As we approach the Jewish High Holidays and the Muslim holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, the Jewish and Islamic months of Elul and Ramadan are coming to a close. Elul and Ramadan are both times of self-reflection and penitence for Jewish and Muslim communities, during which Muslims fast every day during Ramadan as a means of purification, while Jews hear the shofar every morning calling them to prepare themselves for the new year. On Thursday, August 19th, over 200 Muslims, Jews, and interfaith allies from all backgrounds gathered to break the Ramadan fast, pray, and share a meal together. The Community Conversation, called “Iftar in the Synagogue,” took place at the Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. It was hosted by the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI), together with three Community Ambassadors, Tawfiq Farraj, Maham Khan, and Aqeela Jogee. Gloria Needlman, Lora East, Bridget Flynn, Alpha Diallo, and many other Community Ambassadors also attended and it was a great chance for all involved to connect, learn, build relationships, and dialogue with each other.

Participants started off the evening with an interfaith service project for the Night Ministry, collecting and packaging an impressive volume of donations. In their subsequent remarks, emcee Community Ambassador Aqeela , Rabbi Asher Lopatin, and CIOGC Executive Director Mohammad Nasir commented on the religious and cultural similarities between Jews and Muslims and, even more importantly, their shared values of service to our neighbors. As the sun set, it was time for the traditional breaking of the fast and Jewish and Muslim evening prayers. While sharing a delicious Middle Eastern Kosher meal outside in the parking lot—the group would not fit in the space inside the synagogue—attendees watched Community Ambassador Maham Khan’s film “Devon Avenue: Road to Unity.” Maham reflected on her experiences making the film, and her realization of how far the neighborhood still had to go to utilize its abundant religious diversity and move toward religious pluralism. Her call to action was for participants to get involved in an initiative gathering funds for flood victims in Pakistan.

The “Iftar in the Synagogue” event has been an annual event hosted by JMCBI and thanks in part to the work of the Community Ambassadors, this year’s was the largest and most successful by far. Not only did the turn-out increase more than five-fold from last year, but the participants this year also represented much greater religious diversity, exemplifying the possibilities of understanding and cooperation in a diverse community. Asaf Bar-Tura of JCUA said that whereas last year, the vast majority of participants were Jewish, this year, the representation was close to 50% Jewish/50% Muslim, with numerous representatives of other religious and non-religious backgrounds present as well.

All of this made it an inspiring event to attend. The Community Ambassadors present and the committee that organized the event radiated their enthusiasm for interfaith cooperation. From walking the perimeter of the lot, it was clear that participants were making good use of this opportunity to connect with others from drastically different backgrounds, learning about each others’ traditions and making personal connections. I’m sure all 200 plus people walked away from that event inspired toward further interfaith action—I know I did.

Community Ambassador Aqeela Jogee, photograph by Bridget Flynn

Summer in Chicago is half over and you’ve had a blast thus far.  Your eardrums were messaged by the sounds of Omar Faruk Tekbilek at Millennium Parks’ Jay Pritzker Pavilion. You kicked-it with Mos Def at Streets 2010. And, more summer fun is sure to come as we cling to these remaining Dog days of summer.  Well, my fellow Community Ambassadors, it’s time to get to work creating the change Chicagoland desperately needs. I hope that the reflections to follow inspire you to get moving and host a community conversation.
I had the pleasure of hosting two community conversations, and the experience was an eye-opener. I realize that we represent the leadership that Chicago neighborhoods yearn for. I came to this resolve as I listened to heartfelt testimonials about violence negatively impacting Chicago communities.  I heard from Clergymen and concerned citizens in a hall of Our Lady Gate of Heaven Church. Father Mel was all too happy to offer the space. His generosity reaffirmed to me that interfaith cooperation is possible.
I cohosted community conversations with ambassadors that were of a different faith tradition than me. One was with Krystyna Soljan and the other with Kristina Bonesteel. I enjoyed working with them and we very much needed each other’s support. We talked, planned, and benefited from the talents of the others—and guess what? We became friends. But, more than anything, I can’t help but to feel a sense of pride within myself for being part of a community solution. For God knows we need everyone’s help.

2.      What King Had to Say to Millenials, The Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-wilkes/what-dr-king-has-to-say-t_b_612285.html.  This article imagines what King might have to say to the millennial generation.

3.      Haley’s Path to Christianity Leaves Some Evangelicals Uneasy, CNN- http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/15/haleys-path-to-christianity-leaves-some-evangelicals-uneasy/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_politicalticker+%28Blog:+Political+Ticker%29&fbid=n3NJq6p-IR7.  This article discusses the continuing controversy surrounding Nikki Haley’s Sikh background. Many evangelicals are raising doubts to whether or not she’s “really” a Christian since she still shows respect to her Sikh heritage.

4.      For American Muslims, Choosing to Wear the Veil Poses Challenges, NYTimes – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/fashion/13veil.html.  This beautiful piece tells the story of American Muslim women who have chosen to wear the veil and the challenges and joys that come with that.

By Mark Crain

Now that voting and commenting has come to a close, we want to thank you all for your support of the One Chicago, One Nation Online Film Contest. In just three short months, nearly 150 films were submitted to the contest and 80 were accepted. Thousands of you logged on to the website and shared your reflections on the films. We can’t thank you enough for sharing your ideas and supporting our efforts to promote the power of digital storytelling.

A special thanks is in order for everyone that took the time to work on a film for this project. Not every film was accepted into the contest, but that should not diminish their merit as works of art and as opportunities for someone to share their story. Nearly 50 of you were involved in our free film training courses, honing your filming and editing skills by working with two of Chicago’s premier production and training houses, Endless Eye Productions and Street-Level Youth Media. Hopefully, these classes enhanced your understanding of the usefulness and importance of embracing digital media .

We will determine the finalists of the film contest this week. according to how well their film met the competition’s criteria, how well they utilized their democratic power to gather votes, and how effectively their film promoted the message of interfaith and intercultural learning to create a better city of Chicago.

We urge you to come out and support the contest on June 17 if you’re in Chicago when we announce the winners at Millennium Park’s public concert, “Dandana: A Celebration of Muslim Voices.”

View the films online here: http://www.linktv.org/onechicago/films

Check out a few images from our workshops below.

By Hind Makki

When we were developing the One Chicago, One Nation initiative last summer, we thought long and hard about the role we wanted the Community Ambassadors to play: we knew that Chicago is a racially, socio-economically and religiously segregated city, which is why we started the One Chicago, One Nation initiative in the first place. We knew we wanted to work with people who are leaders in their own circles of influence. And we knew that we wanted these Community Ambassadors to reflect the religious, racial, geographic and socio-economic diversity of this city. And the big question was – would the people we were seeking want to seek us out?

We launched a successful “coming out” party for One Chicago, One Nation in January, introducing our initiative to 750 people in a packed room at the Chicago Cultural Center. Soon after, we dove into the job of reaching out to folks who were potential Community Ambassadors and our outreach led us to literally thousands of people connected to universities, non-profit organizations, houses of worship, cultural institutions as well as individuals. Most people we connected with were supportive of the One Chicago, One Nation initiative, and as the momentum builds for the initiative this spring, our inboxes have been flooding with applications from people all over Chicago who want to join the Community Ambassador program. The leaders who are applying are a wonderful testimony to the great diversity and wealth of resources our city has to offer:

From the 18 year old recent graduate who organized a day to “talk to someone new” at her suburban high school, to a 69-year old retired English professor using poetry to build religious pluralism among children, the inaugural cohort of the Community Ambassador program has the potential to represent all walks of life. Community Ambassadors will help their communities to build lasting relationships across religious, cultural, economic, and racial lines and rightly reflect the city’s diversity: Immigrants from Canada, Ghana, and Malawi; college professors, and pre-school teachers; residents of Humboldt Park, Geneva, River North, and Arlington Heights; teenagers and Baby Boomers; men and women; Black, White, Latino, Arab, and Asian; community organizers, stay-at-home moms, consultants, filmmakers, and lawyers; Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Secular Humanists.

I have high expectations for our class of Community Ambassadors this year. The applications we are receiving live up to our American motto E Pluribus, Unum – Out of Many, One. The fact that all these people who represent all walks of life believe in the mission of One Chicago, One Nation gives me hope that the vision we dreamt of last summer, a vision of training 100 leaders to lead their communities in building social cohesion and interfaith cooperation in our city, can become a reality.

The Inner-city Muslim Action Network has a history of grassroots community service and activism, and a focus on materially impacting the neighborhood and community of Marquette Park, and Chicago as a whole. In this work, we know the importance of people telling their individual stories and sharing their experiences to find and highlight common value systems. This is what the online film contest hopes to do through digital storytelling.

Each person submitting a film is offering us an opportunity to understand someone else’s perspective, and learn from the issues and the solutions that they present. Ultimately, the ability to empathize with our fellow Chicagoans, and more importantly, fellow human beings, is an invaluable skill and character trait. Please watch the videos online at linktv.org/onechicago, and leave your comments and votes.

We’re also hoping to build peoples’ skill sets by offering free film-making workshops, starting this Saturday, February 20. IMAN is hosting free film workshops on the south and north sides of Chicago, and we’d love for you to sign up!

If you have any questions, please email us at films@onechicago-onenation.org. We love talking about this project and are always happy to discuss it with you!
You can also find details by clicking Film Contest above.

And if you’re just not into film, don’t forget about our Community Ambassador program, and our 20 $10,000 Community Solution Grants…

By Erin Williams

On January 13th, Allah Made Me Funny’s Azhar Usman and Rami Nashashibi, the Executive Director of Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) appeared on Chicago Public Radio’s Vocalo.org to bring attention to One Chicago, One Nation. The humor and insight they brought to their Vocalo.org interview carried over into the energy they brought with them the next night, on January 14th, where Azhar and Rami spoke to over 657 people at the launch of One Chicago, One Nation at the Chicago Cultural Center. Also taking the stage were poet Kevin Coval; journalist and producer Bill Kurtis; co-founder and convener of United Congress, Rev. Patricia Watkins; President & CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, Terry Mazany; CEO of One Nation, Henry Izumizaki; Vice President & General Manager of Link TV, Wendy Hanamura; Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel; Associate Director for Religious Diversity at DePaul University, Dr. F. Javier Orozco; and youth from Imagine Englewood If and JCUA’s Or Tzedek. Launch attendees also got to listen to music (and watch breakdancing!) from Seneke Ensemble, Duzan Ensemble, Indigo, and DJ David Chavez. Profiled by The New York Times , The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun Times, Gapers Block, and NonProphet Status, the launch catalyzed Chicago toward working together on common projects for the common good.

To get involved, apply to be a Community Ambassador (applications due March 19!) or submit your film to the One Chicago, One Nation film contest (http://www.linktv.org/onechicago) (submissions due April 23rd)!

Thanks for taking the time to visit the One Chicago, One Nation blog! We’re excited that you’re interested in this new initiative designed to engage and unite Chicago’s many diverse communities. Through a mix of film making, interfaith dialogue, and community solutions grants, people of all interests have an opportunity to affect positive change in Chicago’s neighborhoods, addressing local issues and building meaningful relationships. One Chicago, One Nation is a pioneering new method of helping people find their common beliefs and their shared values.

Keeping up with the blog is a great way to see milestones of the initiative and, when the conversations begin, get news, opinions and synopses of our community dialogues. Come back often, participate in the online conversation, and become a true member of One Chicago, One Nation. Every way you engage is another step towards perfecting our civil society. We’re Building America Together.