House of Worship Presentations
Over the past few years, we have identified and responded to an increased desire from non-Muslim communities of faith to learn about their Muslim neighbors. To address this interest, we have crafted a version of our ‘Introduction to Islam and Muslims’ presentation specifically aimed towards dialogue at non-Muslim houses of worship and other interfaith settings. Building on the work of Krister Stendahl’s 3 Rules of Religious Understanding, we provide guidelines and tips on being an effective and informed ally to Muslims in addition to the standard information on the basics of Islam. In 2019, nearly 18% of IRG presentations were given in interfaith settings, and we hope to see even more in the future.
International Interfaith Exchanges
Facilitating mosque visits for non-Muslims has become a significant part of services IRG offers to schools, houses of worship, and other community & business organizations. However, we recognize the need to “walk the walk” of these efforts internally. Twice, we have hosted a group of diverse faith and community leaders from South Central Asia, facilitated by the State Department, to the IRG lounge to discuss our programming and respective experiences. We do our own traveling, too. Executive Director, John Emery, and IRG Co-Founder, Zafar Siddiqui, have traveled several times to Ireland and India respectively and conducted presentations about IRG’s work in interfaith settings.
Multifaith Law Enforcement Advisory Panel
In collaboration with Minnesota faith communities, IRG led the formation of a Multifaith diversity training panel for Minnesota law enforcement. This panel is certified by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) as a provider of continuing education credits for Minnesota law enforcement. Through this panel, Minnesota law enforcement agencies have the option of hearing directly from local faith communities on how their faith impacts their lives and the lives of their communities. In a single presentation, law enforcement can gain valuable cultural insight into their local faith communities.
Minnesota Multifaith Network (MnMN)
Four IRG affiliates were involved in the formative Steering Committee of the recently launched Minnesota Multifaith Network (MnMN). This organization seeks to connect and amplify the faith and interfaith efforts of organizations and individuals across greater Minnesota. IRG was a sponsor of their December 2019 launch event, and will continue to participate in their networks initiatives around public speaking, community education, and professional development as an Organizational Member.
#myMNmosque Video Series
In October 2019, IRG was awarded a starter grant from Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) to develop a video series titled #myMNmosque with our IRG Youth program. Our youth from mosques in the Twin Cities are involved in every aspect of the planning, filming, and distribution of these videos. The goal with the series is primarily to provide youth with the opportunity to work in teams and build professional skills, but also, the videos will provide non-Muslims the opportunity to look into what it is like to be inside of a mosque and have a mosque be one’s place of worship and community. Our hope is that it will encourage non-Muslims to facilitate visits and participate in interfaith programming with the Muslim community.
Those interested in learning more about the #myMNmosque project or being a site host for the video, please contact Communications & Engagement Coordinator, Rebecka Green, at rebecka@irgmn.org
*This project is on hold until further notice due to the COVID-19 restrictions and public safety measures.
