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Reflecting on History of ISNA and American Baptist Community to Promote Tolerance Together
(Jan 27, 2012) Last week, ISNA National Director Sayyid M. Syeed, ISNA Director of Community Outreach Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi, and ISNA East Zone Representative Sami Catovic traveled to the headquarters of American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) just outside Philadelphia, PA. They were the first Muslim guests to visit the organization's building, and they were welcomed by all of the staff for a luncheon. Dr. Syeed was invited to give address the full assembly of staff, where he shared how the relationship between ABCUSA and the Islamic Society of North America first began.
He related how, in 2007, ABCUSA General Secretary Dr. Roy A. Medley took the lead by speaking out against the anti-Muslim sentiment he witnessed in his own community. "We need to repair the damage done by Baptists who made hurtful statements about Muslims in the past," Dr. Medley said. "If you believe in religious liberty, you must respect other religions. The best way to witness to your own faith is through humility and service."
After hearing about this, Dr. Syeed immediately wrote to Dr. Medley and together they began the process of establishing Muslim-Baptist interfaith dialogue efforts. In 2009, together with the Alliance for Baptists and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, they established the first-ever Muslim-Baptist Conference at Andover Newton Theological Seminary in Boston, MA. The conference materials were published in the American Baptist Quarterly journal, and a documentary called "Different Books, Common Word" was created, broadcast on ABC-TV, and distributed widely. The meeting last week was to plan for a 2nd national conference as well as multiple regional conferences across the United States.
American Baptist Churches USA has since joined the Steering Committee of the ISNA-convened campaign, Shoulder-to-Shoulder: Standing with American Muslims; Upholding American Values, in order to promote mutual understanding and end anti-Muslim sentiment. "False accusations against the U.S. Muslim community, as represented by ISNA, fails to meet our obligation to love our neighbor and to not bear false witness against them," said Dr. Medley in 2009. "In all my relationships with ISNA I have found it to be an organization that fully supports religious liberty and our democratic and pluralist traditions in America."