This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/6281
January 31, 2014
Shoulder to Shoulder Gathers National Religious Organizations to Discuss Continued Efforts to Challenge Anti-Muslim Sentiment
January 27, 2014 – The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign was founded by ISNA a few years ago in response to rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. Since then, the campaign has been working to stand with American Muslims addressing issues of anti-Muslim sentiment and affirming American values of religious freedom and practice.
On Monday, members of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign Steering Committee gathered to discuss interfaith efforts to challenge anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. Hosted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC, 25 national religious organizations discussed issues related to anti-Muslim sentiment and made commitments on behalf of interfaith leadership to undertake efforts to end religious discrimination.
National interfaith leaders from Christian, Jewish, and Unitarian traditions spoke about the importance of building relationships between their own communities and American Muslims. They agreed on the importance of turning to their own sacred texts to bring their traditions to bear on the civic responsibility of protecting religious freedom for all faith traditions. Other topics they discussed included challenging anti-foreign law legislation and facilitating basic education about Islam and interfaith efforts. As part of the effort to connect interfaith work in the U.S. with global efforts to protect the rights of religious minorities, the group met with Ambassador Rashad Hussain, the Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Ambassador Hussain discussed the Obama administration's efforts to engage religious leaders globally in order to improve the situation of religious minorities in Muslim majority countries. He hopes to continue working with ISNA's Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances and Shoulder to Shoulder to make this a reality. http://www.isna.net/shoulder-to-shoulder-gathers-national-religious-organizations-to-discuss-continued-efforts-to-challenge-anti-muslim-sentiment.html
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/6281