Staff Blog
Statement from the Executive Director on COVID-19
What an interesting time we live in! It is astonishing to me how something as miniscule as the COVID-19 virus, which is visible only through an electron microscope, can turn our world upside down as it has. As a Muslim, I am reminded of the Quranic verses… Read More
Decolonizing Interreligious Education: The Example of Islamic Networks Group (ING)
By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This speech was delivered at the American Academy of Religion conference in San Diego on Monday, November 25th, 2019. I. Context Good morning. The title of my presentation this morning is decolonizing Interreligious education by using the example of programs by… Read More
Beyond Curry and Caliphs: How Advocacy in Education Has Shaped Hindu‐Muslim Relations in the United States
By Henry Millstein, PhD., Content Manager and Analyst. This opinion appeared in the online journal The Muslim World. Since the late 1980s, education advocates have pushed for more multicultural representation in instructional materials. The multicultural education movement emphasized a pedagogical paradigm that shifted… Read More
Celebrating Margaret Jones, Founder of URI Peninsula Circle, 2001-2013
By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This memorial speech was delivered at the New Vision United Methodist Church in Millbrae on Sunday, May 19th, 2019 as part of a funeral service for Margaret Jones, founder of URI Peninsula Circle from 2001-2013. I’m deeply honored to be here to… Read More
The Bullying of Religious Minorities in Schools: Consequences and Solutions
By Ameena Jandali and Henry Millstein, Content Managers. This article is published in the January/ February 2019 issue of Social Education Magazine by the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS). Bullying is a prevalent and growing problem in American schools, impacting students of all ages… Read More
Understanding and Countering Islamophobia
By Ishaq Pathan, ING Deputy Director. This speech was delivered at the at the Unity and Diversity – Countering Islamophobia Rally in San Francisco on March 31st, 2019. Salaam alaikum and greetings of peace. In the wake of the horrific attacks in New Zealand a couple… Read More
Recommitting Ourselves to Building Intercultural, Interreligious, and Interracial Understanding and Friendship
By Ishaq Pathan, ING Deputy Director. This speech was delivered at the at the San Francisco Community Vigil for the Victims of New Zealand on March 20th, 2019. Salaam alaikum and greetings of peace, In the face of the atrocity we just witnessed in New Zealand,… Read More
The Case Against Patriarchy in Islam: Fitra, viceregency, and universal principles
By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This article is published in the winter 2019 issue of Tikkun Magazine. I define patriarchy as a socio-cultural system in which men are ideologically viewed as inherently dominant over women, regardless of abilities, and therefore belong in positions of power and authority over… Read More
Race in America: The Covington Affair and American Reactions
By Hank Millstein, Content Manager. This opinion appeared at the ING blog. An incident involving white students from a Catholic high school in Kentucky, members of a small African-American sect, and Native Americans has blown up into a full-fledged uproar that opens a window into the state… Read More
Interfaith Thanksgiving Speech on Gratitude in Action
By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This speech was delivered at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in San Jose on Sunday, November 18th, 2018 as part of the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service. Quranic verse on Gratitude Wa Laqad ‘Ātaynā Luqmāna Al-Ĥikmata ‘Ani Ashkur Lillāh… Read More
