“This years interfaith Unity Banquet was the icing to the entire convention.” Dr. Maseer Bade
The theme of the banquet was Faiths United in Welcoming the Strangers. Not only welcoming refugees but people of all faiths and backgrounds.
America is a nation that was founded on the values of acceptance of diversity and faiths that were not welcome in the old world. At this banquet we celebrated all faiths and shared personal stories of the acceptance our country and society values.
The Khans, a Gold Star American family, shared a story of how they were once welcomed, with food and household items, by their neighbors of other faiths upon their arrival to the United States with nothing but themselves.
The Unity Banquet also showcased academics who exhibited the importance of Interfaith efforts through their studies. Dr. Christopher Bail identified the amount of work that still needs to be done to counteract hate groups who are spending millions of dollars to demonize the Muslim population and Dr. John Morrow illustrated the true history of Islam and Muslims- one in which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sat with his diverse community and provided all individuals the same liberties and rights.
This year’s interfaith banquet is one to be remembered and used to set an example for future interfaith work.