In an effort to combat misunderstandings of religious faiths, members of the NC State community and Raleigh-area religious leaders came together Sunday afternoon to facilitate a broader discussion of how communities of different origins and backgrounds can achieve social progress and harmony.
More than 40 people attended the event, titled “Interfaith: Dismantling Stereotypes,” which was held in the Mountains Ballroom of the Talley Student Union.
The moderator of the event, WNCN news anchor Sean Maroney, said the discussions of the afternoon would be meaningless if they ended at the event and that participants must use the seeds of the discussion to germinate real change among their own friends and communities.
The panel comprised the Rev. Nancy Petty of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Imam Mohamed AbuTaleb of the Islamic Association of Raleigh and Rabbi Lucy Dinner of the Temple Beth Or, a Jewish Reform Congregation in Raleigh. Attendees also participated in activities where they sought to confront many uncomfortable sentiments dealing with their own faiths and identities.
In this activity, Maroney asked participants to move to one of two squares depending whether or not they agreed with a statement or sentiment.
Among those sentiments, participants were asked to share about whether a dichotomy between being a Muslim and being an American exists. While many of the attendees felt that they certainly identified as both, they were less confident in their answers of whether most Americans felt that Islamic values and American values could be held in harmony.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama visited an American mosque for the first time during his presidency where he called for an end to such a dichotomy.
“If you’re ever wondering whether you fit in here, let me say it as clearly as I can, as president of the United States: You fit in here — right here. You’re right where you belong. You’re part of America, too. You’re not Muslim or American. You’re Muslim and American,” Obama said on Feb 3.
One statement that did generate unanimity among participants was whether Muslims are an integral part of the American story.
At the conclusion of the event, AbuTaleb said that the false notion that Islam and Muslims are new and foreign undermine the role they have played in American society.
“A large fraction of slaves that came from Africa were Muslim, and many of them were highly educated or princes or had distinguished positions in society before they came here,” AbuTaleb said. “That’s part of the unhealthy narrative that Islam is new and Islam is foreign and doesn’t have a place in America. It’s historically correct.”
During the panel discussion on Sunday, AbuTaleb reiterated many of the same sentiments as the president, and argued that fear of Islam as perpetuated by Donald Trump and other candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president of the United States only strengthens terror groups such as the Islamic State group.
“Islamophobia is a manufactured phenomenon, and it peaks during election years,” AbuTaleb said. “In many ways it has become the acceptable racism of our time and racism against any minority, any gender or any faith group makes us all collectively worse and makes us collectively less safe.”
Miriam Zouhri, a junior studying at Meredith College, said she was happy to see that all the attendees were open about sharing their faith and appreciated the willingness everyone showed to learn about others’ backgrounds and identities.
“What’s important is taking what we learned here and implementing it in our lives,” Zouhri said.
The event, hosted by The Light House Project, was organized by Farris Barakat, who in the aftermath of the killings of his brother and sisters-in-law, has used their memory as a continued inspiration for community development and service.
One year ago, Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha and her sister Razan Abu-Salha were killed in their Chapel Hill apartment by a neighbor. The killings of three young Muslim Americans brought international attention to the racism and hatred Muslims and Arabs endure in the U.S.
The event was the culmination of the #ForwardwithFaith month which included a month of activities dedicated to continuing the legacies of Deah, Yusor and Razan.
Participants at the Interfaith: Dismantling Stereotypes event in Talley Student Union raise cards in the air indicating which faith they identify with during an activity on February 28, 2016. The group was largely Muslim but several participants were of Jewish and Christian faith. The activity facilitated discussion between faiths about various issues surrounding religious communities and the perspectives of people of various races and ethnicities.
