Staff Insights

In Defense of Traveling Hopefully

By Hank Millstein, Content Manager and Programs Analyst. This opinion appeared at the ING blog. “To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, and I in part believe him. Only in part, of course; I’m a Christian, and so believe that at the end… Read More

At the darkest times, believers turn to scripture for hope and solace

By Heena Haiderali, Programs Associate. This speech was delivered at the 3rd Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph in San Jose on November 19th, 2017. You can watch a video of Heena’s speech here. This year has been challenging on many levels,… Read More

Gratitude in Islam

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This speech was delivered at an interfaith youth event on “Gratitude in Islam” at the South Bay Islamic Association on November 18th, 2017. You can watch an excerpt from the speech here. Salam alaikum everyone. I want to start with a funny… Read More

Muslims and Jews Working Together Against Bigotry Targeting Our Communities — And From Within Our Communities

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion originally appeared at the Huffington Post. After denouncing with a rabbi an Islamophobe who was speaking at Stanford University on November 14 through a published letter to the editor of the San Jose Mercury News in which we stated, “There is… Read More

Toward Muslim-Jewish Understanding

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This speech was delivered at the public symposium “A Golden Age in the Golden State? Muslims and Jews Creating a Culture of Understanding” at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center on November 5th, 2017. Now I want to bring the topic of Muslim-Jewish relations into the… Read More

A Muslim Response to Anti-Semitism

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This speech was delivered at a special Tent of Abraham event at Temple Beth El in Aptos, California on October 29th, 2017. There’s no question we’ve seen a sharp uptick in anti-Semitism over the past year. The Anti-Defamation League has reported that an… Read More

Religious literacy can fix the faulty foundation beneath Trump’s Muslim ban

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This opinion originally appeared at Religion News Service. The judicial system has dealt a third legal defeat to President Trump’s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, instituting a temporary restraining order and injunction to block its implementation. The courts brought up the question… Read More

How to end teen bullying from a Muslim who was targeted

By Ishaq Pathan, INGYouth Manager. This opinion originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News. I was in seventh grade when a fellow classmate remarked, “I wonder how skinny Ishaq would be without the bomb strapped to his chest.” Looking back, I understand how this incident, which… Read More

National Day of Prayer for Behavioral Health Speech

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director. This speech was delivered at the San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Service’s interfaith event for the National Day of Prayer for Behavioral Health on October 3rd, 2017. I want to thank the San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Service for inviting our organization, Islamic… Read More

Presidential Proclamation on “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes” Motivated by Ignorance of the “Other”

By Maha Elgenaidi, Executive Director and Tim Brauhn, Communications Manager. This opinion appeared at the ING blog. Islamic Networks Group and its affiliates across the country don’t often engage with overtly political themes like the Trump administration’s repeated attempts to curtail entry into the United States. But on a daily… Read More