June 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, July 7th 11am-12pmET : Responding to Racialized Religious Discrimination in our Schools with Dr. Amaarah DeCuir. Register here.
• If you missed the June Public Conversation with Rabbi Burt Visotzky and Jordan Denari Duffner watch the YouTube here and Facebook here. Both shared their Jewish and Catholic perspectives and experiences addressing anti-Muslim discrimination not in spite of their faith, but because of their faith. They offered a brief historical background on the issues, shared some life experiences and faith values that drew them into joining this movement, and unpacked some of the challenges and opportunities they have faced in this work.
• Shoulder to Shoulder will start featuring members during our monthly meetings. Members will be invited to present about a program, a success, a challenge, etc. for the first 10–15 min of the meeting and then engage in discussion with other participants about their presentation.

Resources & Upcoming Opportunities — Shared and copy/pasted from various partners and friends:

Events

• Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom: Listen to the diverse lived experiences of four Muslim Sisterhood members. Get to know your fellow sisters more! Moderated by Sisterhood co-founder, Atiya Aftab! July 20 https://sosspeace.org/event/identity-exploration-series-muslim-sisters/
• Islamic Society of North American (ISNA) Convention Sept 2–5 Chicago (Shoulder to Shoulder staff does plan to attend and is still in discussions about our programing/convenings for the convention. We will release details once confirmed.) https://secure-api.net/event/registration/isna/59th-annual-isna-convention-2022?fbclid=IwAR0ov-d2W8e1VoHHLWsafzfUky9rfMyWbufuoZcAXW_QA12LS667r2PyX6c
• Connecting in Conflict: Skills for Building Bridges and Repairing Relationships 6-Session Online Course — Peace Catalyst — Begins June 21 https://www.peacecatalyst.org/events/connecting-in-conflict
• This August, sangats nationwide will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the August 5, 2012 shooting in Oak Creek, WI. We continue to honor the seven Sikh community members who ultimately lost their lives and those who were critically injured in the shooting. Between August 5–7, 2022, we invite sangats nationwide to come together and choose one or more of the following ways to honor the 10th anniversary of the Oak Creek tragedy. https://www.sikhcoalition.org/blog/2022/10-years-after-oak-creek-how-you-can-take-action-this-august/

Grants/Fellowships/Jobs:

• Are you interested in religion journalism? Our friends at @RNS and @InterfaithUSA are hiring Fall 2022 Religion Journalism Fellows. https://religionnews.com/ia-rns-2022-religion-journalism-fellowship/
• New Pluralists Grants launched a “Healing Starts Here” request for proposals to “support organizations positioned to test bold, creative, place-based projects that empower people to combat the societal forces that are currently widening divisions in the U.S. across political, religious, racial, and geographic lines.” It’s approximately $10 million in grant funding total (in grants up to $500,000 per proposal). https://newpluralists.org/healing-starts-here/
• Resetting the Table (RTT) builds collaborative communication and mutual recognition across political divides in American life. RTT has developed one of the most road-tested and effective frameworks for facilitating transformative communication across political divides in the country. RTT is pleased to offer a 6-Session, Virtual Facilitation Intensive geared toward experienced facilitators looking to level-up their ability to open up difficult conversations across divides on charged political issues. Trainees will learn and practice facilitation skills and interventions designed to support parties to move from destructive patterns of cross-conflict communication (e.g., confirmation bias, fight-or-flight, etc.) into sustained connection and mutual receptivity, even while directly addressing heated differences and thorny issues. Cost: $750. We seek to make our programs as accessible as possible. Please let us know if cost is a barrier to your participation. Application Deadline: June 24, 2022 For more information, please contact our Program Director, Leah Reiser, at leah@resettingthetable.org. Apply here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q7RN2DV
• Inclusive America Project at the Aspen Institute is hiring a Research Associate. The primary responsibility for this role will be to craft and push forward concrete products from our convenings, with input from all of you as necessary. We are looking for candidates with research chops and some subject matter expertise in one or more of our component areas and interest in others. Would love to have you send candidates our way! We are eager to make a hire soon, so don’t dawdle!
• BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) interns are a vital part of our team. The deadline for applications for the fall semester is June 30. Learn more here.
• New Ground: A Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change. Apply for the 2022–2023 MAJIC Leadership Council, please fill out the application below and send the accompanying recommendation form to a teacher, adviser, coach, or other adult who will be able to speak to your leadership qualities. We will notify you when we have received the recommendation form. The deadline for early consideration is June 30. The final application deadline is July 22. https://mjnewground.org/apply-to-majic/

Resources:

• In June of 2022, the BU Center for Antiracist Research released its report, Moving Toward Antibigotry: Collected Essays from the Center for Antiracist Research’s Antibigotry Convening. This collection includes an essay on Islamophobia by Sahar Aziz, Esq., Khaled A. Beydoun, Esq., Dalia Mogahed, and Lakshmi Sridaran.
• Unite Cloud: Now booking for Central MN Green Card Voices exhibit for Fall 2022! We have openings in September and November. Learn more here: https://unitecloud.org/green-card-voices/

What we’re reading:

• In a seven-part series, Stuff (a New Zealand media outlet) investigates the build-up to the Christchurch terror attacks, and the fall-out, following the story of a group of women who tried to get help for their community. How pleas for help in the lead-up to the Christchurch attacks fell through the cracks — Chapter 1: The Iceberg
• Sikh educator reflects on decade since Oak Creek temple shooting | WUWM 89.7 FM — Milwaukee’s NPR
• “Juneteenth doesn’t just mark the end of slavery; it marks the redemption of the rights of Black people” A redemption that brought our country closer to realizing the ideals of freedom, dignity, and equality. There is still work to do and it is important to celebrate and remember this milestone towards Freedom. HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSLIMS PAVED THE WAY TO JUNETEENTH
• “This legacy of remembering the rich and beautiful histories that Muslims come from is something Muslim Sisterhood especially wishes for other Muslim women. ‘To be proud of who you are, without having to shed parts of yourself in order to be accepted or fit in. There is so much strength in being able to hold onto your Islam despite all the tests this dunya [world] throws at you’” Muslim Sisterhood Collaborates With Whistles | British Vogue
• Human Nature and the Project of a Diverse Democracy — Blog post

Closing Reflections:

This reflection video from NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change shares about their youth program.

“Our MAJICians this year came together to make a beautiful chalk art mural to share the importance of allyship and unity in the face of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bias. In their own words, ‘We know that coming together requires respect, patience, authenticity, and communication and through that, we can navigate the challenges we face together.”’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JUZu59BWes