Investing in Our Children's Future
Teach, Inspire, Empower


Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara
5101 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054

You’re invited to the ING Annual Supporters Dinner

Saturday, October 9, 2010
6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Tickets: $75 per person

Purchase tickets at www.ing.org
For more information call 408.296.7312

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
Chairman of the Board and Scholar In-Residence of Nawawi Foundation.
His topic for the event will be “Islam & The Cultural Imperative;” the fundamental need for American Muslims - among the most promising, wealthiest and educated Muslim minorities in history - to consciously establish a new and unique cultural identity.

Featuring for the first time in the Bay Area: Rashad Hussain
US Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Rashad Hussain was formerly a Deputy Associate Counsel to President Obama. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and his Master’s degrees in Public Administration, Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University.


Meet Some of the New Members of the ING Board of Trustees

Arshia Baig
ING Board Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair

Arshia Baig is a finance professional with ten years of experience in a variety of high growth companies including five years at a big four accounting firm. She is currently a Senior Manager at SGI and is responsible for corporate governance and the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Arshia has held management level positions at Visa and Comcast and began her career at KPMG in Toronto. She received her Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and is an active member of the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco. Arshia is a California Certified Public Accountant.

Javed Patel
ING Board Co-Chairman

Javed Patel serves as Semtech's Sr. Vice President, General Manager-Transport/ Datacom Business Unit. Prior to that, Mr. Patel was President and CEO of Sierra Monolithics which was acquired by Semtech Corporation. Before joining Sierra Monolithics, Javed spent several years in senior management positions at Quake Technologies, ANADIGICS, Tropian, and WJ Communications addressing wireless handset and infrastructure markets, as well as optical communication and CATV markets. Mr. Patel holds BSEE and MSEE degrees from the University of Kansas and an MBA degree from Drexel University.

Raghib Hussain
ING Board Development Committee Chair

Raghib Hussain has been in the high-tech industry for nearly twenty years. He is one of the founders of Cavium Networks and currently serves as their Chief Technology Officer and Corporate Vice President. Prior to joining Cavium, Raghib held senior technical roles at Cisco, and Cadence Design Systems. Raghib also worked at VPNet, an enterprise security company, of which he was a founding member. Raghib has multiple patents issued and pending. He received a BS degree in Computer Systems Engineering from NED University in Pakistan, and an MS degree in Computer Engineering from San Jose State University.


ING Increases Outreach to Adult Audiences in 2009-2010


Click to enlarge
all pie charts and graphs.

Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, ING continued its seventeen year tradition of providing speakers to a diverse array of organizations and venues across the Bay Area. Since September 1, 2009, ING speakers presented to 527 different venues with diverse audiences that combined numbered nearly 30,000 people. Of these, 73% were presentations from the Islamic Speakers Bureau (ISB) and 27% were from the Interfaith Speakers Bureau (IFSB).

The year also saw the introduction of new venues and formats for delivering presentations. These included radio appearances on both KSCO in Santa Cruz and KKUP in San Jose. Also new this year was a series of Diversity Training for Leaders seminars at key professional development locations, including the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Cisco, the San Jose Police Department, and the Millbrae School District.



Before and After Surveys Show an Improvement of Perceptions of Muslims

ING speaker Aisha Morgan in a classroom
While Americans under 25 years of age tend to have fewer stereotypes about Islam and Muslims than older Americans, ING presentations help clarify misconceptions they may have.

Beginning in November of 2009, ING began conducting surveys of middle and high school students attending its most commonly requested presentation, “Getting to Know American Muslims and Their Faith.” To date, ING has collected data from over 1,300 students from fifty classroom presentations. ING speakers administer the survey both before and after their presentations to see how audience attitudes change as a result of the presentation. Many of the students were studying Islam in the context of World History or Social Studies at the time of the presentation, so some of the content was often not new to them. While Americans under 25 years of age tend to have fewer misconceptions about Islam and Muslims than older Americans, nevertheless ING presentations leave students better informed about the topic as indicated by the following surveys, which were conducted between November 2009 and June 2010.

Overall, respondents indicated that their knowledge increased during the presentation. Prior to the presentation, only 21% of all responding students identified themselves as having a high level of knowledge; that number increased to 60% after the presentation (Table 1).



Click to enlarge all pie charts and graphs.


Surveys were distributed on a single sheet of paper with identical questions and answer options on the front and back. One side was completed before, and the other after the presentation. Students were asked five questions about their understanding and perception of Islam and Muslims, with a total of thirty possible answers and no limits on the number of answers circled. ING designed these questions to track audience attitudes about six areas that are often stereotyped by the general public. ING uses the results of these surveys to measure its impact in clarifying these particular perceptions.

Stereotype 1: Islam and Muslims promote violence.
The survey asked several questions about whether Islam or Muslims promote or engage in negative behavior. Both before and after the presentations, only a small minority of students stated that they thought so. For instance, when asked to complete the sentence “I believe that Islam promotes the following,” 6% of high school students circled “terrorism” prior to the presentation. That number dropped to 3% afterwards. There was a larger change however in the number of students who answered the same question with “peace”. Prior to the presentation, 54% of high school students chose that answer, which rose to 75% afterwards (Table 2).

Stereotype 2: American Muslims do not assimilate.
Two of the questions tried to determine whether students see American Muslims as fitting into American culture and life. The first asked “When I think about American Muslims, this is what comes to mind:” One of the possible answers was “foreigners who do not speak English.” This response showed a drop among middle school students after the presentation with a shift from 21% who initially selected it, to 9% afterwards (Table 3). Among high school students, the number of students responding that American Muslims “have long been part of the history of this country” rose from 30% to 49% (Table 4). High school students were also more likely to select the response that Muslims “are ethnically diverse;” afterwards those circling that option increased from 44% to 66% (Table 5). Likewise, the percentage opting to say that American Muslims are “diverse members of the community” rose from 59% to 68% (Table 6).

Stereotype 3: Muslims are intolerant of and have little in common with other religions.
When asked whether Muslims “share common beliefs with other religions,” 62% of high school audiences selected that answer. This increased to 76% after the presentation (Table 7). In response to the question “I believe that Islam promotes the following,” 42% of high school students selected “respect for other religions” before with an increase to 57% after the presentation (Table 8). Also, the percentage of high school students choosing to identify Muslims as “monotheistic” increased from 59% to 77% (Table 9).



Stereotype 4: Muslims cannot be good Americans.
These questions gauge audience perceptions of American Muslims’ relationship with the United States. Presented with the statement that American Muslims are “Americans like myself,” the number of high school students choosing this answer rose from 45% to 59% after the presentation (Table 10). When presented with the option that American Muslims “contribute to the well being of the U.S.,” high school student’s answers increased from 52% to 65% (Table 11).



Stereotype 5: Islam promotes misogyny.
Several questions were asked about Muslim women and the perception that they are oppressed. Before the presentation, 19% of high school students circled the response that “Islam promotes” the “oppression of women;” that number decreased to 5% after the presentation (Table 12).

The statement that Muslims “view women as inferior” also declined from 23% to 5% (Table 13).



Stereotype 6: American Muslims are disadvantaged.
The survey also tried to gauge audience attitudes about whether Muslims are viewed as coming from a lower socioeconomic class. Asked “When I think about American Muslims, this is what comes to mind,” 12% of high school students initially chose “high level professionals.” That changed to 20% after the presentation (Table 14).



These and other results have shown the impact of ING’s presentations in challenging common perceptions and stereotypes. ING will continue to administer the survey to various audiences and continue to evaluate responses in efforts to improve its educational programs.


Interfaith Speakers Bureau Changes Hearts and Minds about People of Different Religious Backgrounds


Interfaith Speakers Bureau panelists from l-r, Michael Bennett (Buddhist), Maha Elgenaidi (Muslim), Dick Heiman (Jewish), and Jean Ramacciotti (Christian)

Introduced in 2008, the Interfaith Speakers Bureau (IFSB) is a recent initiative by ING to expand its educational outreach efforts to promote religious literacy and mutual respect. At ING we believe that Americans of other faiths can only improve their understanding of Muslims if they have a better understanding of their own faith and Islam’s place in America’s religious landscape.

By leveraging the success of the Islamic Speakers Bureau and through partnerships with 25 Bay Area interfaith organizations, schools, colleges, universities and other organizations can request onsite interfaith speaker panels that represent multiple religions. Every panel includes a Muslim presenter with one or more speakers representing Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or Hinduism. The student and adult audiences enjoy the interactive dialogue and especially the opportunity to ask the panelists candid questions about their respective faiths.

The Interfaith Speakers Bureau offers two major types of panels. Requesters can choose the Five Faith Panel and select from one of the following topics:

• Shared Values
• “Living the Faith” in the San Francisco Bay Are
• Contemporary Issues regarding each respective religion on any one of the following:
• Women’s role and rights
• Separation of church and state
• Modernity
• Environment
• Fundamentalism and extremism
• Pluralism
  

Requestors can also choose the Muslim-Jewish Panel, titled Jewish-Muslim Relations in the U.S.: In the Shadow of the Middle East Conflict. The purpose of this panel is to change the paradigm of Jewish-Muslim American conversations away from the Middle East conflict, towards common interests as Americans, addressing topics such as Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, maintaining our religious identity as two of the largest religious minorities in the country and issues dealing with security.

After the panels, the audience is asked a series of questions to evaluate the panel’s impact in a number of areas. Here are a sample of audience responses which illustrate the value of this important work in building inter-religious understanding and mutual respect, creating more peaceful, harmonious communities and preventing hate crimes and discrimination.

Of the 145 high school and college groups, comprised of 4,500 people, to which panelists presented during the last academic year, the following results reflect about 44% of those audiences which returned the evaluation forms.



When asked, what moved, interested or surprised you the most from the panel today? the vast majority answered as follows and in this order of frequency of answers:

How different and yet similar religions really are and the commonality of positive values such as modesty, compassion, tolerance, kindness, humility and the emphasis they had on ethical behavior; commonalities of values, ideals and principles; they had the same goals with the Golden Rule.

How civil the representatives were of each other’s views; how they talked respectfully with each other, they were passionate, yet objective and well educated; sincerity of the speakers and their genuine efforts for peace-making; their ability to get their points across without offending each other; they weren’t just tolerant, they were appreciative of each other; their sense of humor.

The contrast between the stereotypes and the teachings of these religions; before the panel, I knew very little about the different religions beyond what is portrayed on TV, I now know what their religion is about.

When asked, have your views changed about any of the religions or people who follow them? the vast majority of the answers dealt with Islam and Muslims since they are the most commonly stereotyped in the United States, followed by comments about Judaism and Buddhism, in this order of frequency of answers:

My views of Islam have changed completely from what the media created; I learned about the diversity of Muslims who vary widely from country to country; I didn’t know why Muslim women covered, I thought it was about oppression and inferiority, I now know it’s about modesty and humility; I learned that Islam isn’t a religion that causes terrorism, it’s the people who abuse the religion; I thought Muslim women were subservient but the speaker we had was strong; I learned that Islam is not actually against the United States; I have a greater understanding about the difference between radicals and moderates.

I used to think Jews were not good people, but that’s changed in my mind, Judaism is a peaceful religion; I have a much better understanding of Jewish beliefs and practices; I didn’t realize the diversity within Judaism.

I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of Buddhism; they view women as equal; I didn’t realize the similarities in values between Buddhism and Christianity.

There were also comments that spoke to changing attitudes towards religious people in general which are reflected in the following comments based on their frequency in the answers:

I am leaving content knowing that if we only lived by the religious beliefs and values that are espoused by these speakers, we would all be living happy and in peace.

I now understand that is it lack of religious understanding that causes conflict in the name of religion. This panel taught me that people need to learn more about their own religion.

I’ve realized the humanity in all of us; that we should get to know each better instead of prejudging people.

I’ve always been skeptical of deeply religious people but in the course of listening to these people, I was able to see that they were inspired by their religion’s calling for peace, love and acceptance; these panelists seemed to be truthful and honest individuals who understand their faith, I now know that all religious people are not fundamentalists; I always thought religious people are stern and strict, but this panel was totally chill; I used to think all religious people were crazy or naive but now I know they’re smart and clear about what they believe.

When asked, what did you enjoy the most about this panel?, the vast majority answered as follows and in this order of frequency of answers:

I was very impressed by the cooperation among the speakers; their respect and appreciation of each other; diversity of the speakers; openness and tolerance of each other; they complemented and reinforced each other; they were nice, insightful and respectful; they were entertaining and engaging; their sense of humor and friendliness; they were completely honest and straightforward; they made it interesting; their enthusiasm and joy in doing this panel. They were very pleasant. They were remarkably normal and accepting of other religions; charismatic personalities; they looked like they were having fun up there.

Question and answer session and the time we had to interact with the panelists; you weren’t afraid to ask any question you had on your mind; it was a safe space to talk and ask questions; the dialogue with the audience.

Content of the presentations they gave; their stories; diversity of views and explanations of different aspects of their religion; their descriptions were easy enough to follow where we can all connect with each of them; Despite the limited time, I learned a lot in the few minutes we had.

To request a panel for your children’s high school or college campus, or for your local or regional healthcare or law enforcement facility, rotary club or corporation, contact Everett DePhanger at Everett@ing.org.


ING Speakers from the Islamic and Interfaith Speakers Bureaus Take a Break Together



On Saturday, June 26th, ING hosted a joint Islamic Speakers Bureau-Interfaith Speakers Bureau picnic meeting for all of its 65 speakers at Huddart Park in Woodside. It was timed to celebrate the end of the school year to recognize the accomplishments of ING’s speakers and give them an opportunity to get to know one another. Speakers from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist faiths shared food and a trivia game that tested their knowledge about each other’s religion, before recognizing three of the most prolific speakers from each bureau who received awards for their dedication. ING convenes four meetings annually for each bureau, with two joint meetings where Muslim speakers and speakers of other faiths have an opportunity to meet and share experiences as well as increase their religious literacy and build mutual respect.


Teachers and University Faculty Find ING Content Relevant and both its Islamic and Interfaith Speakers Bureaus Effective

Beginning in September of 2009, ING has been conducting surveys of teachers and university faculty who requested Islamic Speakers Bureau (ISB) presentations or Interfaith Speakers Bureau (IFSB) panels to gauge their level of satisfaction with the presentations. Between September 2009 and July 2010, 92 out of approximately 162 requestors (56.8%) have volunteered to take the online survey which is administered a few days after the presentation.

The survey evaluates the requestor’s overall satisfaction with the presentation or panel. It also asks specific questions about timeliness in scheduling, relevancy and effectiveness of ING content, and the efficacy of ING speakers, who are trained and certified by ING to speak on specific ING presentation titles or panel topics. Results of the surveys for academic year 2009-2010 are as follows below.

ING Retention Rate and Marketing Effectiveness
Based on the survey, of the total number of people who had requested an ING presentation or panel, 44% had requested an ING presentation for the first time, which represents the effectiveness of our marketing material, while 56% had previously requested a presentation, which represents an extraordinarily high retention rate (Table A).

Click to enlarge all pie charts and graphs.


ING Presentation or Panel Satisfaction
Overall, requestors reported overwhelmingly positive experiences. When asked if they would “likely request another presentation or panel in the future,” 96% answered “yes” (Table B).



ING Office Scheduling Administration
A full 100% said that their “request for a speaker” had been “responded to in a timely manner” (Table C), and 96% felt that ING had adequately prepared them for the presentation (Table D).



Relevancy of ING Presentation or Panel Content
In response to the question whether the presentation or panel was able to “fulfill what you hoped to convey to the audience,” 98% thought it did an “Excellent” or “Good” job of doing so. Only 2% answered “Fair,” and no requestors marked “Poor” (Table E). Requesters also had the opportunity to add their thoughts, ideas, and recommendations about the presentations and panels (Tables F and G).

Table F. Representative sample of responses to the question: “What section of the content was most important or relevant for you?” The comparisons to traditions and faith that the students already know. I think it was particularly helpful to show the relations between the Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The Islamic contributions to the areas of science, medicine, math, and art. Learning that Islam is all over the world, affecting a variety of people that don't necessarily meet the stereotypes. Positive interpretation of women’s rights in the Koran, feminist perspective on the hijab as a symbol of women's strength and identity. Q+A session. Students were able to make connections between Islam and Judaism and notice differences. Personal experiences, lived experiences. The content was good, but the best thing for my students was to have a real Muslim to ask questions to and connect with on a personal level. The modern connections of Islam in the current world. What it is like today. When speakers discussed their lives and their experience of complex social issues through the lens of their faith. The specifics about religious practices and the candid presentation of problems of bias and discrimination. I think the ties between Islam, Christianity and Judaism were relevant, as was the respect that was exemplified by the panelists for each other.

Table G. Representative sample of responses to the question: “Please list one or more ideas that stand out as significant learning moments for the class/audience, and for yourself?” That Muslims are Americans! Muslims speaking out against anti-Semitism and terrorism. We discussed many aspects of terrorism and its association with Islam. I think the speakers did a good job a conveying that terror is not part of Islam. My class definitely liked and was most interested in the presentation's personal experiences (example - prayer, pilgrimage to Mecca, pork and alcohol, etc.). After reading about it, it was interesting for them to actually talk to someone who believes and practices the Muslim faith - we are a Catholic school so there is not a lot of religious diversity for the students. The questions are best. Students want to know what it's like to be a practicing Muslim and how Islam affects a Muslim's every-day life. The complex relationship of culture, people, country and religion. My students were particularly interested in the modesty rules for women, and our speaker answered every question with such kindness and humor when appropriate. Relaxed delivery style, and good experience with handling a variety of questions made a big difference. Sharing how difficult life has been for Muslims since 9/11 really got everyone's attention; sharing personal experiences and how Islamic theology impacts her life generally was very meaningful to folks. The Golden age of Islam and the overall concept of tolerance contrary to common perception. Information about early Muslims who were important or influential people. I appreciated the speakers' descriptions of what Jihad means, the diversity among Muslims, and that much of what we see in Muslim countries is influenced by local cultural beliefs (how women are treated, the level of secularism in politics, etc.). It was interesting to hear that a woman must give her consent to marry - marriages are not forced without their consent. It is a Muslim woman's decision about wearing the hijab. The many freedoms a woman has as a Muslim with regard to money and property. I asked at the end of the presentation who learned something new about Islam, and everyone raised their hand.

Effectiveness of ING Training of Speakers
Respondents generally had positive evaluations of ING’s speakers. When multiple speakers presented at a single venue, the requestor had the opportunity to evaluate each speaker individually. Overall, when asked about a speaker’s “effectiveness in conveying the material covered,” 98% considered it “Excellent,” or “Good,” and 2% felt it was “Fair.” No one considered it “Poor” (Table H).



Additionally, 97% considered the speakers’ “knowledge of the subject matter” to be “Excellent” or “Good,” and 3% found it “Fair” (Table I).



Respondents consider the speakers’ “delivery skills” to be “Excellent” or “Good,” in 94% of the respondents evaluations, while 6% chose “Fair” (Table J).



In response to being asked how well “the speaker connected with the audience,” 94% rated their speaker “Excellent” or “Good.” 5% found their speaker’s ability to connect with the audience “Fair,” and 1% felt it was “Poor” (Table K).



Finally, when asked to evaluate if speakers provided “sufficient time for Q & A,” 93% answered “Excellent” or “Good” and 7% chose “Fair” (Table L). None of the requesters selected “Poor” as an answer.



Requestors also had an opportunity to provide a written review of the speakers (Table M).

Table M. Representative sample of answers to the question: “Do you have additional comments about the speaker or speakers? Your [ING] speakers are wonderful people and taught me a lot of things! They are all excellent at public speaking and I would recommend them to anyone. Leticia [Preza] was not only… knowledgeable, she was also very patient. 7th graders are not terribly sophisticated, but she connected with them well. They still talk about her! Fouzi [Husaini] was terrific. His presentation worked perfectly with the outline of our Friday morning talks and he left plenty of time for questions. He is very personable and our students found it easy to ask questions and were engaged by him. Thank you for sending Yusuf [Bashir] and Omar [Ansari]. They are very good speakers. Haleh [Sheikholeslami] was lovely, interacted well with students, handled questions beautifully! I was impressed and appreciate the information presented by Ruxana [Meer]. My class definitely benefited from the visit - thank you! Thank you for the informative presentation! Shahzad [Chowdry] is an excellent speaker. I would love for him to return next year! Aisha [Morgan’s] background as a teacher is visible in her presentations. I loved how she connected kids’ prior knowledge to the content she spoke of. I also loved how she wasn't shy about filling in knowledge gaps, such as reviewing with the students how to figure out what century something happened in. [Naima Jameson] was able to skillfully balance all the questions the students had with the delivery of the content. Ismael [Nass-Duce] was very relaxed, organized, in command of his presentation and the time... and used a variety of instructional strategies that captured the attention of the students.

Impact of ING Diversity Seminars for Leaders Overwhelmingly Positive

ING conducted a series of professional development seminars through spring 2010 called Diversity Seminars for Leaders which were held for institutional leaders with influence in their respective fields. Topics focused on American Muslim traditions and tips and protocols for interacting with them to improve understanding, prevent bias and enhance service delivery. Attendees included law enforcement commanders, healthcare administrators, corporate managers, and school educators. Some of the seminars were conducted both live and through webinar.

Following each seminar participants were given an opportunity to evaluate the training program in five major areas. Results from 120 surveys or 80% of the attendees are as follows:

In response to the question whether the seminar met the educational objective specified, respondents gave an average response of 3.6 out of 4, with a higher response of 3.75 when asked about whether the presentation gave a basic overview of Muslims and their faith.


Click to enlarge all pie charts and graphs.


Overall average ratings for the quality and relevance of the seminar were also high, around 3.65 out of 4.



The highest ratings were in response to the question of whether the seminar adequately addressed cultural competency skills building, with an average response of 4 out of 4.



Attendees also highly rated the ING presenter, with scores at or close to 4 out of 4.



Seminar materials, which included PowerPoint slides, handouts and resources, were also given an average score of 3.7.



When asked to give examples of how they will incorporate what they have learned in their teaching or administrative responsibilities, attendees in the field of education responded that they would be more
...aware of student needs and accommodations for prayer, food, holidays, hijab, and other practices and to have an increased recognition of holidays and practices and would implement discussions and activities, and refer to resources given here to see how it can best be implemented.

Healthcare providers responded to the same question about incorporating what they have learned with:
I will be able to consider the ethnicity, culture and other things in dealing with Muslim patients but not to generalize them on a whole; have a better understanding of religious requirements and also of their rights in terms of medical care; and be more sensitive of people’s belief, point of view and traditions and culture.

Law enforcement officers responded to the same question with:
I will need to ensure that this information is passed onto all of my uninformed officials as they will have the most contact with Muslim Americans and businesses; understanding of non-emergency home visits; more knowledgeable in respect to my dealings with Muslim employees, community people and business members.

It is clear from the feedback that this program is effective in its goals for increasing understanding of American Muslims as well as enhancing the ability of executives to foster a tolerant, more harmonious work and service environment. ING Diversity Seminars for Leaders are available live and through webinars. For more information, see http://www.ing.org/diversityseminars


ING Intern Profiles

Saba Anees

My name is Saba Anees. I am currently a sophomore at De Anza College, and I plan to transfer to a four-year institution to major in Communications by the fall of 2011. I have always been an advocate of the importance of education in order to understand society’s issues, and this summer, I took the initiative to actually do something about it.

I looked at various organizations around the San Francisco Bay Area that would allow me to contribute to a greater cause and give me opportunities to succeed in pursuing my own interests. I had heard about ING through various programs at local mosques and community events and decided to apply for a summer internship. I chose ING not only to learn more about outreach and education in different venues, from the workplace to hospitals, but to increase my own understanding of “religious literacy” and how to make a conscious effort to create a difference in our community.

I started my internship with ING at the end of June, and since then, I have been learning about everything from media relations and event planning to research and time management skills. ING inspired me to apply my interests and education to help create awareness of global issues, and motivate future generations to do the same in our community.


Ziad AlJawadi

Once I decided that I wanted to study Middle Eastern Studies in college, I quickly learned that an extremely important facet of that field of study is Islam. When I decided my sophomore year that I would start to volunteer on a regular basis with a local organization, I had a large selection to pick from. What made ING really stand out to me is that it represents more than just educating about Islam and Muslims - it’s also involved in interfaith work. After a little more research, I learned that there is no way to study Middle Eastern Studies without a solid background in the three major religions of that region: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I soon realized that ING was the PERFECT place for me to volunteer to acquire that knowledge. I began volunteering at the ING office every Friday during the 2008-2009 school year. This was a very positive experience and I gained a lot of insight into the inner workings of the interfaith community. After returning from a summer in the Middle East, I was unable to continue my weekly work with ING due to academic commitments. I did make sure to help with the annual dinner to further assist this organization. Towards the end of the year, I had a period of time in which I again wanted to intern at a non-profit. After scouting out several options, ING once again trumped all other alternatives. I contacted the president, Maha Elgenaidi, and she offered me the job. On Monday, June 7th, I once again entered Suite 900 at 3031 Tisch Way. I sat down at my old cubicle, and proceeded to work. ING has helped me develop skills such as workplace ethics and professional manners. It has also helped me expand my knowledge of interfaith and has inspired me to continue my path of Middle Eastern Studies, and for that, I am forever thankful.


A Conversation about Education Reform with the U.S. Department of Education


Muslim, Arab and Sikh parents with White House and Dept of Education staff at ING’s office

In partnership with the U.S Dept of Education and the White House Office of Public Engagement, ING (Islamic Networks Group) convened a meeting on Monday, April 26th at the Muslim Community Association Center in Santa Clara, the first mosque in the country to host such a forum. The meeting was attended by more than 40 representatives of 30 major local Muslim and Arab organizations that are involved in advocacy, youth, interfaith or educational issues as well as representatives from the Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Caucus.

Speakers and conversation leaders at the roundtable discussion included Peter Groff, Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for the U.S. Dept of Education; Paul Monteiro, President Obama’s Religious Liaison and Assistant Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement; and Kevin Jennings, Director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools of the U.S. Dept Of Education.

The purpose for the meeting was to solicit feedback and input from local community and faith leaders on the Obama administration's education agenda. The goal was not only to hear about the concerns that Muslim, Arab and Sikh students may have regarding education, bullying, and discrimination but also to discuss the best way that groups working to address these issues can be connected with opportunities and programs in the administration.

Peter, Kevin, and Paul also took part in two additional meetings at ING’s office in the evening, the first with about 20 Muslim and Sikh students to hear about their experiences of harassment in school, and subsequently with a group of about 20 parents and advocates addressing the same topics. Both student and parent groups also expressed possible solutions to the issues of discrimination and harassment in school, and strategies for moving forward. As one Muslim mother expressed…

I brought up my kids to be good citizens and to serve our country.

But if they’re not accepted by our society, then how can they contribute.

Both the conveners and participants were highly pleased with the dialogue and discussion. The team from Washington summarized their findings and presented them to the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Assistant Secretary Kevin Jennings and the Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships expressed a commitment to finding solutions and relief for students of Muslim, Arab and Sikh backgrounds.

As two of the many outcomes, ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi attended a federal Department of Education briefing in Washington D.C. on June 24 and is invited to attend another Dept of Education conference in Washington D.C. in August on Bullying Prevention.

Muslim, Arab and Sikh parents with White House and Dept of Education staff at ING’s office


ING Speaker Profiles

Maahum Chaudhry, Muslim

I was inspired to become an ING speaker by my mother. When I was in elementary school, every year my mom would come into my class and talk to my peers about Ramadan. She would hand out dates as she spoke about the importance of fasting in Islam. By being the subject of such show and tell performances, at a young age I became labeled as the “token Muslim girl” at my school where there were only a handful of other Muslims, so I was often asked questions about my religion by my young, curious peers.

As a native San Franciscan, I’ve been privileged to have been surrounded by a diverse group of friends. Some of my best friends are Catholic, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and Bahai. All of us always felt comfortable talking to each other about our different faiths, but as I got older I found that they were asking me difficult questions which I felt I was answering inadequately. A little over three years ago I decided that going to an ING Speakers training would help me better respond to the tough questions that I was being asked. As an Islamic Speakers Bureau speaker, not only have I gained valuable presentation skills, but I’ve become more confident in talking to all kinds of people about my faith.

I used to be hesitant to talk about certain aspects of Islam because I would worry that I would be asked a question that I wouldn’t know how to answer. While I sometimes still do get asked such questions, I am much more confident in talking to people about Islam. Having this confidence has made me much more interested in interfaith work. I now enjoy going to religious services or interfaith talks that relate to several different religions, largely because I feel that if someone does have a question about Islam for me, more often than not I can give them a satisfactory answer. I have learned so much from my short time at ING, but I hope, God willing, that there are many more years and presentations to come!

Richard Heiman, Jewish

I have given many speeches to customers and employees as President of Campbell Hausfeld, a manufacturing company in Cincinnati, but none are as challenging as speaking to a class of students about my Jewish faith along with speakers representing Islam and other faiths. I have participated in many interfaith events with adult audiences, but that is usually "like singing to the choir" because those that attend are already interested in pursuing interfaith activities. However, in the class room, the students are of a diverse background. Some have never even talked to a Jew or a Muslim. Now they see us discussing our similarities and differences in a civil manner. That makes as much of an impression on the student as does the specific knowledge about our religions.

Working with ING’s Interfaith Speakers Bureau is the most rewarding interfaith work that I do. The most rewarding part of the experience is the "question and answer" part of the presentation. The questions can be as straight forward as "why do some Jews wear a skull cap?" to the most profound such as "do Jews believe in a heaven and hell"? While ING provides a study guide, each religion has expanded upon it with "frequently asked questions". If the questions get political, we explain that this is not a political forum. However, we have learned to handle tough questions in a manner that shows we are not ducking the issue. And the speakers back each other up. Each presentation is a little different, which makes the experience interesting and fun.

I have actually learned tolerance from presenting to students. As an IFSB speaker I am learning to really appreciate the differences in religions from both my fellow IFSB speakers and from the students in the audience.