American Islamic Congress
Background information
Source:
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The American Islamic Congress (AIC) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization created to spread knowledge and awareness of the issues that face the Muslim community in America as well as abroad. Their aim is to bring together people of all faiths, whether they be Muslim, Jewish, Christian, atheist, or anything else, and establish dialogue centered around tolerance and international human rights.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Muslim community was bombarded by a wave of racist discourse and negative stereotypes. The AIC was formed to counter these ideas and to provide a noble image of not only American Muslims, but also Islam in general. The biographical page of the AIC's website elaborates: "With the Muslim community we have built a coalition around the principles of an unequivocal denunciation of terrorism, extremism, and hate speech. Reaching out to all peoples of conscience, we promote genuine interfaith dialogue and stress that tremendous diversity exists within Islam and in Muslim communities throughout the world." This is just one example of how the AIC utilizes itself as a bridge between the West and the Muslim world. Through education at home and abroad, the AIC aims to lessen, if not resolve, the conflict between Westerners and those of Islamic faith.
Zainab Al-Suwajj (pictured above) is the co-founder and current executive director of the AIC. The aftermath of 9/11 inspired her to create an organization that values interfaith and interracial communication as a means of developing tolerance and peace. She found this goal to be of critical importance and thus resigned from her former occupation of teaching at Yale University in order to give the AIC her full attention and effort. She is also a strong advocate for the practice of nonviolence as a means of protest as well as taking full advantage of modern social media for political mobilization.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Muslim community was bombarded by a wave of racist discourse and negative stereotypes. The AIC was formed to counter these ideas and to provide a noble image of not only American Muslims, but also Islam in general. The biographical page of the AIC's website elaborates: "With the Muslim community we have built a coalition around the principles of an unequivocal denunciation of terrorism, extremism, and hate speech. Reaching out to all peoples of conscience, we promote genuine interfaith dialogue and stress that tremendous diversity exists within Islam and in Muslim communities throughout the world." This is just one example of how the AIC utilizes itself as a bridge between the West and the Muslim world. Through education at home and abroad, the AIC aims to lessen, if not resolve, the conflict between Westerners and those of Islamic faith.
Zainab Al-Suwajj (pictured above) is the co-founder and current executive director of the AIC. The aftermath of 9/11 inspired her to create an organization that values interfaith and interracial communication as a means of developing tolerance and peace. She found this goal to be of critical importance and thus resigned from her former occupation of teaching at Yale University in order to give the AIC her full attention and effort. She is also a strong advocate for the practice of nonviolence as a means of protest as well as taking full advantage of modern social media for political mobilization.
Project Nur Project Nur is an initiative of the AIC that is organized on several college campuses across the nation, including nearby San Francisco State University. It is a group that brings together students of all backgrounds under the common goal of tolerance, justice, and human rights. Project Nur sponsors college groups to attend conferences in Washington D.C. to connect not only with students from other states, but also to interact directly with government officials, learn about the legislative process first-hand, and potentially lead rallies calling for their proposed legislation. Getting involved or applying for an internship is easy and can be done at http://www.aicongress.org/project-nur/get-involved/.
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In 2008, the AIC released a comic book about Martin Luther King Jr. and his message of nonviolence in both Arabic and Farsi. The comic book was available on the internet and could thus be reached by people around the globe. The AIC did this in order to instill hope in anyone in the Muslim world who felt oppressed. It gives people someone to relate to; someone who experienced discrimination and injustice first hand. But not only did Martin Luther King experience these hardships, he also was able to heroically overcome them with his philosophy of nonviolence. The AIC printed its first copies in Cairo Egypt as a way to inspire the youth and activists alike. Also, telling the story of an American hero who strove and fought against racism is a way of bringing the Muslim community of the globe together with the Muslim community of America.
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