What do Muslims, hip-hop, & the environment have in common?  Mingle with Community Ambassadors & meet Green Deen author Ibrahim Abdul-Matin at IMAN’s upcoming Community Café.  Check out the Community Café: Healing Planet Rock event Page for details.

On January 17^th, 2011, over 150 people honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the One Chicago, One Nation MLK Day Brunch Reception. The event honored Community Ambassadors & Community Solutions Grantees. Speakers such as Chicago Public Schools interim CEO Terry Mazany inspired budding interfaith leaders, and performers such as Bravemonk & Super Inlight energized the crowd. Check out the pictures on our Facebook page and be sure to “Like” us!

This week at my local interfaith meeting, we began by watching the OCON film, “Masjid Dawah.” This film is a perfect conversation jump-starter and so I share with you some of the comments from my group. Although we only received a glimpse, given the short timing, the relationship-building (demonstrated in hugs, baseball games and offers of assistance) was heartwarming. It’s a sign of a good film when the viewers want more! For our group, there were many eye-opening moments…one participant even remarked that it was surprising to see someone other than white Christians doing service work! Aha! We were also inspired by Mike and his crew going into the area, laying their faith on the streets five times a day, for an impressive length of time. This is risky business and they are walking the walk with consistency. The service in the film was clearly empowering! There was enough depth to the short film to weave its lessons throughout our meeting.

By: Khaleelah (Dionne) Muhammad, J.D

Harvey “Joe” Henderson of the Bar-Kays is credited with the phrase made famous by Public Enemy, “Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude.” But why should it be so? Why has it been so? Freedom lies in the ability to think freely, to listen freely, to speak freely and to reason freely with all contributing ideas, perspectives and data set out equally for examination, none given more weight than the other merely because of the conduit’s race, ancestry, economic class, culture, religion, or other irrelevant factor.

On Friday, September 10, 2010, I witnessed something that I have rarely seen- a room full of people modeling the process that yields freedom. I have been working in the anti-violence movement for a considerable amount of time. I have served on various committees, worked with an array of organizations, collaboratives and coalitions. I had always sought to unite, connect, build bridges and create synergies for the benefit of my communities and humanity. Masha- Allah, on Friday, I saw a tangible, touchable, bi-product of that and now, there is no turning back!

Friday evening 50 people of diverse faith communities, denominations, ethnicities, cultures, races and even diverse places came to the Faith Community of St. Sabina to identify ways that they could collectively address the issues that result in violence within our larger Chicagoland community. Determined that violence would no more run amuck, unchallenged and unabated, Community Ambassadors Khaleelah Muhammad, J.D.; Saleem Muhammad; and Reverend Velda R. Love were in attendance and serving, as was OCON intern Elizabeth McCreless.

Ambassador Velda Love brought a group of her students from North Park University, a Christian college on Chicago’s Northside, as well as a fellow faculty member. A sampling of the population included a retired fire fighter who brought with him a host of targeted solutions to the issue of violence;a social service provider who works with ex-offenders; a minister who mentors young men; and a Christian pastor from Evanston, who wanted to pitch in and help Chicago and get ideas to serve her community, a long with pastors of other congregations.

There was also representation from the Chicago Archdiocese, the Deborah Movement, the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the I Care Campaign, the Faith Community of St. Sabina- the Catholic parish that partnered with Muslim One Chicago One Nation.

Community Ambassador Khaleelah Muhammad to host the program. Anti-violence resources and data were made available to all participants, including ongoing programs and a list of community demands presented by the community at the close of the school year. Khaleelah Muhammad had St. Sabina parishioner Tonka Maljevic open the program with a Christian Prayer, then the Al-Fatiha prayer was recited. The participants were provided an overview of the One Chicago One Nation Program and the importance of interfaith dialogue and community work was conveyed by storytelling.

Ambassador Muhammad shared her story of her fleeing Chicago after high school to escape what she then perceived to be a hopeless situation, the subsequent loss of her close high school friend as a result of gun violence, and her decision to come back home to Chicago to serve her community and how she decided to join hands with the catholic faith community of St. Sabina that had transformed faith into practice through their anti-violence work.

Link Film Contest winners-The Mission and Growing Power.org were shown and discussed after the participants agreed upon ground rules to create a healthy space for dialgoue. The participants then caucused in break out sessions to begin discussing the work they would commit to going forward, how that would look, what roles faith communities should play, how they could better work together, what individual and collective capacities are, what resources are available, which need to be requisitioned, etc. Each group answered questions designed to help each member of that group to establish an individual action plan.

Finally, the spokesperson for each group shared what the group came up with in terms of community resources, and next steps. Finally presentations were made to show members of the audience how they could get involved with ongoing efforts to end violence, including legislative efforts, direct response, the 5K Peace Walk on October 2nd, and the Deborah Movement. An online worksite is being established for the group to continue their efforts. All in all, it was amazing and we look forward for the work that is to come!

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.