Staff Insights

The Secret Power of Interfaith Encounters

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director, and Daniel Tutt. This opinion originally appeared at the Huffington Post. As a Christian who works closely with the Muslim community, and as a Muslim who was brought back to my own faith by the beauty I found in… Read More

Combatting Islamophobia: Breaking Through the Invisibility Cloak

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director, and Dr. Henry Millstein, Content Manager and Analyst. This opinion originally appeared at Patheos. “Islamophobia in the West has deep roots, going back to the era of the Crusades. The image of Muslims and Islam as a threatening ‘other’… Read More

Pope Francis, a New Hope For Muslim-Catholic Relations

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion originally appeared at the Huffington Post. As an American Muslim activist, it may shock you to find out that I’m absolutely enthralled with the appointment of the new pope. Sure, like many Americans, I am fascinated by the… Read More

Reflections of ING President on Iftar Dinner with President Obama

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion appeared at the ING blog. I had the honor and distinction of sitting at President Obama’s table at the White House iftar dinner on Wednesday, August 10th. The iftar (breaking of fast) dinner is a tradition that was initiated during… Read More

Civil liberties: Unnecessary humiliation is not “normal”

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion originally appeared at Patheos. Upon my return to the United States from an overseas trip, I was singled out by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for special screening, and then subjected to personal questioning and a… Read More

Offensive caricatures tantamount to shouting ‘fire’ in crowded theater

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News (link unavailable). Jerry Ceppos’ op-ed article Tuesday (“We must see cartoons to understand furor”) poses interesting questions about why U.S. newspapers have not shown the offensive Danish cartoons. As a Muslim American, I… Read More

Celebrating the Fourth of July – An Arab-Muslim-American’s Journey to Discovering their American-ness

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion appeared at the ING blog. As an American of Arab ancestry and Muslim background, I’ve always felt slightly disingenuous about becoming emotionally involved in the 4th of July holiday. I was never quite sure about my American-ness, despite my citizenship,… Read More