Interfaithing in a Pandemic

By Shoulder to Shoulder

Anti-Muslim hate and violence has been rising over the past decade in our nation and across the globe, and we’re bound to see another spike in the leadup to the elections. Rather than wrongfully assume that American Muslims must bear the responsibility for addressing this issue, we need people of all faith and non-faith backgrounds to step up and address the issue as an American problem (that is also international in nature). 

Shoulder to Shoulder is a coalition-based campaign of religious denominations and faith-based organizations committed to mobilizing non-Muslim faith communities to speak up and take action collectively and publicly on this issue, while also doing the internal work in their own communities and networks to root out implicit and explicit anti-Muslim bias. Within this context, we’ve worked over the past several years to uplift Iftars during Ramadan that are open to people who do not identify as Muslim, through a program called the United States of Love Over Hate. 

This year, of course, is different. Because we cannot gather in person, we wanted to provide ways for folks to meaningfully connect across faith lines during Ramadan. We’re running an initiative called Welcome To My Table, connecting households to one another for virtual interfaith Iftars. We have also released a video series, which you can find here, telling stories from our 2019 Ramadan Road Trip across the US Southeast and highlighting American Muslim experiences, the concept of allyship, and the varieties of interfaith engagement. 

Transformation doesn’t happen automatically, and anti-Muslim hate and discrimination will not lessen without intentional work. One element we do know is that it’s important to have existing relationships with Muslim neighbors before non-Muslim individuals and communities can make a meaningful impact and push back against harmful rhetoric and misinformation, respond to hate crimes and bullying, or organize and advocate. Building relationships across difference will not solve the problem, but it is an essential piece of a larger puzzle in a broader long-term strategy of developing social infrastructures to respond to various displays of anti-Muslim bigotry and violence. We recognize that bridge-building work is not for everyone, but for those who are called to it, Shoulder to Shoulder is here as a resource.