Rev. Carrie Graham and Dr. Sarita Edwards of George Fox University
Dr. Edwards teaches World Religions at George Fox University. She and Rev. Carrie visit on the topic of interfaith dialogue, sharing information for those who may be new to the process…through some of Carrie's own early memories of dialogue! Click to watch the video here.
Ollie Jarvis, Pastoral Assistant to The Church Lab
Central to the work we do at The Church Lab is creating and maintaining bridges. Importantly, we focus on the bridges that cross difference. In light of our current national circumstances, with the pandemic, social justice challenge, and national strife, I would like to offer some thoughts on creating and maintaining connections to ourselves and to others: the foundation for all other bridge-building.
We are living in unprecedented times. So many things, in so many realms, seem like they aren’t going to be alright. For many of us, grief, loneliness, and stress walk alongside daily. For others, these things hide - jumping out to surprise us just when we thought we had them tackled. Sometimes it can feel as though something has broken. Myself? I often feel as though I’ve shifted into a lower gear; I’m chugging along, trying to imagine an ‘other side’ at which I, and we, will eventually arrive. I try to imagine what it will look like, just as I simultaneously walk through my sometimes boring, sometimes lonely, sometimes stressful days.
One thing is certain. As much as we feel as though we are alone, we are, in fact, never alone. I look out of my apartment window at the complex across the street, and I know that there are individual people in each of those apartments, walking through their days just like me. I keep my friends, family members, acquaintances in my thoughts constantly. I have candles burning for those I know are actively suffering. I often try to imagine reaching out my empathetic tendrils, hoping they penetrate the walls and the distance that separate me from my fellow human beings. Hoping that they feel my care; hoping they experience the bridge.
We all reside in mystery. That mystery shelters and carries us all the time. But it is especially important to remember this fact during difficult and scary moments. Each of us has a unique contribution to offer, even from where we sit, seemingly alone. We must insist to ourselves and to the world that we know it will be okay. We must each intentionally expand our energetic boundaries to imagine a world of survival and love. We must say yes to miracles; we must say yes to joy, to wholeness, to beauty. We must say yes to love. We must consciously imagine and build the ‘other side’ we hope to emerge into.
Here are some things I’m doing to stay present and build joyful bridges:
I taught myself to can! Prickly pear jelly has been my favorite so far. Although I must admit the lemon curd from the instant pot was also very delicious. Not only does canning take hours, but those little jars of yummy can be left on doorsteps.
I’ve been working jigsaw puzzles and sewing. I’m trading puzzles with friends, and sewing and gifting small projects.
I’m using video calls in new ways: I attend a church halfway across the country; my mom and I hang out together every Sunday for a couple of hours; my bedridden friend watches me cook desserts and bake bread in my kitchen.
I’ve worked on my family tree. It’s helped me remember that I’m part of a larger story.
I’ve been writing snail mail way, way more. I didn’t remember how nice it is to open the mailbox to a personal greeting.
I go outside every day to be in the sun for at least a few minutes, if not a nice walk around the block. I'm grateful for the smiles when I encounter my neighbors.
You, just like I, can reach out your tendrils, can hold hope for those suffering, can actively create joy and hope, both for yourself, for those around you, and for the larger world. You are loved; you are unique. You have a purpose and the mystery will eternally hold you as you manifest it.
Blessings and love as we enter a new year.
Dear Church Lab community,
No doubt many of you have read and listened to numerous statements by organizations and leaders in response to the tragic, unacceptable events of January 6, 2021. Here is a TCL angle, offered up to you in the aftermath.
Most importantly, my prayers lift up the 5 who perished, with countless others who were injured in body, mind, or spirit. It is too often in our American history that blood is shed past the point when change should justifiably have occurred. Sometimes that bloodshed still does not yield the overdue change. May this event honor those who were lost by serving as a turning point in our country. May we count ourselves among those both able and responsible for making change that would better unify, preserve democracy and refrain from resorting to violence.
May TCL lift up the physical and mental health of all involved with this terrible event.
As I think of Americans committing un-American acts, who can help but reflect on the path that led them to that moment? What is it that has been informing, building and eventually snowballing their beliefs into actions, which they perceive to be courageous behavior seeking to rescue democracy, rather than threaten it?
As a Christian, I am challenged deeply - in a gut wrenching way- in this moment to think of the way Jesus defines who our neighbor is, and to remember my faith commits me to love my neighbor, even when they may seem to be an enemy as well. May God help me in this effort, understanding loving postures can go hand-in-hand with principled actions.
As I watch my social media feeds from various circles, I see narratives to the left and to the right solidifying yet further. Certainly an act of insurrection does not surprise when its after effects include trenches being dug deeper. It is a wake up call, yes, but in many or most cases, it yields the type of wake up call you were already headed toward in the weeks and months prior.
As such, the dangers of our internal divisions grow still.
Yet as a dialogue facilitator, I feel a sense of refuge in our community.
I do not feel refuge because of like-mindedness.
I do not feel refuge because the work we do as a community is inherently safe or easy.
I feel refuge in that being part of our diverse community, in every clumsy and ongoing attempt to understand that which is different than us, this is where I believe solutions exist. Such a place feels hard to come by these days, and what a gift it is to even know of such an environment, where hope can be harnessed toward even an increasingly unified sense of what it means to be American.
They are slow-going solutions, as there are no shortcuts. But they are transformative ones.
The tools we use and hone together in dialogue are difficult, but we see again and again that they create space for peace and understanding which we did not recognize there was even space for previously. I know that is true in my experience, getting to spend time with the caliber of people who keep coming back for more dialogue, for more peacemaking, for more bridge building, even as the noise increases, even as the lines of divisions deepen into chasms.
Whether we build the bridge over a babbling brook or a canyon, our work is not deterred.
It is the same skill set, which grows stronger with every conversation, with every new step we take together, with every trickling effect it has on our daily lives.
It is you whose hearts and minds and behaviors I lift up when we see flashbangs go up in a sacred institution. It is your determinedly-loving community I am thankful for when people are crying out with convictions many of us cannot understand, and which may seek to take direct aim at us, our friends, our dignity, our pursuits and progress toward equity. It is our humor, our joys and our tears I reflect upon with gratitude when I scour news sources for consistent information and come up short. (No doubt the scarcity of a more consistent public narrative is a central contributor to our chasms, particular around founts of conflict, such as what “truth” is or even could be.) It is our community that surfaces in my heart when I keep thinking, "Where do we even begin?" To then remember we already have begun, and we have begun this work together, and that the lessons from our work can be shared with others who wish to start somewhere...wow. I am grateful for the work that you do, that we engage together.
What is TCL's recommendation for you in a moment of violence against democracy, which cannot be justified?
Listen as far as you can.
Like a deep, hurt-so-good sort of stretch you do each morning when you rise, finding you can touch your knees and eventually your toes, please challenge yourself to listen until you reach your personal limit. Move your capacity for listening -seeking to understand before being understood- forward just a milimeter forward each day or week or month.
You may not be in a position to understand anyone and everyone, and those limits very well may signify important and integrity-laden boundaries for you. Yet if we each build our capacity in this direction, we solidify well-laid hopes in peacemaking over time and across a spectrum of paradigms and convictions that will, one day with this hard work in tow, melt into a more singular sense of "American" again one day.
Building our capacity for listening is not the same as condoning.
When listening leads to deeper understanding, paired with our peacemaking work, it has the power to weave both compassion and accountability into a nation wounded by her own hands.
Both compassion and accountability are best informed by seeking to understand the fount, the why, the how, the what that defines who we decide to be.
Listening paves a path for healing, even excruciatingly painful healing we may not initially see as possible.
Our work continues, my dear friends.
I'm so glad to be alongside you for this worthy, unending pursuit.
-Rev. Carrie Graham of The Church Lab
Atheist dialoguer Bedxeli and pastoral facilitator Carrie share a conversation about why he finds dialogue to be a uniquely valuable experience. Check it out!
TCL is excited to continue pursuing its bridge building mission at this crucial time. We need your help to be able to do so in 2021!
Please consider becoming a donation partner.
To do so easily, you may visit this page.
To learn more about financial partnership, please email carrie@thechurchlab.org. Thanks for considering!
Spiritual-but-not-Religious and Jewish-ish dialoguers Donna and Gene share a conversation about what brought them to TCL…and what keeps them there. Check it out!
TCL is excited to continue pursuing its bridge building mission at this crucial time. We need your help to be able to do so in 2021!
Please consider becoming a donation partner.
To do so easily, you may visit this page.
To learn more about financial partnership, please email carrie@thechurchlab.org. Thanks for considering!
TCL is proud to present a showcase of all the work we do as we explore innovative paths to spiritual growth, helping the Church to find her future! Rev. Carrie and participants in our many programs share the profound ways TCL impacts their own life and work.
Please enjoy!
Ahmadiyya Muslim and Episcopalian dialoguers Qam and Ollie share a conversation about what brought them to TCL…and what keeps them there. Check it out!
TCL is excited to continue pursuing its bridge building mission at this crucial time. We need your help to be able to do so in 2021!
Please consider becoming a donation partner.
To do so easily, you may visit this page.
To learn more about financial partnership, please email carrie@thechurchlab.org. Thanks for considering!
Rev. Rob Mueller shares a conversation with us about what brought him into the TCL orbit…and what keeps him and his congregation there. Check it out!
TCL is excited to continue pursuing its bridge building mission at this crucial time. We need your help to be able to do so in 2021!
Please consider becoming a donation partner.
To do so easily, you may visit this page.
To learn more about financial partnership, please email carrie@thechurchlab.org. Thanks for considering!
The Church Lab Presents:
Remember nobody has to talk about anything you/they are not yet ready to talk about. Both parties need to feel emotionally prepared to attempt a difficult conversation. It’s a “mutual consent” situation. Try not to permanently avoid important talks. That said, sometimes it is important to say “Let’s wait and tackle this another time.”
What does “ready” mean? Mutually sharing the following:
Expressing a desire to have a respectful conversation.
Ability and commitment to listen, with an intent to understand rather than rebut
Placing legitimacy on one another’s feelings, regardless of the reasoning for them. It is not constructive to argue over whether or not someone “should” feel a certain way. As such, these types of difficult conversations require the a person prepared to acknowledge the value of emotional intelligence, self-awareness and the ongoing work for all of us in these arenas.
Be aware of how strongly we each hold on to our narratives, and that others are living according to a different script than the one in your head. None of us are exceptions to this. Oftentimes, we think if the other party just had x information, or understood more facts we have read, they would either change their minds and agree with us OR we could then officially write them off as crazy. It is almost never either of those. It is a more nuanced, less convenient reality to wonder what types of narratives and life frameworks contribute to us understanding politics, religions, etc, differently. It is a more complex conversation to attempt to understand the undercurrent of worldview more completely, but it is a truer-to-life conversation you open up in doing so.
Our political system often divides us into two political identities. We do not have to live that way or treat each other as such. Most people disagree with their own candidate on a variety of serious matters. We have a common struggle in feeling forced to pick sides, and then guffawing at the possibility that others -when forced - go in one of the only other available options. We are complex people voting on complex policies on a very limited multiple choice platform. To this end, it may help to begin the conversation by emphasizing specific common ground you share. Compliment whatever you can about the other side, as able.
City. Town. Farm. Generation. How diverse your community is or isn’t. Who your friends are or aren’t. The nature and demands of your vocation. The challenges you personally face, as opposed to those that belong only on pages of news articles and not in your daily life. Try not to underestimate how profoundly our lens is shaped by the people around us, and this is not a blameworthy offense on its own. Extend awareness toward contributors to lens tensions, and find compassion for the natural gaps that creates in viewpoints. This is NOT the same as ignorance.
Being open-minded requires an uncomfortable commitment to those to the left AND the right of you.
Accurate information is important. However, when parties abandon even basic trust, the conversation is doomed. If someone says, “I voted for x because of y,” and the response is “No you didn’t,” then we are at Trust Ground Zero and trying to build something fruitful on top of a severely damaged foundation. Abort, abort and reschedule the convo! Back up and find a time to work on basic trust before proceeding to more advanced topics.
If you have decided you are all ready to talk, remember you are allowed to take breaks. We have luck with sharing photos of cute babies in the family or googling pictures of baby animals.
For example, it will help to say out loud that your relationship is more important than this conversation before you even get going. Another good example would be to commit to check yourself throughout the conversation as to if you are truly listening to understand, rather than responding out of anxiety or speaking with a veil of understanding that is (if you’re honest with yourself) really seeking to prove a point to others or yourself. This is the hardest part. Fear and anxiety will be most convenient and might feel the best to you, but are not best for all parties involved.
If you are getting angry, it is likely indicative of hurts and wounds underneath. If it is safe in your family to be vulnerable, if you get riled up, ask yourself out loud what you may be afraid of. There you may find a more powerful, constructive place from which to share, and others are more likely to follow that model and let down their guard about where they’re coming from personally.
Conservative and Progressive Christian dialoguers Eileen and Kolby share a conversation about what brought them to TCL…and what keeps them there. Check it out!
TCL is excited to continue pursuing its bridge building mission at this crucial time. We need your help to be able to do so in 2021!
Please consider becoming a donation partner.
To do so easily, you may visit this page.
To learn more about financial partnership, please email carrie@thechurchlab.org. Thanks for considering!
What a year it has been!!!
Please read through our annual report to learn about how we have been able to meet our mission in this exceptional year for all of us, both in challenges and Provision to meet them.
Reflecting on this year, we are nothing short of amazed and deeply grateful for the ways God has allowed us to be of help as a spiritual anchor in the storm, which then allows folks to meet one another’s and their communities’ needs. Thanks be to God.
For us to continue this meaningful work, we sure hope you’ll consider generously donating and become a financial partner with TCL! We are hoping to keep doing this good work in and beyond 2021, and we absolutely need your help to be empowered to do so.
Thanks for considering a monthly pledge or generous annual gift from whatever you do have to give. Every penny goes a long way in a grassroots outfit like ours! You may easily set up a donation here.
With deep gratitude for what has been and what lies ahead for The Church Lab, alongside you,
Rev. Carrie Graham
Pagan and Baha’i dialoguers Dash and Curtis share a conversation about what brought them to TCL…and what keeps them there. Check it out!
TCL is excited to continue pursuing its bridge building mission at this crucial time. We need your help to be able to do so in 2021!
Please consider becoming a donation partner.
To do so easily, you may visit this page.
To learn more about financial partnership, please email carrie@thechurchlab.org. Thanks for considering!
In this season of fundraising, Rev. Amy Meyer offers you two takes on her love for The Church Lab. With her support (and yours!), The Church Lab will continue exploring innovative paths to spiritual maturity, helping the church find her future. Our growth is quickly outpacing our current capacity! We would very much love to have you on board as we dialogue across faith traditions, support pastors doing non-traditional ministry, and conduct experiments in the changing social landscape we all currently inhabit. Please generously support our ministry and all the work we do here.
During the first presidential debate of 2020, some of us might've winced for 90 minutes with sobering embarrassment, shock or even disgust.
We were seeing a mirror of the state of our country's culture. It was on global display between our 2 presidential candidates.
In the presence of a leadership vacuum, we must be the change we wish to see.
When foreign entities interfere with our election process, their intentions are not what we think they might be. In 2020 they are not intended to help Biden or Trump.
The goal goes straight to the heart of what weakens us even more than whichever leader you don't want in the White House: internal division.
In coming weeks, as a year more challenging than we have faced in our lifetime is laced with political tension more intense than we have faced perhaps since the 19th century, our core values are on the line.
For many of us, we feel those core values are tied to our vote. That may be true. Yet there is more to the story.
We at The Church Lab assert that there are shared core American core values on the line, and it'll take all of us choosing our better nature to preserve what makes our country great in this pivotal historic moment.
The Church Lab is largely impartial on many topics so as to hold the respect and room necessary to invite inclusivity and generative meetings of truly diverse minds and hearts.
Where we do take a stand is embedded in our mission: spiritual maturity builds and is built by a commitment to unity. This is not achieved by ignoring difficult conversations and differences. It is pursued by friendship pursued again and again by people with major differences.
Dialoguers don't cancel each other. Our community doesn't write each other off, even when it is tempting. We hang in there. Together. As a team.
At a time when our nation's political enemies have identified our country's greatest illness as internal division, and are effectively and strategically stoking that fire, we have a deeply consequential choice.
We can summon all the tools we have honed for years as a bridge building community, the lessons learned, the hard moments turned into redemptive ones, the tensions we have learned to love each other through while still all having a voice and a deep affection for one another.
We can be peacemakers in conversations where others have never encountered dialogue ground rules or frameworks.
We can be deep listeners, empathizers and speak with the sharp mind of someone whose patriotic heart is committed to the wholeness and well-being of this country. By our example, we can invite others into this posture, which seeks wisdom over the insistently distracting noise.
We will only be fooled if we take the poisonous pills that those who wish us harm are giving all of us Americans. This poison has and continues to tempt our fears and anxieties and confusion into a tight lens which interprets our own neighbor as our enemy.
Please, in coming weeks, call upon the quiet voice and the resilient toolbox of a person committed to peacemaking alongside standing up for what we believe in on policy. There are plenty of mutually exclusive choices in life. This is not one of them.
Peace be with you, which can and does so often surpass understanding.
Peace be with you, peacemaking be in you still, and may you share this spirit with all others in your physical and digital midst.
Peace be with you. Deep peace, on the right and on the left and the middle.
Peace be with the United States of America and our global neighbors.
Amen.
Written by Ollie Jarvis, TCL’s pastoral assistant and enthusiastic dialogue participant.
Ollie lives and works in Austin, overseeing his daughter’s online education and learning new recipes. He rides his bike a little every morning. Ollie is a friendly soul and would prefer in-person visits, but has adjusted to the times by staying inside and making small art. He was once 10. Ollie’s deeply grateful for his TCL family.
The before times. We all remember them well. We sat together at our tables and gave each other hugs as greetings. We didn’t feel the need to swing wide when walking past someone on the sidewalk, and dropped into the grocery on a whim when headed home from work. We touched our faces with abandon!
Added to the generalized anxiety of trying to avoid infecting ourselves and others, these new times have imposed other struggles. We aren’t accustomed to spending so much time in close quarters with our familiars or, in many cases, alone. For those with children, the close quarters are compounded by the fact that daycares and schools aren’t functioning as normal, leaving parents to navigate their children’s education at home. Jobs and work have dried up for a host of us, causing financial repercussions that ripple through our daily lives and relationships.
Then, as an added layer of uncertainty, the institutions many of us have trusted to protect us and provide an undergird of dependability have now been revealed as fragile, unstable, and fraught. The yearning to belong and feel safe some have felt for a long time is now being recognized (for the first time in many cases), by our fellow travelers. The noise and energy being applied in an effort to alleviate (or prevent the alleviation of) long-established oppressions exposes the degree to which we cannot predict the future.
Times are trying, no matter where you find yourself situated.
As the chaos outside built over the last six months, I found myself more and more grateful for this community: The Church Lab. I both work for TCL and participate in bi-monthly dialogue conversations. So I both give to and benefit from this tiny non-profit as it seeks to imagine and create solutions to the situations we all, but especially the church, find ourselves in. While I can't say that my personal experience over the last six months has been an unmitigated joy, I can say that all of my investment in TCL has, in fact, been that.
On a personal level, I can express deep gratitude to my fellow dialoguers. I would never have guessed going in how important these relationships would become to me, especially since on the surface, some of my community members would seem to be miles apart from me. In fact, when I recently shared a deeply personal decision with the group, one of my on-the-surface-miles-apart community members was the one whose reaction I most cared about. She was the first to react with support and love. That’s the power of dialogue, right there. Profound and valuable.
As for my work with TCL, I can offer these reflections. At a certain point it became clear that the pandemic’s effects would be profound and that our own community members were being affected physically and emotionally. Members of dialogue immediately stepped in to take care of each other in concrete ways. Furthermore, it became clear that the pandemic’s toll would be extended and could potentially affect everyone’s bottom line: the dialoguers, TCL’s supporters, our organization itself. The Church Lab’s financial supporters both stood their ground and stepped up. I was overdone with relief and joy each time it became clear that our supporters value the work we do, recognize how that value impacts the world, and trust us to care for God’s people. Since The Church Lab is structured to be nimble and to be financially solvent, we were in the position to use these resources to respond in real time to the emerging needs of our own community and the larger world. We created new means by which dialogue members can stay in touch, worked to develop ways to worship together virtually, created a newsletter block for social justice response, jumped into action as Hurricane Laura approached the Texas gulf coast. God is truly good, and working through The Church Lab.
written by TCL Board member Wendy Cooper
Wendy Cooper is a long-time TCL cheerleader and first-year Board member. She earned a Master of Arts in Family Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Master of Social Work from the University of Houston. Wendy currently works in legal compliance in the energy industry and hopes The Church Lab one days expands to Houston.
In mid-August, The Church Lab Board of Directors and staff met for their annual Board Retreat. Like many things in 2020, it looked a little different than years past, with Board members logging into the virtual meetings from across the country. While many aspects of the retreat were different, the core elements remained the same. We talked strategy, vision, budgets, and fundraising. We set goals for ourselves and the organization. We celebrated the past, honored the present, and prayed for the future of TCL.
Although this is my first year as a Board member, I am not new to The Church Lab. I have been supporting TCL with my prayers, gifts, and encouragement from the beginning. Not only does TCL’s mission of exploring innovative paths to spiritual maturity resonate deeply with my own spiritual journey, but I have also experienced God’s profound presence through my interfaith friendships. Carrie’s gift for building bridges has always been inspiring, and I think the need for that kind of passion will only continue to grow. After engaging with TCL from the periphery for many years, it is now my honor to serve the organization as a Board member.
A highlight of this year’s Board Retreat was the opportunity to join dialoguers for a special Thursday evening dialogue. TCL has long embraced the idea of participating in dialogues virtually, but it was wonderful to see the group thriving and connecting even without the majority of participants being in Carrie’s living room. The regular dialoguers graciously welcomed us as we explored the topic of Suffering and Inequity. The entire group’s ability to collectively hold space for one another allowed us to discuss this deeply personal topic in an open and supportive way.
True to the spirit of TCL, the retreat was filled with moments of fun and creativity, fueled in no small part to the goodie boxes Carrie and Ollie mailed to each participant beforehand. There were post-it notes and workbooks for those who like to write things down but also play-doh and stickers for those who choose to express themselves more creatively. If you want to know what makes a Zoom meeting a party, give everyone on the call a maraca and see what happens.
In addition to connecting over moments of fun, the work we engaged in as a Board of Directors is an essential component of the continued success of TCL. The Board approved a budget and fundraising goals that are higher than ever, not as an aspiration but as an accurate reflection of where The Church Lab is going. The seeds Carrie planted many years ago are beginning to grow and with that comes the need for additional resources. As a Board of Directors, we are committed to taking active roles in supporting the mission and work of TCL.
Although 2020 has brought us endless uncertainty, it has become clear that the work of The Church Lab is indispensable to individuals and faith communities adapting to non-traditional worship experiences. And it could certainly be argued that building bridges among people of differing perspectives is now an essential skill as the world continues to bend toward justice. Guided by God and connected to the community, TCL will continue to innovate and boldly move into the future.
This week we visit with dialogue community member Bushra Zafar. Bushra shares her experience living in this era of COVID in the context of her faith tradition, Ahmadiyya Muslim. TCL’s pastoral assistant Pam (Ollie) Jarvis moderates as you meet and get to know this wonderful member of our community!
WRITTEN BY JINANE SOUNNY-SLITINE, LMSW
Jinane and her friend Jasmine at the Women’s March.
The negative portrayal of Muslims in media and pop culture directly affects the rates of Islamophobia, discrimination, and violence towards Muslims in the United States. Muslims make up 1% of the US population and according to a 2019 report are the most negatively portrayed minority in American media. Terrorist attacks committed by Muslim extremists are covered at a 357% higher rate than those made by other groups. When these crimes are committed by individuals of color or those identifying as Muslims, they are quickly reported as terrorist attacks. However, similar crimes made by White supremacists are considered to be results of mental health issues. In 2018 the majority of domestic-terrorists attacks in the United States were committed by White supremacists, making up 78% of domestic-terrorist murders while 2% were made by Muslim extremists. Being American Muslim, I saw the direct impact American media and pop culture had in my life. I hid my religion from others because once they knew that I was Muslim they would treat me differently, distance themselves from me, or look to me to represent the entire faith.
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign ran on hatred towards Muslims, Mexicans, and immigrants. His administration’s agenda and policies set the tone that religious intolerance and institutional Islamophobia are acceptable. Political campaign narratives have a direct impact on our communities and influence what people believe, how they behave, and how they vote. In 2015 anti-Muslim hate crimes had the highest levels since September 11, 2001, suggesting that Trump’s anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric influenced the increase of hate crimes towards Muslims. Immediately after Trump called for a travel ban on several majority-Muslim nations there was an 87.5% increase in hate crimes made towards Muslim individuals. The majority of US citizens report not knowing any Muslims personally. If individuals are relying on the media to educate them on this religion and its followers, then it is likely that many will believe the stereotypes depicted and consequently fear Muslims.
Growing up American Muslim, I never saw my culture depicted in the stories of people in books, on television, or in films unless they were being portrayed as terrorists. It was not until a friend of mine gave me the book, A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi, that I realized how much the lack of positive representation of Muslims in pop culture affected me. I remember becoming overwhelmed with a wave of emotions and crying as I read the book jacket and realizing that I never saw anything like this before. The novel was written by a Muslim author, and the main character Shirin, was a Muslim teenager growing up in a post 9/11 America. I had hope for the first time in my life that I would see pieces of my identity represented in a positive way. I enjoyed being able to connect with the book in a way I was never able to before, and felt validated in ways I didn’t know I needed. I related to Shirin’s struggles of being misunderstood as an American Muslim and her need to fit in.
American Muslims are now sharing their stories in mainstream media such as Ramy Youssef’s comedy show Ramy, Mo Amer’s standup The Vagabond, and Hassan Minhaj’s political show Patriot Act. Books and television shows like these allow the general public to see non-violent American Muslim stories, and helps to normalize what it means to be Muslim. In addition, we have seen American Muslim politicians like Debbie Mucarsel-Poweel, Ilhan Omar, Donna Shalala, and Rashida Tlaib lead the way towards creating spaces for Islamic representation in national politics. American Muslims are being shown as active members in their communities, educated, family orientated, and hardworking. Their stories show their personalities, senses of humor, love and heartbreak, and vulnerability. These stories normalize their experiences to the general public.
Society needs to acknowledge that negative narratives impact impressions of American Muslims in media and pop culture by perpetuating negative stereotypes and hate. This contributes to promoting systematic Islamophobia, increasing discrimination and violence, and the othering of American Muslims. It is critical to examine if stories are being told by Muslims or through the lenses of people who have not lived the Muslim experience. Publishing companies and the television and film industry should prioritize investing and supporting Muslim storytellers and provide them the platforms needed to share their stories with the public. Lastly, journalists should start to address the ways in which news coverage contributes to the perpetuation of negative stereotypes of Muslims, and should work towards removing biased agendas.
I hope to see an increase of positive Muslim representation in society. Muslims need to be portrayed as peaceful, not as extremists or terrorists. The general public has the right to see stories about American Muslims and their lived experiences. With increased positive and realistic representation in the media, the general public can move towards seeing Muslims in a new light and without fear.
*Please email help@thechurchlab.org for the original pdf version of this op-ed, complete with links to references.
The Church Lab is blessed with a creative community. We invited our members to contribute poems, photos, videos, and prose to a gallery to be shared with you. Please enjoy these reflections offered as inspiration or solace during this period.
We all know that this is a scary and unprecedented time. So many of us are struggling with not being with our loved ones and even with not being with strangers. Loneliness is prevalent. Fear can feel overwhelming. I mean even going to the grocery store is a challenge! We are being asked to stay away from the very thing we most need--community. We are staying away in order to keep our community safe, which brings some solace, but not enough. The loneliness we feel, the fear we feel, the anxiety we feel are all valid and real, and we absolutely are allowed to feel them. Isolation can be overwhelming for some and even dangerous for others who experience mental illness. We must allow the feelings to be present, and to give ourselves space to experience them. But we also can find hope and peace in knowing that Jesus stays with us too. That just as Jesus’ death was not permanent, this too shall pass. Even though we are isolated, we are creatively finding new and exciting ways to stay connected. Recently I have heard of people tailgating outside others’ homes to see each other from a distance. I’ve heard of people dropping off baked goods for a loved ones’ birthday. I’ve heard of online yoga and meditation and support groups and even scavenger hunts. As much as this is a devastating time, we can also be so grateful we have high-speed internet and cell phones to remain connected. We are in unprecedented times, with so much unknown, but Jesus and the disciples were in unprecedented times too after his death and resurrection. No one knew what the future would hold; no one knew how long Jesus would remain with them; no one knew of the impact that one man would make on the entire world--changing it completely. The other day I was listening to a webinar and the speaker said something along the lines of, “Yes we are in unprecedented times, and we don’t know what the future will bring; but really if you think about it, we never know what the future will bring.” We never know what the future will bring. But the one thing we do know it’ll bring is community. And as we stay inside, as we stay in isolation, we are able to stay connected--to each other and to Jesus.
Melissa shared this image of her family’s new vegetable garden, which is just sprouting! She is a member of TCL’s Board of Directors.
“We got in the car and Seph put on music. It was dark out. Nine or so. In that moment I just wanted to drive. To keep driving into the dark. To drive away.”
Matthew: “What music?”
“I think rap. Driving beat? almost yelling at you?”
“If you drive away, where do you go?”
“New Orleans. Or Mississippi. Someplace that feels different.”
“Go to New Orleans. Imagine and walk there. Where are you there? A restaurant? A cemetery? A bar?”
A club. A club with live music. It’s filled with people. We’re sitting at a table. We just ate. We are surrounded by real. The leather the wood the people the alcohol. The music.
Right outside, the river. The churning the driving being that is the Mississippi. You can’t miss it. In the Quarter it’s right there. There’s only a levee separating it from you. When you’re in the Quarter, you feel it. You can’t forget. It’s just right there.
A liminal place. There are so few to begin with. So rare. Even more so an entire city. A thin place. Holding both the sacred and the profane. The deeply sacred and the deeply profane. Holding life and holding death. Death in life and life in death.
Holding the broken, especially since the flood, and being the heart of New Orleans. The whole the core the center that is New Orleans and can’t be touched no matter what. What draws you near and swallows you and makes you never forget about New Orleans.
In my chest under my sternum, the churn of dark. Its companion, the bright center of my being. Not two sides of one coin, rather each contained in the other. The broken contained in the ever-generating whole. Broken open. No one is remade entirely anew. Jesus himself, rising with marks. The Incarnation. My own self.
……
Seph: “It was rap.”
Beloved dialoguer Curtis Doss shares about how his Baha’i faith has informed the way he navigates the pandemic.
