ING met with Congressman Mike Honda in January to discuss the widespread problem of religiously-motivated bullying which is preventable through education and interreligious engagement. At our initiative, the Congressman has committed to bring this issue to the attention of the school superintendents in his district. Representative Honda will share a new ING brochure with his district superintendents that informs teachers about interfaith panels of representatives from Sikh, Jewish, and Muslim organizations who can speak about the issue of bullying in middle and high school assemblies. You can view and download the brochure titled Bullying Prevention here.

Parents, please share this brochure with the principals and teachers in your children’s middle and/or high schools.

ING Presentation at SF Youth Commission

Partly in response to recent Islamophobic bus ads in San Francisco, ING COO Marcia Beauchamp and Content Director Ameena Jandali delivered a brief overview of ING and its resources at the San Francisco Youth Commission’s monthly meeting on March 2nd. They began the presentation by describing the current climate of Islamophobia in the U.S. and its impact on American Muslims, particularly youth. They described some of ING’s educational programs that work to counter Islamophobia and bullying. The youth commissioners were very responsive and made a resolution to support ING’s educational and interfaith programs to combat anti-Muslim sentiment in San Francisco.

The Youth Commission is a body of 17 San Franciscans between the ages of 12 and 23 responsible for advising the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor on policies and laws related to young people.

You are Invited to Join ING’s
Interfaith Service Day on March 18

ING’s first Interfaith Service Day this year will be at the Second Harvest Food Bank at their South Bay location on 4001 North 1st Street, San Jose on Wednesday, March 18 from 6:00-8:00 pm. We will be sorting and boxing food for distribution and will be joined by ING Board Chair Randy Pond who has also served on the board at Second Harvest. For more information or to participate, please write to [email protected] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Successful ING Trainings in New York and Phoenix

ING’s Maha Elgenaidi and ING’s Arizona affiliate director Azra Hussain conducted successful ING speaker trainings last week in New York and Phoenix. Both trainings were attended by a group of people who were all motivated and eager to learn how to give presentations about their religion and culture as a means of combatting growing Islamophobia across the country. ING has received a number of requests in recent weeks for speaker trainings and presentations.

Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay Area, ING speakers delivered Getting to Know American Muslims and their Faith to three classes at a North Bay high school as well as two presentations on Muslim Women Beyond the Stereotypes to a San Francisco high school last week. An ING speaker delivered a presentation on A History of Muslims in America at St. Albert’s Catholic Church in Palo Alto.

Upcoming Events

Getting to Know American Muslims and their Faith
Stone Church Women’s Retreat, San Juan Bautista

ING staff and group of ten Muslim volunteers will be presenting a series of ING presentations as well as dialoguing with Christian women to increase awareness and understanding of contemporary issues concerning Muslims. The women’s retreat will take place in San Juan Bautista on Saturday March 7th, between 8am and 3pm.

“Jerusalem” Screening and Panel Discussion for Teachers
The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose

An ING speaker will be joining the film’s director Daniel Ferguson and panelists from the other faiths represented in the film (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) following a special screening for teachers of a new IMAX movie titled Jerusalem. Tickets for this event are $15 per teacher. Each ticket includes one teacher plus one guest (21 and over). Please call 408-294-8324 option 3 to reserve your space today. Pre-registration is required, and teachers must show valid school ID at time of check-in. This event will be held Friday, March 13, 5:30-8:30pm.

Key Women in Islamic History
Center for Islamic Studies/Center for Jewish Studies, Berkeley

On Monday, March 16, ING Content Director Ameena Jandali will speak on “Key Women in Islamic History” as part of a class in “Women, Gender, Sexuality in Judaism and Islam” offered jointly by the Center for Islamic Studies and the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union.