Dear Friends,
On Saturday, November 8, the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta will host its annual Building Bridges Awards Dinner to honor Atlantans who have reached across lines of religion, creed, race, and ethnicity to find common ground between people of diverse backgrounds. All of the recipients of our Building Bridges Award are people who recognize the importance of dialogue and education in a world where stereotypes and divisive rhetoric often prevent us from reaching beyond our comfort zones. Our keynote speaker this year, Ms. Dalia Mogahed, is someone who has challenged us to look beyond the stereotypes and rhetoric about Islam and the Muslim world. Together, Ms. Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, and Dr. John Esposito, Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, have presented us with groundbreaking research on Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. Using data drawn from tens of thousands of interviews with Muslim women and men from over 35 nations, this unprecedented study is a must-read for anyone seeking to go beyond the headlines, stereotypes, and rhetoric. If you'd like to meet Ms. Mogahed and hear directly from her about her work, please join us at our dinner. Please see below for details. As
always, thank you for your continued support, encouragement and
contributions. And please let us know if you have any suggestions on
how we can
further our efforts.
Thank you,
Soumaya Khalifa
Executive Director
Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta
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Building Bridges Awards Dinner with Gallup's Dalia Mogahed Saturday, November 8
Dear Friends,
The dinner date is approaching and available seats are limited. If you have already received an invitation, please RSVP by calling 404.377.8380 or emailing dirisbatl@yahoo.com as
soon as possible.
If you are interesting
in attending, but have not yet purchased your ticket(s), we encourage
you to go to our website and reserve your seat today.
If you have
already replied or purchased a ticket, we thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you soon.
The evening's program will begin promptly at 7 PM. Business attire is required. We regret that we cannot accommodate children. No tickets will be sold at the event.
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ISB Calendar
November 2: Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
November 8: Building Bridges Awards Dinner
November 12: Druid Hills United Methodist Church
November 20: Clayton State University
November 24: North Atlanta Clinical Pastoral Education Center
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The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta (ISB) is a 501(c)3 non-profit, apolitical educational organization that provides
certified Muslim speakers to promote awareness about Islam and Muslims.
The ISB is a local affiliate of the Islamic Networks Group (ING).
Donations to the ISB are tax exempt. Donations may be mailed to ISB Atlanta, P.O. Box 2608, Peachtree City, GA 30269.
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Yom Kippur at Temple Emanu-El
On Thursday, October 9, Soumaya Khalifa spoke at Temple Emanu-El's Yom Kippur service. Located in Dunwoody, Temple Emanu-El is affiliated with Reform Judaism and is committed to Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world through ethical and social responsibility.
Ms. Khalifa's speech focused on telling her story, introducing the ISB, and then
calling the congregation to action by engaging in inter-religious
dialogue with the Muslim community.
After the presentation, Chief Rabbi Julie Schwartz moderated a lively question and answer session.
Temple Emanu-El will be honored at the Building Bridges Awards Dinner on November 8, 2008.
Please see the Helpful Links section for Temple Emanu-El's Shofar Bulletin introducing Ms. Khalifa.
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ISB Workshop at Teachers Conference
Jelena Naim and Soumaya Khalifa attended the annual conference of the Georgia Council for the Social Studies (GCSS) from October 23-24. About 1000 teachers and other educators were in attendance at the annual professional development event. The ISB set up a booth and gave two workshops entitled "Teaching About Religion in Public Schools." Audience feedback indicated that the workshops were very helpful in offering guidelines for social studies educators. Among those in attendance at the workshops was President-Elect of the GCSS, Nadine Wright. She and Jelena Naim are pictured above.
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ISB Presents to University System of Georgia Faculty
On Friday, October 10, Huma Faruqi presented Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam to University System of Georgia faculty. Attendees
included Alta Schwartz, Director of Outreach for Georgia State University's Middle East Institute and Dr. James Winship, Vice President of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
The ISB's presentation was part of a workshop for University System of Georgia faculty seeking to expand their knowledge about Islam, Muslims, and the Middle East. The workshop, the sixth in a series, was sponsored by the Middle East Institute at Georgia State University, by the Center for International Education at Georgia Perimeter College, and by the Georgia Consortium for International Studies, Inc. (GCIS).
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Seniors Enriched Living
Soumaya Khalifa visited the Seniors for Enriched Living class at Alpharetta's St. Thomas Church on Thursday, October 16. The program included the ISB's main presentation, Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam, as well as a discussion with the audience. Participants were eager to know what the American Muslim community wants people to know about them.
Feedback was very positive and included the following: "We have so much in common," "I did not
realize that Muslims were like that," "Thank you for sharing your
time," and "You are brave to come in to a crowd like this and speak about
Islam and Muslims."
There were about 30 - 35 people in attendance.
The ISB is grateful to the members of Seniors Enriched Living for their hospitality.
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Perimeter Church Visit to Masjid Omar
On Sunday, October 5, Amin Tomeh and Soumaya Khalifa presented Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam to guests from Perimeter Church
in Dunwoody. At the invitation of Gwinnett's Masjid Omar Bin Abdul Aziz, the church group observed the noon prayer, attended the ISB presentation, and toured the mosque's new 17,000 square foot facility.
There were about 35 people in attendance.
The ISB thanks Masjid Omar for their hospitality.
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Dunwoody United Methodist Church
Mohamed Khalifa and Soumaya Khalifa visited Dunwoody United Methodist Church for a dialogue based on an initial presentation to the congregation earlier in the year. There were approximately 20 people in attandance including members of the church choir. The participants were especially welcoming and inquired how they could help the Muslim community. The Khalifas' response was now that they have gained the knowledge, they need
to build their tolerance, and then when they see, hear, or know of
injustice, they need to speak out. The group was very appreciative and wanted to do more with the
ISB.
The ISB is grateful to the men and women of Dunwoody United Methodist for their graciousness.
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Dinner at Conyers Presbyterian Church
Wrapping up the ISB's October presentations, Emad Hamid and Basma Elashker visited Conyers Presbyterian Church and sat down to dinner with members of the congregation. The ISB's host was Reverend Tom Sparks, church pastor.
After dinner, Mr. Hamid and Ms. Elashker presented Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam, then concluded the session with questions from the audience.
The ISB thanks the men and women of Conyers Presbyterian Church for their warm hospitality.
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