Community Releases at Islamic Networks Group

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!

Thanks to All of You Who Helped Make ING’s 15th Year Anniversary Dinner a Success!

The board and staff of ING would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped make ING’s Annual Supporters’ Dinner on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 an outstanding event, which was sold out with a crowd of more than 500 people.

From the opening remarks of emcee, Omar Ansari and board member, Dr. Isha Abdullah, to the invocation on the theme, “Love Thy Neighbor” by interfaith leaders representing three different faiths, to the awards ceremony honoring outstanding philanthropist leaders, and the entertaining talks by guest speaker Reza Aslan, to the humor of comedian Dean Obeidallah, the event was both entertaining and successful in both the execution and the achievement of ING’s financial goals.

Emcee Omar Ansari, long time ING speaker, opened up the evening’s program by describing the event’s theme as follows:

“Tonight’s theme is “Margin to Mainstream: Working to Dispel Stereotypes,” how Muslim Americans, long marginalized are slowly becoming part of the mainstream, and in so doing, are challenging common stereotypes and misperceptions about them. Muslim Americans are increasingly stepping forward to define themselves rather than allowing others to define them. It is not an easy task, and is in fact, according to recent polls, often an uphill battle. But the stakes are too high to lose this battle and to give up to bigotry and prejudice that attempts to divide and alienate us from one another. We invite you to share in this effort, as you already have by joining us tonight, and in celebrating 15 years of education and community service.”

This was followed by board member & event Chair, Dr. Isha Abdullah, who in her opening remarks alluded to ING’s mission as follows:

“On behalf of ING’s Board of Trustees, I’d like to welcome all of you to ING’s 15th Year Anniversary Dinner... ING is a pioneer in its mission to authentically represent the full spectrum of Muslims in America through our scholars, speakers and content. Equally important, ING also views itself as indigenous, which means belonging to America and seeing itself as part of this nation’s rich landscape of religious pluralism… So besides teaching about Islam, we have a vested interest in looking at Islam’s relations to other religions and engaging in interfaith dialogue which we believe leads to religious literacy and thereby peace and harmony in our communities and the world... In that spirit, we’ve requested a few religious leaders to set the tone for this evening by speaking to the shared principle of “Love thy neighbor.”"

Interfaith invocators included Imam Tahir Anwar of the South Bay Islamic Association, Reverend Bruce Bartlett of the Silicon Valley Conference for Community & Justice, and Rabbi Joel Fleekop from Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos.

In his invocation, Imam Tahir Anwar referenced the historic document titled, A Common Word Between Us and You, by remarking:

“…In a recent statement by 135 prominent Sunni and Shia Muslim scholars titled “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a call was made for dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and by extension, Jews and leaders of other faiths, emphasizing the importance of loving God and loving one’s neighbor. As the document states, “The basis for peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbor. These principles are found over and over again in the Quran and the Bible. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbor, as emphasized in the prophetic saying: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself…”

The most moving parts of the evening’s program were the heartwarming testimonies and tributes to ING’s work from awardees George F. Russell Jr., Isha, and Asim Abdullah, Diana & Hesham Alalusi, Cindy and Randy Pond, and Sara and Sohaib Abbasi. Particularly poignant were the words of Hisham Alalusi, who pointed out the fact that the founders of ING were women was a double tribute to its success due to the obstacles that often face women in community work, particularly in the area of civic engagement.

The keynote speaker, Reza Aslan emphasized that while America is far from perfect, it is the principle of inclusion and unity that makes this nation unique. Additionally, due to constitutional guarantees established by the founding fathers, Muslims in the United States have more opportunities to practice their faith here than in many Muslim predominant countries.

Comedian, Dean Obeidallah ended the engaging program with jokes and humorous anecdotes that poked fun at his Muslim and Arab heritage and highlighted some of the challenges he and other Muslims encounter. One of the best ways to counter stereotypes is through humor and the ability to laugh at oneself, and he excelled at both, keeping the audience laughing throughout his performance.

Many thanks again to all those who made this event a success. Fifteen years of challenging stereotypes and misperceptions through education could not have been possible without the generous support of community members, faith groups, and leaders in a variety of institutions who see the importance in fairness, justice, and equality for all.

Thank You for Your Support!

To continue to support ING’s educational outreach and bridge-building, contribute online: https://www.ing.org/donate/

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