2023 Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner Program

2023MAYORS'RAMADANUNITYDINNER

more than a

meal

HOSTEDBYMAYORSANDY SCHOR&RONBACON

evening program

Master of Ceremonies

Welcome

Welcome

Dr. Farhan Bhatti, M.D. CEO, Care Free Medical

Mayor Andy Schor City of Lansing

Mayor Ron Bacon City of East Lansing

Welcome Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist State of Michigan

Ecumenical Prayer

Recognition of Sponsors

Buffet Dinner Served

Ramadan Video

Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker

Closing Remarks

Imam Sohail Chaudhry

Islamic Center of East Lansing

Dr Farhan Bhatti, M D

Dr. Farhan Bhatti, M.D.

Thasin Sardar Islamic Society of Greater Lansing

Dr. Mohammad Hassan Khalil, P.h.D.

Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Muslim Studies Program, and Adjunct Professor in the College of Law at Michigan State University

Dr. Farhan Bhatti, M.D.

Michelle Lantz

CEO, Greater Lansing Food Bank

*Program participants, sponsors, and committee members are asked to remain after the program for photos.

Thank you for joining us at the 15th Annual Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner. The purpose of this dinner is to celebrate the importance of diversity and help feed those that face hunger or food insecurity. The theme, "More Than a Meal," demonstrates how much a meal provided by the support of our community can truly mean to someone in need. Tonight's event supports the Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB) and helps individuals, families, and communities by providing them with food and resources right here in greater Lansing. Supporting the GLFB increases their capacity to reach out and do more throughout the entire capital region. Please enjoy tonight's event, and thank you again for your support!

mayors' welcome committee members

We extend a warm welcome to everyone joining us tonight for the 15th Annual Mayors’ Ramadan Unity Dinner. Tonight’s dinner brings awareness to the plight of hunger in our community and serves to raise funds for the Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB). No one should ever go hungry in our community, and the GLFB strives to prevent that from happening by providing community members with access to nutritious food. We extend our thanks to you for your support of the GLFB’s important work in our region. Tonight’s dinner also celebrates diversity and embraces all community members, regardless of faith. By joining together, we can make great strides in moving our community forward in a positive way.

Brady Broderick

Dawn Carowitz

Akua Ekye-Addai

Natalie Hufnagel

Thasin Sardar

Lucianna Solis

Mayor Andy Schor

Mayor Ron Bacon City of Lansing City of East Lansing

Dr. Farhan Bhatti, M.D.

Madilyn Meredith

Nicole Mosteller

2023 keynote speaker

Dr. Mohammad Hassan Khalil, P.h.d.

Dr. Mohammad Hassan Khalil, P.h.D., is Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Muslim Studies Program, and Adjunct Professor in the College of Law at Michigan State University. Before returning to his hometown of East Lansing, he was a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His specialty is Islamic thought, and much of his research revolves around Muslim conceptions of and interactions with nonMuslims

Khalil is the author of

Islam and the Fate of Others: The Salvation Question (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism (Cambridge University Press, 2018); and the editor of Between Heaven and Hell: Islam, Salvation, and the Fate of Others (Oxford University Press, 2013) and Muslims and US Politics Today: A Defining Moment (Harvard University Press and ILEX, 2019). He has published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on various topics from bioethics to early Islamic historiography to salvation discourse to jihad. In 2015, he received the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award.

Outside of MSU, Khalil is the current chair of the school committee of the Greater Lansing Islamic School and has served as a soccer and basketball coach in the City of East Lansing

The first Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner was proposed and organized by Sadia G Covert, Esq in 2007 It started with approximately 100 attendees at the Cooley Temple Conference Center of Cooley Law School, raising over $1,000 its first year. Since then, the Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner has grown to reach an audience of more than 500 attendees and has provided thousands of meals to children and families through the proceeds that have been raised for the Greater Lansing Area Food Bank.

Covert is the founder of the nonprofit, Uniting Through Cultural Awareness and Regional Education (UCARE), whose mission is to counter hate and bigotry through diversity education and community empowerment Covert is also an attorney, owner and partner of Covert & Covert, LLP , who wrote a hate crimes law that gives victims more ways to seek restitution and damages and requires education of offenders about the specific community or group they targeted As a state-certified instructor for enforcement, she also was the first female Muslim to develop a four-house state-certified curriculum on Islamic Cultural Awareness in the state of Illinois and has trained hundreds of police officers and other law enforcement officials on the subject

Given her extensive background, experience and dedication in uniting communities together to positively impact the narrative of underrepresented groups of people, Ms. Covert was awarded former U.S. President Barack Obama's Volunteer Service Award in 2016. Former Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero presented Sadia with a special recognition award in 2013 for establishing Lansing's annual Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner while she volunteered as a mayoral intern. Her mission for the dinner remains the same: to alleviate hunger while embracing religious diversity and interfaith understanding.

sponsors

We extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to all of those who sponsored the 2023 Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner. Because of your generosity, more than just a meal will be provided to those in need within our community.

platinum LEVEL SPOnsors

GOLD LEVEL SPOnsors

Dr. farhan bhatti, m.d.

sponsors

We extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to all of those who sponsored the 2023 Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner. Because of your generosity, more than just a meal will be provided to those in need within our community.

silver LEVEL SPOnsors

Sumbal

sponsors

We extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to all of those who sponsored the 2023 Mayors' Ramadan Unity Dinner. Because of your generosity, more than just a meal will be provided to those in need within our community.

Bronze LEVEL SPOnsors

in-kind SPOnsors