WCMIR Organizes Conference on Difficult Conversations in Interfaith Relations

Some of the participants gathered for a group picture at the end of the conference

The nation’s premier Muslim interfaith group, the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations, took a giant step when it organized the first of its kind interfaith forum in Chicago, IL, on November 10, 2024, on issues the people of faith are worried but reluctant to talk about. In the presence of more than 100 faith leaders, the forum resolved to work together to develop a moral force that promotes a suitable environment for all. CIOGC was the main sponsor of the event.

The WCMIR 2024 conference was inaugurated by the CIOGC Chair, Dr. Muhammad Abdulgany Hamadeh. WCMIR President, Dr. Aslam Abdullah, welcomed the guests via Zoom from Los Angeles and the conference convener, Dr.  Ahmadullah Siddiqi reminded the participants to engage with each other in the spirit of tolerance, mutual respect and sincerity. CIOGC executive director, Cheikh Ahmed Mbarek, CIOGC Interfaith Committee Chair, Brother Zulfie Khan, CIOGC Interfaith and Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Sabrina Sirdich and More than 100 people from different faiths, including Bahai, Various Christian denominations, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and Muslim men and women, were in attendance. Ten young visiting Indonesian men and women scholars were also in attendance. Leaders from all faiths and denominations actively participated in discussions to learn from each other.

Rev. Bruce Duffield of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints leading a panel on “How Religious Groups can Tackle Hate and Violence. Present on the table are representatives from Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Christian Faiths.

Dr. Babacar Mbengue moderated the session on “Squeezing the Faith Communities’ Space in Civil Societies.” In picture are Dr. Hamadeh, Imam Musa Azam, and others.

It is challenging to have a discussion on thorny and complex issues when each religious community lives in its bubble of religious supremacy, always trying to prove its righteousness and ownership of God.

Dr. Ahmadullah Siddiqi and his interfaith co-workers at WCMIR accepted the challenge and pioneered the conference for the Chicago community to discuss some critical issues openly. Participants engaged with each other in two roundtable discussions of an hour each. On each table the discussion was moderated by a lead discussant who presented a summary of the discussions during the third and concluding session. Following issues were discussed.

1. The Gender Dysphoria and Faith Communities.
2. LGBTQ and Faith Communities.
3. Justice and Fairness in Interfaith and Intra-faith Contexts.
4. Religious Extremism and Response of Interfaith Communities.
5. How Religious Groups Can Tackle Hate & Violence?
6. How does my Religious Tradition Understand the Presence of Other’s Claim to Truth?
7. Squeezing of Faith Communities Space in Civil Societies.
8. Can We Develop a Methodology to Handle Our Religious and Theological Differences?
9. How to Develop Faith-Based Guidelines for the U. S. Foreign Policy to Promote Human Dignity?
10. Ethics of Dealing with Others.

Br. Zulfie Khan thanked the participants on behalf of CIOGC, while WCMIR secretary Dr. Tanveer Azmat came to the podium to thank all the participants, moderators, the volunteers, and the CIOGC for its sponsorship of the conference. The conference resolved to continue to further engage in difficult conversations in order to create a better understanding of our differences and commonalities. “Our challenge is to create a worldwide interfaith movement and a moral force to serve the humanity better,” said Dr. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, the Conference convener.

An overview of the participants engaged in roundtable discussions

Here are brief bios of the lead discussants/moderators of the roundtable discussions.

• Bruce Duffield, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moderated the sessions on How Religious Groups Can Tackle Hate & Violence? He has served in many leadership roles, including President of the Chicago Illinois Temple, Counselor in the Naperville Illinois Stake Presidency, and Bishop of the Naperville First Ward. He currently oversees interfaith relations for the church in Chicagoland. Professionally, Bruce has practiced as a trial attorney in Chicago for 48 years with the international law firms of Lord, Bissell & Brook and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. He and his wife Denise celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2023.
• Professor Inam Haq‘s area of expertise is Islamic Theology and Muslim World Studies. He was a lead discussant for the topic, “LGBTQ and Faith Communities.” He has been in various religious seminaries in Pakistan, including Shah Wali Ullah Oriental College, and the principal of two Muslim day schools in the Chicago area for 13 years. He is a Professor of Religion and a Muslim Advisor at Elmhurst University. Professor Haq serves on the WCMIR Board and is an honorary Imam in various local mosques. He has studied at the International Islamic University in Islamabad. In addition, he holds Traditional Ijaza in Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh & Tasawwuf. He holds a Masters in sharia from International Islamic University and a Masters in Humanities from Drew University in New Jersey.
• Marcia Hermansen is a professor of Islamic Studies at Loyola University. A Ph. D. from the University of Chicago, her areas of interest and expertise include Sufism, Islam in South Asia, Islamic thought, and Gender Studies. She has published many books, including Varieties of American Sufism, Islam, Religions and Pluralism in Europe and Muslim Theology: The Voices of Muslim Women Theologians, and the translation of works of Shah Waliullah Dehlavi. Dr. Hermansen lead the session on “How does my Religious Tradition Understand the Presence of Other’s Claim to Truth?”
• Imam Arif Huskic is Founder and President of the Common World Alliance and MASCH, both Interfaith organizations working nationally and internationally with people from all faiths in promoting peace, love, respect, unity, mutual understanding, including religious/spiritual, cultural, and American values through Interfaith Dialogues, maintaining clean environment and community safety, educating and supporting people in poverty and through feeding homeless population providing them with sustainable future in collaboration with other NGO and Governmental institutions. We speak out and up for enhancing civil and human rights everywhere. We invite all people to join us as one family under the umbrella of one Creator-God Almighty in doing good as all for one and one for all. Imam Arif moderated the session on, “Justice and Fairness in Interfaith and Intra-faith Contexts.”
• Stuart Barnes Jamieson is Pastor of Carter-Westminster United Presbyterian Church in Skokie, IL. He is also Co-chair of the Niles Township clergy forum amid an interfaith conversation amongst community religious leaders about the conflict in the Middle East. On November 26, the Clergy Forum will host an interreligious community thanksgiving service highlighting what we have learned and affirmations from this process. He moderated the session on, “Can We Develop a Methodology to Handle Our Religious and Theological Differences?”
• Michael Kooy is pastor emeritus in the Christian Reformed Church in North America, having most recently served as Pastor of Grace Community Church in Oak Lawn, IL. He has a Th. M. from Calvin Theological Seminary in Moral and Philosophical Theology and a D. Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary. Michael received a Friendship Award from the Mosque Foundation of Bridgeview, IL for interfaith activities he helped lead as President of the Oak Lawn Clergy and Religious Workers Association. Michael has played a leading role in many community activities that blend Muslims and Christians on joint projects. Michael also is an Affiliated Faculty member in Philosophy at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. Dr. Kooy was the lead discussant for the topic of, “Ethics of Dealing with Others.”
• Cheikh Ahmed Mbarek is the Executive Director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, CIOGC. He began in Mauritania, pursuing his early education in traditional Quranic schools (Mahdharah). He earned a bachelor’s degree in Arabic sciences and literature from the University of Nouakchott in 1993, followed by two master’s degrees in Egypt—one in linguistics and the other in political science. His academic pursuits continued in Libya, where he taught linguistics for two years, before moving to the USA. He earned a master’s in public administration from Northeastern University and is currently a PhD candidate in public policy and administration at Walden University. He has over a decade of experience in Muslim community development, engagement, and advocacy. Cheikh Mbarek’s topic was, “Religious Extremism and Response of Interfaith Communities.”
• Babacar Mbengue teaches Islamic studies and history at DePaul University’s Islamic World Studies Program/Religious Studies Department and History Department. Dr. Mbengue received his PhD in Arabic and Islamic studies at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. He has also received degrees from Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and Cambridge University. Dr. Mbengue was a Fulbright scholar with a residence at Loyola University Chicago. His research fields include Islam, Islam in Africa, Islamic banking and finance, Islamic law of contract, Islam and politics, world history, and International relations. He is the author of many articles that compare American and Islamic laws of contract, Islam, Islam in Africa, and Islamic finance. Dr. Mbengue moderated the panel on,“Squeezing of Faith Communities Space in Civil Societies.”
• Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid is the founding President of Sound Vision Foundation and Justice for All. He is an award-winning author and producer of Muslim Network TV, and Radio Islam shows. He has been active in community leadership since his student days. He has served as the Chair of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, CIOGC, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Malik is also a civic leader and has served on many national and international committees and foundations. He founded many task forces, including the Bosnia and Burma Task Force. He regularly provides thinking and talking points to Imams and community leaders on various social, political, national, and international issues. Imam Mujahid led the discussion on the topic, “How to Develop Faith-Based Guidelines for the U. S. Foreign Policy to Promote Human Dignity?”

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, BRIDGE Steering Committee Chair, Michelle Sweeney and other participants discussing “How to Develop Faith-Based Guidelines for the U. S. Foreign Policy to Promote Human Dignity?”

[Report Prepared by Dr. Aslam Abdullah & Dr. Ahmadullah Siddiqi]