy about topics that matter, with a focus on BIPOC, immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and women. Applications are open from January 18 to February 18, 2022. Applicants can apply here: https://yesandlaughterlab.com/apply
• Public Leaders for Inclusion Council (PLC), a leadership development program that equips public servants in elected, appointed, and professional positions in local government to explore practices and policies that challenge anti-Muslim bigotry and other forms of hate while building inclusion and social resilience in their communities. 2022 application is now open. If you fit this description or you know someone who does, please share this application with them! It’s a short application form that all participants have to complete in order to be considered. We strongly recommend that you complete it before the deadline on Sunday, February 20, 2022.
• Interfaith Center of New York. Applications are open for the next Religious Worlds of New York NEH summer institute for teachers. Applications are due March 1. The Religious Worlds institute helps K-12 teachers teach creatively and effectively about religious diversity. It brings teachers from throughout the United States to New York City, where they work with leading scholars of religion, meet with diverse religious leaders, visit local houses of worship, and develop their own curriculum projects. Thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, all participants receive a generous stipend to cover expenses during the three-week program. The next institute will meet from July 11–29, on the campus of Union Theological Seminary. To learn more and apply, please visit https://religiousworldsnyc.org.
• Emgage Foundation is a national civic education and engagement organization for Muslim Americans that is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with state chapters. We are seeking an experienced, mission-driven professional to lead the communications team and shape our communications strategy and content. Check out the full announcement at: https://emgageusa.org/job/national-communications-director/
• The One America Foundation seeks a Senior Director of Partnerships (SDP) to work with the CEO and leadership team to engage national religious institutions and faith leaders from a wide range of religious and cultural traditions and political perspectives. The SDP will grow our national work, speak on behalf of the organization in religious and secular settings, and train religious leaders on the science and dynamics of division. The SDP will be an excellent communicator, able to articulate the vision for One America Movement’s work, and adept at putting the vision into action. https://oneamericamovement.org/now-hiring-sr-director-partnerships/
• Grant Funding for Sacred Places: Historic houses of worship, from prairie churches to urban synagogues, are the bedrocks that continue to sustain us as a people, uniting us in service and celebration. Together, we can protect them for generations to come — apply for a grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places to keep these places as an important part of our national cultural heritage. Visit www.FundforSacredPlaces.org for more details, including eligibility requirements, guidelines, and online application.

Resources

• The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom by Sahar Aziz. Why does a country with religious liberty enmeshed in its legal and social structures produce such overt prejudice and discrimination against Muslims? Sahar Aziz’s groundbreaking book demonstrates how race and religion intersect to create what she calls the Racial Muslim. Comparing discrimination against immigrant Muslims with the prejudicial treatment of Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and African American Muslims during the twentieth century, Aziz explores the gap between America’s aspiration for and fulfillment of religious freedom. With America’s demographics rapidly changing from a majority white Protestant nation to a multiracial, multireligious society, this book is an indispensable read for understanding how our past continues to shape our present — to the detriment of our nation’s future.
• Go Back to Where you Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become by Wajahat Ali. This is just one of the many warm, lovely, and helpful tips that Wajahat Ali and other children of immigrants receive on a daily basis. Go back where, exactly? Fremont, California, where he grew up but is now an unaffordable place to live? Or Pakistan, the country his parents left behind a half-century ago? Now a middle-aged dad, Ali has become one of the foremost and funniest public intellectuals in America. In Go Back to Where You Came From, he tackles the dangers of Islamophobia, white supremacy, and chocolate hummus, peppering personal stories with astute insights into national security, immigration, and pop culture. In this refreshingly bold, hopeful, and uproarious memoir, Ali offers indispensable lessons for cultivating a more compassionate, inclusive, and delicious America.
• Innocent Until Proven Muslim: Islamophobia, The War on Terror, and the Muslim Experience Since 9/11, by Dr. Maha Hilal bit.ly/InnocentUntilProvenMuslim. In this powerful book, Dr. Maha Hilal tells the story of two decades of the War on Terror, through both an overview of the policies created under its umbrella and the lived realities of Muslim Americans who have experienced hate and discrimination as a result.
• Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices (2020) by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed. The anthology of Eid stories includes a graphic novel chapter, poems, and spot illustration. Every author puts their own spin on their personal experiences. Whether it is Hawa spending Eid in New York learning to get along with her cousin, or Kareem trying to learn about generosity, there is a story for everyone. Many of the stories are written about cities that are not predominantly Muslim. This struggle reveals many identity issues, as the contributors navigate how their family celebrates Eid in a place where it is not widely celebrated.
• Institute for Social Policy Understanding’s (ISPU)new podcast dives into their latest research about American Muslim communities and the topics that affect them. Learn about the importance of Hollywood storytelling, comedy, and the current state of American mosques in their recent episodes.
• ISPU has collected and published research on Muslims in America for nearly 20 years. That research provides the bedrock and context for new online courses, created by ReligionAndPublicLife.org and supplemented by a collection of resources from other institutions and scholars.
• Interfaith Youth Core new online course: #Interfaith Engaging Religious Diversity Online #Interfaith is a self-paced, online learning opportunity designed to equip a new generation of leaders with the awareness and skills to promote interfaith cooperation online. Start learning now or begin by assessing your online leadership style via our digital interfaith quiz. https://ifyc.org/interfaith-digital
• Online courses: Empowering Multi-Faith Peacemakers Like You | We’re a community of multi-faith peacemakers countering religious-based dehumanization. https://www.pathsnetwork.org free, short online courses based on original animated videos
• Blog — Religion and Society program at the Aspen Institute: What would a more inclusive society look like? How do we make it a reality? What does the Religion & Society Program have to do with this vision? Learn answers to these questions and more in their latest blog.
• Travel Ban Forever Changed The Lives Of Muslims Around The World | HuffPost Latest News
• Are Better Things Coming? Inshallah. — The New York Times
• Why so many people still don’t understand anti-Semitism. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/texas-synagogue-anti-semitism-conspiracy-theory/621286/

Resources from our Jan 27 public conversation:

Christian nationalism and anti-Muslim discrimination: Understanding the connection and taking action with Amanda Tyler, executive director at Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) is a national partner of the Shoulder and Shoulder campaign coalition and Amanda serves as a Shoulder to Shoulder Steering Committee member. Learn more about BJC here: https://bjconline.org/

If you missed the conversation you can watch it on our Facebook page, Youtube, and our website. During the webinar, we shared a number of resources that we are listing below.

Shoulder to Shoulder has a number of resources available on our website to support communities and individuals address anti-Muslim discrimination and violence. https://www.shouldertoshouldercampaign.org/resources

If you are looking for more information on anything specific beyond what is listed on our webpage, please do not hesitate to reach out. For example, we encourage you to check out books by Dr. Todd Green, author of The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West and Presumed Guilty: Why We Shouldn’t Ask Muslims to Condemn Terrorism to begin exploring your questions about Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination in the United States.

What is Christian nationalism one-pager: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cfea0017239e10001cd9639/t/5f5b8999bc43fd65e8d28712/1599834522206/What+Is+Christian+Nationalism+%281%29.pdf

Learn more about the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign here: https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/ Read the statement here and check out more resources here.

Please note, you do not need to self-identify as a Christian to subscribe to Christians Against Christian Nationalism (CACN) emailing list. To be added to the list please email Jmasters@bjconline.org

Closing:

Recommendation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Promise me,

promise me this day,

promise me now,

while the sun is overhead

exactly at the zenith,

promise me:

Even as they

strike you down

with a mountain of hatred and violence;

even as they step on you and crush you

like a worm,

even as they dismember and disembowel you,

remember brother, remember:

man is not our enemy.

The only thing worthy of you is compassion –

invincible, limitless, unconditional.

Hatred will never let you face

the beast in man.

One day, when you face this beast alone

with your courage intact, your eyes kind,

untroubled

(even as no one sees them),

out of your smile

will bloom a flower.

And those who love you

will behold you

across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

Alone again,

I will go on with bent head,

knowing that love has become eternal.

On the long, rough road

the sun and moon will continue to shine.