ING Recognition Awards for Educators

ING News & Information, 5/09/08

In this Edition:

• Spring-Summer ING Newsletter
• ING Annual Supporters Dinner and Eid (Holiday) Celebration, 10/05/08
• Announcing ING Recognition Awards for Educators
• “American Muslim Community,” San Jose Women’s Club, 5/06/08
• Ordination Ceremony at United Church of Christ, 5/04/08
• “A Closer Look at the Medina Charter,” Tracy Milad Event, 5/04/08
• “Islam and Muslim Perspectives on World Events,” San Jose State, 4/29/08
• Thank you for Your Support

Mark Your Calendars:

ING’s Annual Supporters Dinner & Eid (Holiday) Celebration

Sunday, October 5, 2008

“Telling Our Stories, Transforming the World”
Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara
6 PM – 9 PM

Keynote Speaker: Professor John L. Esposito
Acclaimed speaker and prolific writer. His most recent work is titled, “Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think”
http://www1.georgetown.edu/sfs/acmcu/46637.html

Entertainment: Maz Jobrani

Front

ING Awards:
“Building Bridges” and “Excellence in Cultural Diversity Education”

Announcing ING Recognition Awards for Educators

To commemorate over 15 years of service to education, ING would like to recognize educators, students and their educational institutions for increasing religious literacy and cultural diversity at their campus. Tell us your success stories about how your students, faculty and staff have been positively impacted by the ING presentations that you have hosted at your school, college or university. Award winners will be selected from these stories and will receive five free tickets to the ING Annual Dinner and be recognized by ING as part of the “Excellence in Cultural Diversity Education” Awards program. As a bonus, every story you submit enters you into a drawing for one of three beautiful, impressionistic, 24″ x 36″, posters which portrays the city of Madinah. The “Madinah: The Radiant” poster is a wonderful addition to any classroom or office. Be sure to email us your success stories by Friday, June 13, 2008 to qualify for the free drawing.

Events of Interest:

“American Muslim Community,” San Jose Women’s Club, 5/06/08

Maha Elgenaidi, ING’s president addressed the prestigious San Jose Women’s Club which was first formed in 1894 as a place for women to gather, study and form alliances. Her topic and the ensuing conversation covered an array of topics that related to the “American Muslim Community” and how they are living their faith in the United States while coping with the aftermath of September 11th. Many are feeling the brunt of how they are portrayed in America’s public culture and the consequences it has on their quality of life and civil liberties. Many members of the audience related the experiences of Muslim Americans today to the experiences of African, Jewish, Catholic, Irish, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Hispanic Americans and how all of us working together as one community could prevent hate violence and discrimination through education and vigilance against hatred.

Ordination Ceremony at United Church of Christ, 5/04/08

ING speaker, Uzma Husaini took part in an ordination ceremony for interfaith leader Andrew Metcalfe at the United Universalist Church of Christ in Berkeley on Sunday, May 4th. As part of the interfaith ceremony which included Jewish and Christian clergy, Uzma read appropriate passages from the Qur’an, which included verse 21 of Chapter 57: “Race to forgiveness from your Lord, and a garden spacious as heaven and earth, arranged for those who believe in God and the messengers of God. That is the bounty of God, which God bestows on whomever God wills; and God is the possessor of the greatest bounty,” which Andrew chose from a number of verses.

“A Closer Look at the Medina Charter,” Tracy Milad Event, 5/04/08

Ameena Jandali took part in a commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and teachings on Sunday, May 4th at the Tracy Community Center. The event, which was organized by AMMA, American Muslim Mothers Association, was attended by over 100 people from neighboring areas, and focused on the Prophet’s just dealings with people of other faiths, and the pluralistic outlook it reflected. Ameena addressed the audience on the topic of the Charter of Medina, which is a fourteen centuries old document that is incredibly modern in its standard of equality and human rights. The document was drawn up by the Prophet Muhammad when he migrated to Medina in 622, as a charter for the inhabitants of the city that delineated the terms of their citizenship and interaction. What is remarkably modern about this charter is that it articulated the concept of citizenship in a united community, or “ummah,” regardless of faith or tribal affiliation, which for that time was equivalent to nationality or ethnicity. It also recognized freedom of religion and practice for the non-Muslim members of the community, and a common commitment to defending the city and its inhabitants. All of these concepts were strikingly modern and pluralistic for the time, centuries before the Magna Carta.

“Islam and Muslim Perspectives on World Events,” San Jose State, 4/29/08

ING’s President, Maha ElGenaidi presented on the topic of “Islam and Muslim Perspectives on World Events,” during a weeklong series of events at San Jose State University on Tuesday, April 29. During the event, she described what it means to be a Muslim, focusing on the message of peace and peacemaking that is the core of the very word Islam, and how Muslims are enjoined to extend this message to all aspects of their life and interactions. Follow up questions addressed some of the issues that Muslims are dealing with today, and the contrast between these Islamic teachings about peacemaking and the actions of some Muslims, whom Maha emphasized were motivated more often by political and economic interests.

Thank You for Your Support!