In the last few years, MCN has partnered with a range of organizations within the Muslim community to conduct community building events and educational workshops. These include: Independent Viewpoints, Turning Point for Women and Families the Muslim Bar Association of New York, the Council of American Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle of North America, the al Iman School Muslim Women’s Institute for Research and Development, Council of Peoples Organizations, Women In Islam, Inc. and over 15 local mosques and 12 Muslim student associations. Through these partnerships, we have initiated and supported intra-faith dialogue, Know Your Rights workshops, town-hall style forums on how to navigate city resources and programs that raise awareness of race, gender, and class divides within the NYC Muslim community.

 

One of our partners for Health Education programming is with Islamic Medical Association of North America that coordinates with us on the Nafis Salaam Smoking Cessation and Prevention program for Muslims. In 2010 we will also coordinate with American Muslim Health Professionals as well as a range other colleagues at such CBOs as the CSAAH Dream Project and Muslim Mental Health Institute. In fall 2009 we entered into partnership with the interfaith Consortium on Diabetes and also with several groups of Muslim medical students to conduct free mosque based health testing and outreach. We hope to build more partnerships in the health field to ensure culturally competence in services and equal access are offered to our most vulnerable populations.

 

In advocacy, MCN continues to develop a coordinated response to community concerns about profiling, security and civil rights in partnership with other local groups. MCN members co- founded Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC) and is a membr ofn the steering committee of the New York State Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform. In addition, MCN is also active as a founding member of Communities in Support of the Khalil Gibran International Academy; a coalition actively defending the original vision of Founding Principal Debbie Almontaser through media outreach and community organizing.

 

MCN is a consistent partner with interfaith bodies in New York City including the New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), the Interfaith Center of New York, and the Metro NY Religious Campaign Against Torture (MNYRCAT), www.mnyrcat.com as well as churches and synagogues in the various boroughs. Yearly events include several well-attended interfaith iftars during Ramadan, and the co-sponsoring of a range of grassroots events like the Children of Abraham Peace Walk in Brooklyn and the Queens Unity Walk. MCN founding members have also organized 9 annual interfaith iftars with Union Theological Seminary. MCN’s interfaith partnerships extend to our office space at both Holy Trinity Church and Judson Memorial Church. We thank these friends and colleagues.

 

Both MCN and its members interact with the New York Disaster Interfaith Services on disaster preparedness and September 11th related needs; MCN board members Adem Carroll and Abdulsalam Musa are members of the interfaith board of directors of NYDIS.

 

In 2006, MCN received a grant from the Care for the Caregivers program of the Council Churches of New York, much of which we regranted to projects devoted to community resiliency. MCN board members have also participated in grassroots capacity building trainings offered by the Citizens Committee for New York City, the Federation for Protestant Welfare Associations, and the Support Center for Non Profit Management. All grants and partnerships have been successfully managed.

 

Our board members and network participants serve as board directors and advisors to, and engage as participants in a wide range of interfaith projects and organizations including: Abrahamic Network of NYC, Auburn Seminary Multifaith Education Center, The Dialogue Project, Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, Interfaith Center of NY, and the Tannenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. In addition, members support and join educational advocacy initiatives of the Greater NY Labor Religious Coalition, the Metro NY Religious Campaign Against Torture, the Sikh Coalition, and United Sikhs. Recent interfaith initiatives that MCN board members have helped to advise include the First Summit of Rabbis and Imams, convened by the Foundation of Ethnic Understanding, the Trinity Institute's 38th National Conference titled "Religion and Violence: Untangling the Roots of Conflict," and Public Agenda's dialogue guidelines for the exhibit, "Islamic Science Rediscovered."

 

Community trainings are needed to prepare future leaders, to build the skills of current leaders, and to promote broader civic engagment among Muslims. Currently, few mosques in NYC have any regular social services, and many immigrant community members are isolated and confused about their rights, ability to access benefits, and even too intimidated to make donations to the needy. To help address the needs of immigrant communities, MCN Board Treasurer Mohammad Razvi and other network members participate in activite of the NY Immigration Coalition; we also work with other civil rights organizations such as the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Families for Freedom.

MCN is also a member of the Salam Institute for Peace and Justice, a nonprofit organization for research, education, and practice on issues related to conflict resolution, nonviolence, and devel- opment with a focus on bridging differences between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. We commend recent initiatives undertaken by scholars and leaders of Muslim communities globally, including the Ramadan 2007 letter sent by 38 Muslim scholars to Pope Benedict XVI, the World Conference of Rabbis and Imams, and the 2004 Amman Message and the Amman Interfaith Message. In 2005, MCN helped author a statement opposing Sunni-Shia sectarian violence in Iraq and other countries and urged parties to a more peaceful resolution of their conflicts. The 2005 Sunni Shia Statement was signed by Sunni and Shia Muslim leaders from NYC. We also signed onto a national resolution calling for an end to sectarian violence in Iraq and co-sponsored the 2006 Independent Viewpoints program "Dialogue on Sunnis, Shias and Politics in Iraq."