ISNA Holds an Interfaith Gathering in Honor of Guest from DICID

10 May ISNA Holds an Interfaith Gathering in Honor of Guest from DICID

On Monday, April 26, 2010, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) organized a high level interfaith round table discussion and luncheon to honor and welcome the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID).

This well attended event by the most prominent inter-religious leaders from across the nation was held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

The title of the event was “To Each a Key: Unlocking the Door to Interfaith Harmony” and the morning program was opened by Imam Mohamed Magid, ISNA’s Vice President. A round table discussion of 30 national interfaith leaders moderated by Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director, then took place, with brief presentations by some of our interfaith partners. Dr. Khalid Bin Nasser Al-Khater and Dr. Hamed Abdulaziz Al-Marwani, both board members of the Doha Center, made presentations about the DICID and appreciated the reports about the interfaith projects and activities going on in the United States.

After the morning round table, ISNA facilitated the presence of many more leaders and partners for a luncheon with discussions on the same theme. ISNA Secretary General Safaa Zarzour opened the program, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of the Archdiocese of Washington gave his remarks about the genuine efforts made by various organizations and individuals in promoting the dialogue. During the luncheon, Dr. Al-Marwani gave a presentation on the mission of the DICID and its achievement to an audience of 60 interfaith leaders. Ms. Mara Vanderslice, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, addressed the crowd and expressed the administration’s positive outlook and goals regarding interfaith work. Mr. Rashad Hussain, U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, reaffirmed the commitment of the Obama administration to the primacy of dialogue and trust building between the United States and the Muslim communities around the world.
ISNA is honored to have had the opportunity to host and organize such a successful event where so many of our partners in dialogue had an opportunity to interact with each other and discuss future work and collaborative efforts.

We are grateful for our continued partnership with the DICID, which is the largest and most well respected interfaith entity in the Gulf region, and it is our belief that such a partnership will promote dialogue and activities to benefit society on a global scale, as well as strengthen the work we do currently here in the United States.

(ISNA)