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California Governor Jerry Brown Signs
Anti-Bullying Legislation Supported by ING
Schools in California are not currently required to address bullying in their school safety plans. A new bill signed this week by Governor Jerry Brown (AB 2291 School Safety: Bullying) rectifies this oversight so students and teachers can focus on learning in a safe and inclusive environment. Last month, ING Community & Civic Engagement Manager Raania Mohsen joined other members of the Muslim community in letter writing and meetings with State legislators to express strong support for the passage of AB 2291. The law requires schools to make available an online training module developed by the California Department of Education (CDE) to all school-site employees who have regular interaction with students annually. Additionally, it requires the CDE to post its online training module and an annually updated list of other available online training modules related to bullying or bullying prevention.
Know Your Neighbor: Creating Inclusive
Classrooms Campaign Sept. 25th-28th
As students across the country settle in for the school year, we are launching a new campaign next week to help educators, parents, and students create more inclusive classrooms and schools. To that end, the Know Your Neighbor: Creating Inclusive Classrooms campaign will offer resources and best practices to help. Look for the official launch announcement on Monday, September 24th and get involved!
Back to School Anti-Bullying Series:
Final Webinar on October 11th
Join ING Deputy Director Ishaq Pathan and special guest speakers for an anti-bullying webinar on Countering Islamophobia in Schools. We’ve recently updated our final webinar on October 11th to include Giselle Klapper from the Sikh Coalition. The webinars are 30-60 minutes long and discuss the following topics:
- Student and Parental Rights & Accommodations (view recording here) with Habeeb Quadri, Zahra Billoo, and Ishaq Pathan
- Muslim Student Experiences & Peer-to-Peer Education (view recording here) with Dalia Mogahed and Ishaq Pathan
- Reporting and Countering Islamophobia (Thursday, October 11th) with Giselle Klapper, Zahra Billoo, and Ishaq Pathan
Upcoming Featured ING Events
Contemporary Issues Affecting American Muslims:
September 23rd in San Francisco
ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi will deliver a sermon in the morning service and later speak with the participants of Calvary Presbyterian Church’s Adult Education class about contemporary issues affecting U.S. Muslims. The session will address the serious challenges facing American Muslims today, including Islamophobia, maintaining a minority faith and culture in an increasingly secular but still nominally Christian-majority society, and countering bigotry through education and interfaith engagement.
Sabbath in the 21st Century:
September 23rd in San Jose
ING Community and Civic Engagement Manager Raania Mohsen will participate in an interfaith panel for the Silicon Valley Interreligious Council’s Interreligious Leaders Forum. The topic of the panel is “Sabbath in the 21st Century” and will feature representatives from a variety of religious backgrounds exploring how their faith communities orient around a “day of rest” in the modern (busy) world.
Jewish Festival of Sukkot for Muslim Neighbors:
September 23rd in Berkeley
Please join our friends at Chochmat HaLev for a celebration of the Jewish festival of Sukkot! Learn how to write your name in Hebrew and Arabic and help decorate the Sukkah (temporary outdoor dwelling). ING Content Manager Ameena Jandali and Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb will offer stories about Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar in the Jewish and Muslim traditions.
Muslim Women Beyond the Stereotypes:
September 29th in San Francisco
ING Content Manager Ameena Jandali will deliver “Muslim Women Beyond the Stereotypes,” one of ING’s core presentations, as part of SWANA at the Library, which honors the diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Southwest Asian and North African heritage. Her talk will explore the history and contemporary lives of Muslim women around the world, including common misconceptions.
Public Hearing on Bullying Awareness:
October 12th in San Jose
Please join ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi and Assemblymember Kansen Chu for an upcoming public hearing on bullying awareness. Maha will discuss ING’s work in schools countering religious and ethnic based bullying through education. The hearing will be held on Friday, October 12th from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM at the Santa Clara County Board Chambers in San Jose.
Workplace Religious Diversity Symposium:
October 29th in Palisades, New York
ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi will participate on an interfaith panel about religion and workplace discrimination trends for the Tanenbaum Center’s 2018 Religious Diversity Symposium. Tanenbaum is a valued Know Your Neighbor: Multifaith Encounters partner organization.
Religious Pluralism in the United States:
October 30th in Seaside
How do different religions view the beliefs and practices of other traditions? Is adherence to one religious tradition compatible with respect for the many other religious traditions and convictions in our world? The Interfaith Speakers Bureau (IFSB) will address these questions and more for an upcoming panel at California State University in Seaside as part of their Inclusive Excellence program.
2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions:
November 1st-7th in Toronto, Ontario
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the oldest, largest, most diverse interfaith gathering in the world. For the 2018 Parliament in Toronto, Ontario, Deputy Director Ishaq Pathan will deliver two sessions on ING’s programs. On Sunday, November 4th, he will discuss the Islamic Speakers Bureau and Interfaith Speakers Bureau and walk attendees through best practices for starting similar initiatives. On Tuesday, November 6th, Ishaq will lead a session exploring how the INGYouth program enables Muslim youth to actively counter hate in their communities.
Highlights of Past ING Events
What Do Environmental Protection
and Conservation Mean to People of Faith?
While environmental issues are a new concern in the form they present themselves today, religious traditions have long addressed the question of how humanity relates to and interacts with the environment. At a recent panel at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga, the members of the Interfaith Speakers Bureau (IFSB) discussed how their faith communities approach environmental preservation. You can learn more about the many topics the IFSB speaks on at our site.
Global Climate Action Summit Multifaith
Service of Wonder and Commitment
Grace Cathedral in San Francisco hosted a special Multifaith Service of Wondering and Commitment in conjunction with the Global Climate Action Summit that took place in San Francisco from September 12th-14th. ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi offered a Muslim prayer and her personal commitment toward climate care.
A Candid Conversation on Race, Class,
and Religious Intersectionality in America
The Islamic Thought Institute at the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson, Mississippi hosted a historic national conference to advance a candid conversation about race, class, and religious intersectionality. ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi participated in an interfaith panel examining the role of interfaith dialogue and engagement in building a movement against hate. She discussed the INGYouth program and Know Your Neighbor: Multifaith Encounters program and how they provide activists with the tools and training to stand up for others.
Anger, Gluttony, and Healthy Families:
ING at 55th Annual ISNA Convention
ING Content Manager Ameena Jandali traveled to Houston, Texas over the Labor Day Weekend for the 55th Annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention and appeared on three panels. She discussed some of the negative impacts of anger and ways to control it during a session with Dr. Abdalla Idris Ali. As part of that same Spiritual Series, she later talked about the ills of gluttony and solutions to overcome it. Ameena then joined Sameera Ahmed and Faraz Khan to discuss best practices for promoting healthy families in a panel moderated by Muna Jondy.
How Do Muslims Live Their Lives in America?
San Francisco Village is an independent, interconnected living facility that enriches the lives of older San Franciscans by providing them with the community, connections, and expertise they need to stay in charge of their lives. Part of that enrichment comes in the form of lectures on a variety of topics, and ING Deputy Director Ishaq Pathan recently joined a group from the Village to discuss American Muslims in the current political environment. Attendees had many questions about what for many of them was a largely unknown group. Learn more about the different presentations that ING offers at our site.
