Our Muslim Neighbor Blossoming in Middle Tennessee
by RfPUSA Staff
More than 300 people from the Middle Tennessee community gathered at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee as a part of the Our Muslim Neighbor initiative’s 3rd Annual Community Iftar, an evening meal that ends the daily fast during Ramadan.
Religions for Peace USA’s Our Muslim Neighbor (OMN) is a long-term, collective-impact, popular-education effort to improve public sentiment towards Islam and Muslims in the fight against Islamophobia. OMN is in its pilot effort in Middle Tennessee and beginning to expand its efforts and relationships with crucial leaders and organizations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and in Washington D.C., through our partners and national funders.
The Nashville Community Iftar has been a staple of OMN’s work in Middle Tennessee. This year, the Mayor of Nashville, Karl Dean, addressed the audience, calling for increased inclusivity in the Middle Tennessee community. Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings, Senior Pastor at New Covenant Christian Church, Sheikh Ossama Bahloul, Imam at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, and Rabbi Mark Schiftan of Temple Nashville were featured as a multi-faith panel.
Check out both videos to learn more and get a feeling for the importance of OMN in Middle Tennessee.