The 2011 Building Bridges Awards Dinner, which featured a networking reception and a silent auction, followed by dinner, an awards ceremony, and a keynote address, was attended by 250 of Atlanta's most prominent leaders from the interfaith, education, government and business communities. Award-winning television journalist Angela Robinson was the event's Emcee. 

The ISB was honored to host keynote speaker Dr. Azizah al-Hibri, founder and chair of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Her keynote address "Anti-Shari'a Laws and Religious Freedom in America," stressing that the anti-Sharia (Islamic law) movement is motivated by Islamophobia and by incorrect legal decisions that relied on incorrect interpretations of Islamic law.  Dr. al-Hibri was recently appointed by President Barak Obama to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

 

For the past nine years, the ISB has honored individuals and organizations in the metro Atlanta area who have made significant contributions toward interfaith and multicultural understanding. 

 

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by ISB board member and event sponsor Zaheer Faruqi to Imam Plemon El-Amin, Imam Emeritus of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, one of the largest and most progressive Mosques in the U.S., for his deep involvement in interfaith work for the past 25 years leaving a lasting impact and creating an environment of better understanding between people of different faiths. 

 

The ISB Building Bridges Award was presented to two individuals for their significant contributions towards interfaith and multicultural understanding.

 

The award was presented to Brian Knowlton, Washington-based correspondent and U.S. editor of the International Herald Tribune, for his rare reporting on the achievements of American Muslim women leaders in his December 2010 New York Times article "Muslim Women Gain Higher Profile in U.S." Although knowlton could not accept the award in person, ISB speaker Ehab Jaleel accepted the award on his behalf and delivered Knowlton's acceptance speech. 

 

ISB board member Mohamed Yusof Mohamed presented the second Building Bridges Award to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia the Honorable Sally Yates for her commitment to ensuring fairness and equality among all people through an aggressive civil rights initiative and for proactive community outreach programs, including the Muslim and Arab communities. 

 

The Speaker of the Year Award was presented to Salma Stoman, while ISB speaker Mansour Ansari was presented with the ISBer of the Year Award.

 

Executive Director Soumaya Khalifa, who delivered welcoming remarks, was grateful to all who donated their time, efforts, and items for making the dinner celebration a success. She was also thankful to the generous donors of items sold in the silent auction.

 

"Special thanks to the young event volunteers who came to us from Georgia State University, Oglethorpe University and the Georgia Institute of Technology," said Khalifa. "Also special thanks to everyone who donated items for the silent auction."

 

(Pictures from the event on the right).

ISB Executive Director Soumaya Khalifa conducted a two-day special training workshop for Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies in the Northern district of Georgia on September 27 and 29.   

The workshop on Arab, Muslim and Sikh cultures was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, community Relations Service (CRV), U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Federal Bureau of Investigation - Atlanta Division (Rome Resident Agency), and the Bartow County Sheriffs Office. 

The workshop was designed by CRS to educate law enforcement, community members and Federal, State and local officials on the customs and beliefs of the Muslim, Arab and Sikh communities. 

In another related story, in an an ongoing effort by the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia to maintain open dialogue with various communities in the district, Khalifa was invited to attend a meeting hosted by the U.S. Attorney's office at Sultan's Restaurant in Sandy Springs on October 4.

 

The meeting between community leaders of the American Muslim and Arab American communities and U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates served as a forum during which a diverse range of topics and community concerns were aired. A similar meeting was held in April 2011.  

ISB Executive Director Soumaya Khalifa participated in an interfaith Service of Blessings at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite Hospital on October 26. 

The service, which took place at the interfaith chapel during Chaplaincy Week, honored the work of chaplains and the impact they make as they serve patients and their families. Joining Khalifa in bestowing "blessings" were representatives of the Jewish, Protestant, and Roman Catholic faith traditions.

ISB Executive Director Soumaya Khalifa participated in the second part of a two-part panel series presented by the Istanbul Center.

"Politics of Exclusion: Extremism & Imagining the 'Other'" panel series took place on October 17 at the Istanbul Center and on October 31 at Georgia State University (GSU). The panels addressed questions related to multiculturalism and religious pluralism, Islamophobia, the role of the media in influencing social attitudes towards "the other," and the importance and effectiveness of inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and education efforts and organizations.

 

The second panel in which Khalifa participated was cosponsored by GSU's Center for Human Rights and Democracy. Joining Khalifa on the panel were expert panelists Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Brian Lamkin from the Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI)-Atlanta, Religion studies instructor Dr. Peter Cohen from Clemson University, and Associate Professor of Political Science Gökhan Bacik from Zirve University.

November 10: Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) training.

November 16, 17: Interfaith Thanksgiving Service in Fayette County.

November 20: Weekend of Twinning program: Muslims and Jews come together to denounce religious bigotry. 

Zaheer Faruqi (left) presenting award to Imam Plemon T. El-Amin (right)

Ehab Jaleel accepting award on behalf of Washington-based correspondent Brian Knowlton

Board member Mohamed Yusof Mohamed (right) presenting award to U.S. Attorney Sally Yates (left)

2011 ISB Speaker of the Year  Salma Stoman

2011 ISBer of the Year Mansour Ansari

Attendees of the 2011 Building Bridges Awards Dinner

To view the complete gallery please visit www.isbatlanta.org or click here.

Salma Stoman presented to a group of 20 people from Grace Midtown Church at the Islamic Community Center of Atlanta on October 1. The Church, led by Jeff Seeger, regularly requests ISB presentations for their congregants. 

Amin Tomeh was invited by St. Bede's Episcopal Church on October 2 to present "Getting to Know American Muslims" and to engage in interfaith dialogue with a group of 30 congregants interested in interfaith understanding. Tomeh's message to the group was for all to "extenuate the commonalities and try to identify them instead of dwell on the differences."

Dr. Asif Saberi presented "Roots of Islam" to a high school class at Wesleyan School, a Christian parochial school located in Norcross. The host, Andy Cook, teacher of comparative religion, has invited ISB speakers in the past.

Ibrahim Awad presented to a group of 30 high school students at Furtah Preparatory School, a private school in Cherokee County, on October 5. Four teachers observed the presentation along with the students, including the host world history teacher Emily Kisor. 

Iqbal Kalla was invited to present to a group of 25 participants at the Northlake Rotary Club on October 6.  

Salma Stoman presented to a group of TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages) students at Clayton State University on October 15. The students had many questions in regards to Islam and Muslims, commented Stoman.

Huma Faruqi hosted a group of 25 eighth grade students and five teachers from Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church at the Islamic Community Center of Atlanta (ICCA) for a presentation on October 19.

Dr. Mohamed Khalifa was invited once again by Dr. Mary Ann Shope to the Gilmer Center at Dalton State College on October 20 to present "Quran as Literature" to a world literature class. Dr. Shope, who regularly invites ISB speakers, said that the students were prepared for the presentation after having read information on the rise of Islam and Islamic literature. The presentation discusses the history of the sacred text, its organization and structure.  

Emad Hamid presented "Exploring Muslim Traditions and Practices" to a Cultural Foundations class comprised of 21 students studying about religious diversity at Georgia State University, Alpharetta campus on October 27. Hamid was invited by Donna Bennett, a clinical instructor. 

    

Amjad Taufique participated in a panel discussion at Georgia State University on October 27 hosted by Campus Interfaith Coalition and Project Nur, a non-religious, civic student-led initiative challenging increasingly negative perceptions of Muslims by advocating responsible leadership and understanding. Taufique was asked to speak on the Muslim perspective on illegal immigration. He advocated the idea of balance in responsibilities and rights on both sides and to treat people as human beings and not as "legal/illegal beings."