Year-End Note | Our Name Change

A Year-End Note of Gratitude and Renewal

Greetings of peace/Salam:

As we step into a new year, I want to begin with gratitude for your partnership, your trust, and your shared belief in the power of education, relationship building, and pluralism, especially during challenging times.

May this holiday season bring peace into your homes and communities, along with moments of rest and reflection. As we look ahead, may the coming year offer new beginnings, the strength to meet what lies ahead, and the courage to move forward with clarity and purpose.

In that spirit of reflection, I’m writing to share an important update about our organization, one that reflects a long and thoughtful evolution.

Our Name Change

As of this month, our legal name has officially changed from Islamic Networks, Inc. to Intercultural Networks, Inc. We will continue to operate publicly as ING(Intercultural Networks Group), a name many of you already know us by.

This long-planned change reflects our evolution into a pluralism-driven organization devoted to education and engagement rooted in shared histories and the interconnected lived experiences of diverse communities. What began as a focus on Muslims in the United States has grown into an inclusive educational approach that brings Muslim and Arab stories into conversation with those of other religious, cultural, and ethnic communities, fostering deeper understanding, shared belonging, and a more complete understanding of who we are as Americans.

ING was founded in 1993, in the immediate aftermath of the first Gulf War, with a clear and urgent mission: to educate major American institutions that serve the public about Muslims and their faith at a time when Muslim communities were widely misunderstood, marginalized, or rendered invisible in American public life.

From the very beginning, our work centered on ensuring that Muslims could speak for themselves. To that end, the Islamic Speakers Bureau was established, bringing authentic Muslim voices directly into classrooms, workplaces, social service agencies, law enforcement settings, and civic institutions—rather than allowing Muslim identity and experience to be defined from the outside. The program was immediately embraced, reaching tens of thousands of people nationwide through our affiliates at the time.

In the years following 9/11, it became clear that addressing misunderstandings about Muslims and their faith alone was not enough. Anti-Muslim bias does not exist in isolation; it is deeply connected to broader patterns of religious illiteracy, fear of differences, and a limited understanding of how the United States came to be a religiously, racially, and ethnically pluralistic society. 

Our impact evaluations consistently affirmed that when people develop a deeper understanding of their own identities and histories, they become more open, curious, and capable of engaging meaningfully with others.

Confronting Islamophobia and discrimination, therefore, required a broader educational framework—one that situates Muslim experiences within the nation’s shared religious and civic history, and that helps people understand how multiple communities have shaped, and continue to shape, American life. That realization reshaped our work.

Over time, our approach grew from single-community education into fostering intercultural understanding, relationship-building, and a shared sense of responsibility across differences, laying the groundwork for a more inclusive and connected society.

As a result, we expanded our programming to include an Interfaith Speakers Bureau, composed of speakers representing the major religious traditions in the United States, as well as an Intercultural Speakers Bureau, representing the country’s major ethnic and cultural communities. Teaching about Muslims and Arabs alongside Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and others allows participants to see connections rather than divisions, and to recognize common struggles, values, and aspirations within a shared American narrative.

For the past two decades, our programs have advanced religious literacy and civic pluralism while working to prevent all forms of bias and hate by placing them in historical, social, and relational context. This includes examining Islamophobia and its intersections with anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian and anti-Hispanic bias, anti-Hindu and anti-Sikh bigotry, and other forms of religious and cultural exclusion.

Our multifaith and multiethnic speakers bring this work to life as authentic representatives of the communities and lived experiences they address. Across schools, universities, workplaces, healthcare systems, law enforcement agencies, and civic institutions, our work brings people together across faiths, cultures, and identities, helping them better understand one another and the shared society they are building together.

The name Intercultural Networks more accurately reflects the full scope of our work and the communities we serve. It is both a description of what we do and an affirmation of our values, history, and future direction.

We remain deeply committed to addressing all forms of bigotry with clarity and courage, particularly given the realities Muslim and Arab American communities are currently facing. At the same time, we recognize that building a healthier and more just society requires moving beyond siloed approaches and investing in education and relationships that affirm both difference and belonging.

I am deeply grateful to our donors, board members, partners, speakers, and community members for supporting this evolution and for walking alongside us. We look ahead with optimism, committed to building a bright and just future shaped by understanding, dignity, and our shared humanity.

With gratitude and warm wishes,

Maha Elgenaidi
Founder and Executive Director

Schedule Our Speakers

Inclusion and Belonging Training for Professional Groups here
Educational Presentations and Panels for Other Communities here

Partner With Us to Build a Kinder, More Peaceful America

At a time when division dominates headlines, ING remains committed to bringing people together through education, engagement, and shared values. Your support allows us to continue this vital work of cultivating understanding and respect across differences. When you give, you help create a more compassionate and resilient society. Together, we can make the world better, brighter, and more humane—one gift at a time.