Fight Islamophobia, OIC Urges World

Amid hostile sentiments against Muslim minorities in several Western countries, the world's largest Muslim group has called for concerted effort to stop growing campaigns against Muslims and their faith around the globe.

"Islamophobia is on the rise," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said in a statement on Saturday, May 5.

http://www.onislam.net/english/news/global/456922-fight-islamophobia-oic-urges-world.html

Five Central New Yorkers honoured for efforts in Middle East dialogue group

The 30th annual Interfaith Leadership Awards Dinner next week will honor five Central New Yorkers who are building bridges of understanding between different cultures and religions.

Organizers from Interfaith Works of Central New York said the honorees deserve recognition for each of their own distinguished careers — in academia, medicine, business and law.

But the five honorees were chosen for their willingness to take part in “courageous conversations,” which reach across stereotypes and the divides of culture, class and color, individually and collectively, through the Syracuse-Area Middle East Dialogue Group.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/five_central_new_yorkers_honor.html

Winnetka Presbyterian Church and Muslim center start partnership

Members of a Winnetka church and a Morton Grove mosque want to learn more about each other’s faith and know each other better as friends.

When Dilnaz Waraich met Kathy McNair, the two Winnetka residents learned they share a common interest in building bridges between different faiths.

Rev. McNair is a specialized minister at the Winnetka Presbyterian Church and organizer of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions’ Sharing Sacred Spaces Project. According to the council’s website, the goal of the program is to widen participation in interreligious activity” in the Chicago area.

http://mortongrove.suntimes.com/news/12311941-418/winnetka-presbyterian-church-and-muslim-center-start-partnership.html