“Faith Over Fear” Conference in Everett

Challenges Islamophobia Industry

By Ron Young

Many of us may know people who fear Muslims, and we may have heard how hate crimes against American Muslims have increased dramatically in the last two years. But only a few of us may be aware that there is a well-funded industry using mis-information and lies to generate the fears and hatred. That was the focus of a conference at Trinity Lutheran Church in Everett, Washington this week attended by local faith and civic leaders, including city and state officials and two Police Officers.

This is one in a series of programs entitled “Faith Over Fear: Standing with Our Muslim Neighbors” being held in a dozen cities and towns across Washington State, sponsored by Neighbors in Faith, the American Muslim Empowerment Network (AMEN), and Faith Action Network.  The program provides a model that organizers hope will be copied in other states. The two speakers were Aneelah Afzali of AMEN and Reverend Terry Kyllo of Neighbors in Faith.

In a time when there is a lot of popular anxiousness and anger, spawned by people’s experiences of economic , cultural and national insecurity, it’s easy to stir-up fear and hatred against other people whom we do not know. Most of us don’t know any Muslims personally. We’re probably unaware but affected negatively by how Islam is featured in primetime news coverage more than any other religion and how the images of Muslims in the media and in movies and TV series are overwhelming negative and frightening.

Suggesting that awful actions of some Muslims are representative of Islam or all  Muslims is like saying that beliefs and actions of the Ku Klux Klan are representative of Christianity and all Christians. But that’s exactly what the multi-million dollar Islamophobia Industry does. Read the report Fear, Inc.: Islamophobianetwork.com. 

Well-documented facts can help counter the false negative images of Islam and American Muslims. See Islamfactcheck.org for common false assertions and factual responses, and visit the Southern Poverty Law Center’s online guide that monitors anti-Muslim extremist groups like “Act for America.”

Here are a few examples of what many of us learned at the conference:

·        A 2009 Gallup Poll found that American Muslim women are the second most highly educated religious community in the U.S. and are just as likely as American Muslim men to have a college degree.

·        A 2011 Gallup Poll found that, “Of the major religious groups studied, Muslim Americans are the staunchest opponents of military attacks against civilians.”

·        Sharia is an Arabic term that refers to Islamic practices and path. American Muslims follow the path by practicing charity, praying, taking care of family and neighbors, and performing other compassionate acts. American Muslims believe in respecting the U.S. Constitution and obeying the laws of the land.

·        Very similar to the “Golden Rule,” in Jewish and Christian teachings, Prophet Mohammad taught, “None of you will have faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

While facts like these can help overcome false images of Muslims, even more effective is getting to know Muslims personally.  Speakers at the conference suggested that we find ways of publicly meeting and welcoming our Muslim neighbors: arrange to visit a Mosque or invite a Muslim to come speak at our church or host an interfaith exchange or forum. (Neighbors in Faith or the Council on American-Islamic Relations can help organize such activities.)

Speakers also urged us as individuals and as communities to respond actively and publicly to hateful rhetoric and threats toward Muslims. Speak out, including on social media when you hear hate speech directed at Muslims, and encourage your friends to speak out. Show up with signs and support when there is threat to a Mosque or a hate crime incident. Urge your church, synagogue, neighborhood association or work place to post a sign of solidarity with Muslims. Write an op-ed article or letter-to-editor about American Muslims you know and how we must stand together in support of American values of religious freedom, tolerance and diversity.  

People of faith and goodwill in neighborhoods across our state, and all across our country, have power to assert what is central to all our faith traditions: Love of God and love of neighbor. Now is the time to act.  

Ron Young is Consultant with twenty-five American Jewish, Christian and Muslim national religious leaders working together for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Ron lives in Everett and can be contacted at ronyoungwa@gmail.com.