About Islamic Networks Group

OVERVIEW

ING is an educational outreach organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area with affiliates throughout the U.S. Founded in 1993; ING promotes interfaith dialogues and education about world religions. Utilizing trained and certified speakers, ING annually delivers thousands of presentations and other educational programs in schools, colleges and universities, law enforcement agencies, corporations, healthcare facilities, and community organizations. ING reaches hundreds of groups and tens of thousands of individuals a year at the local, grassroots level, thereby building bridges among people of all faiths and none.

Statement of Need:

While ING’s goal of challenging stereotypes and preventing prejudice while promoting understanding through education has been important since its inception in 1993, in a post-9/11 world this work has become critical in combating the rising anti-Muslim sentiment that has become common fare in the media, government, and the public square. A recent example of this was Barack Obama’s presidential campaign which was continuously the target of the “Muslim Smear.” Recent polls give evidence to these attitudes; in a March 2006 ABC News poll, 1 in 2 people had an unfavorable view of Islam, 1 in 3 believed Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and 1 in 3 predicted a major world conflict between the West and Islam. In a 2007 Pew poll, the number of Americans who believe that Islam has little or nothing in common with their own religion spiked to 70% from 59% two years earlier. These attitudes often result in real life consequences. According to a major civil rights organization, reported cases of Muslim civil rights complaints for 2006 increased by 25.1 percent over the previous year (2,467 reports in 2006 compared to 1,972 in 2005). However, according to a 2006 Pew poll, “Perceptions about Islam improve by 50% if the person has a personal relationship with a Muslim than if not.” A previous 2004 poll showed that those who had some knowledge of Islam or Muslims tended to have more positive attitudes. This illustrates the importance of education as a means of combating prejudice. In addition, given the current political situation in the Middle East and throughout the world, ING’s educational programming on Islam and promotion of inter-religious tolerance has never been more important.

Highlights

ING operates two primary programs: the Islamic Speakers Bureau and the Interfaith Speakers Bureau. The Islamic Speakers Bureau consists of Muslim speakers who supplement education relating to Islam and the Muslim world, and deliver cultural diversity programming in public institutions. The Interfaith Speakers Bureau consists of Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu speakers who supplement education related to world religions and cultural diversity programming.
ING trains and certifies Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu speakers who deliver an average of 700 educational and interfaith programs annually to a variety of institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area.
ING provides content, materials and other support to its affiliates and partners in the U.S., Canada and England, who deliver an additional 4,000 presentations annually. This means that approximately 200,000 people of all faiths interact face-to-face with ING and its affiliated speakers each year.
ING has developed content and interfaith oriented programs on a variety of topics, ranging from a basic overview of the five major world religions and their shared values with other faiths, to topics related to how the faith is lived, perspectives on contemporary issues, and cultural competency trainings for various institutions.
ING has developed a growing list of answers to frequently asked questions about Islam and Muslims in consultation with preeminent indigenous scholars who are familiar with the challenges of Muslims living in the West.
ING initiates and collaborates with established partners on various interfaith programs that teach about world religions, their commonalities and contributions to civilization.

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Other Links . . .

Vision, Mission and Principles

Audiences

Accomplishments

ING History

ING Board of Trustees

ING Staff

ING Advisors

Islamic Speakers

Interfaith Speakers

ING Affiliates

ING Foundation Partners

ING and the First Amendment Center

ING and the Media

ING and the Environment

Annual Report




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	Spring 2010 Archives



	ING and the First Amendment Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Center Keynote Address Shana Tova and Eid Mubarak! ING Interfaith Statement for One America A Call to Action: Join ‘Muslim Serve’ National Campaign for Service & Understanding on 9/11