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The Struggle for Social and Racial Justice: A Moral Imperative
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BY ISLAMIC HORIZONS STAFF
This year’s theme — The Struggle for Social and Racial Justice: A Moral Imperative — was chosen to reflect a virus that has plagued humanity for far longer than the coronavirus: racism.
Our 57th annual convention, which will be held on Sept. 5 and 6, will bring our community together in a virtual setting to experience the year’s most awaited event. Although it will have a new feel, as usual it will be full of inspiring messages and a variety of programs. All in all, it will be a unique experience to connect and learn together. From the Covid-19 pandemic to race relations in our country, our society continues to graple with economic and health care disparities, immigration, religious freedom, the environment, education and more.
For 57 years, ISNA has been serving the Muslim community through its annual convention, regional conferences, youth programs, interfaith alliances, education forums, chaplaincy and masjid services, scholarships, nonprofit management training and more. Through its inspirational and impactful leadership and activities, ISNA has been an important part of Muslim American life.
In this current environment, ISNA has founded and pursued major initiatives, among them setting up a National Muslim Covid-19 Taskforce with more than 40 organizations, conducting virtual programs with national speakers and experts, providing a featured program — “Friday Reflections” — participating in interfaith programs and issuing statements on important topics.
ISNA remains fully committed to developing the Muslim community, enhancing interfaith relations, engaging in civic engagement and bringing about a more accurate understanding of Islam. Its board members and staff constantly strive to achieve organizational excellence through operational efficiency, transparency, accountability, high performance, effective communication and financial stability.
“We are ready to take this organization to the next level and open a new chapter at ISNA. As we embark on this new journey with a renewed commitment, I take solace in the fact that we have a committed board, staff, volunteers and important stakeholders and supporters like you. We are committed to nurturing a culture that enables greatness, encourages openness and helps us provide services to our members and the community at large,” said ISNA executive director Basharat Saleem.
Many renowned speakers will address topics that are important and relevant to our community’s current issues and needs, among them the Covid-19 pandemic, social and racial justice, the environment, civil rights and
political activism. The program will include plenary, parallel and entertainment sessions, as well as special events, a virtual Expo and many other events. Sponsorship opportunities will be offered during the two-day event, and on Sept. 5th a community leader will be honored for his/her service during the Community Service Recognition program.
As a community, all of us are responding to the coronavirus with resilience. We invite everyone to counter the shock of the ongoing pandemic, recession and injustices and confront these unprecedented challenges with the power of faith.
This call to join the first-ever ISNA virtual convention is designed not only to replicate the typical in-person annual retreat, but also to provide participants with digital venues for scholarly engagement and intimate networking.
In reality, the Covid-19 restrictions have turned out to be an opportunity to bring together a larger number of participants who wouldn’t have been able to attend this event. While ISNA is committed to preparing the virtual platform from which we will unleash our individual potentialities, our active participation, from individuals to families to the community as a whole, is indispensable to harnessing the possibilities opened up by this year’s virtual convention.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This year’s convention will follow the same principles that have ensured the success of the previous ones, as well as create new possibilities for those who were previously unable to attend. Among the featured events well be: ■ Plenary and parallel sessions on Covid19, racism and race relations, the environment, civil rights, political activism and more. ■ Special events, including the Community Service Recognition program with
an award presentation, a children’s program, a chaplaincy program, an interfaith panel, a panel on social good and entertainment. ■ Expo and sponsorship opportunities for businesses and organizations. ■ Networking opportunities.
AREAS TO BE COVERED
■ Social Issues. Promoting social and racial justice, civil rights and the social good, along with condemning systemic racism, inequality, prejudice, police brutality and violence against minorities. ■ Spirituality. Faith in action, seeking help from prayer and maintaining hope in difficult times; spiritual guidelines for individuals, families and communities; the role of the masjid and the imam during a time of crisis; and a Q&A session on fulfilling Islamic duties in daily life. ■ The C urrent Health Crisis. Dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, future projections, new ways of healthy living, social distancing, the pandemic’s impact on social relations and disparities within the health care system. ■ E conomy and Business. The financial implications of the pandemic, unemployment, impact on businesses, managing financial matters during and after the pandemic and health insurance for the underprivileged. ■ The E nvironment. Climate change, environment-friendly masjids and raising awareness about the environment. Climate change will have a far more negative economic effect globally than Covid-19, especially on Muslim-majority countries. ■ Education. Online education, post-pandemic schooling, religious instruction, parents’ role in educating children during the pandemic, affordable higher education and scholarship programs from Muslim organizations and sources. ■ Political Activism. Participation in local and national elections, creating a Muslim vote bank, joining political campaigns and a workshop on how to run for political office.
If you’ve already registered, your registration has been transferred to the 2020 Virtual Annual Convention and you should have received an email from us. If you have not registered yet, please visit www.isna.net.
Transitioning to a virtual annual convention will raise many questions. Therefore, we have developed and uploaded a FAQ page on our weekly e-newsletter and continue to update it as more information becomes available. For more detailed questions, contact us at conevention@isna.net.
We are grateful for your patience and cooperation as we work through the competing priorities and obligations thrust upon us by this unprecedented situation. ih Assalamu alaykum,
It is now old news that the 57th Annual ISNA Convention is going to be unlike any previous one. Therefore, let’s remind ourselves of Surah al-Kahf — the 18thchapter of the Quran — which reveals that only God knows what He does and why He does it. On the one hand this pandemic is causing massive suffering, while on the other hand we can see that He has used it to remove all of the limitations of space and time, thereby enabling us to plan this event with an unfettered imagination and unbridled extravagance.
A virtual format removes the need to invite speakers and guests and opens up the panorama for attendees to interact with world leaders, scholars, experts and intellectuals without barriers, restrictions and overbearing costs.
This is also true for our guest speakers from throughout North America. We can benefit from our community’s respected authors, Islamic scholars, orators, community leaders, nonprofit experts and representatives working in so many professions and fields.
From the comfort of our homes, we will be able to interact with the top Muslim and non-Muslim experts on the Covid-19 pandemic. The nation’s valued engineers, internet prodigies and heads of financial and technology companies will vie to be included and heard.
Fifty-six years ago, Malcolm X prayed that the hajj experience would bring people of different colors and races to the U.S. to be part of a hajj-like gathering. This year, Saudi Arabia’s decision to restrict the actual hajj to a few of its residents challenged us to provide an event of such solidarity here in the U.S. Thus, we built a vision of our convention on those premises.
As we are now in the election year, politicians of various hues will be eager to talk to Muslims. We have to build high expectations so they will feel that doing so is a worthwhile undertaking. We will deliver top regional and national leaders, thereby raising our organization’s national and international profile. We will have Democrats and Republicans, as well as those who have traditionally been excluded from this country’s two-party structure, analysts, pollsters and experts with political acumen.
This virtual format allows us to host and publicize multiple parallel sessions effectively. As there will be no “hierarchy of importance,” the First Amendment will be practiced in both its letter and spirit, for people will be free to choose whatever session(s) they wish to attend. Therefore, no presenters will need to feel inadequate because they couldn’t attract the envisaged audience. The audience will be invisible, so no one will fret that the hall is empty.
We won’t have to determine which hotspots should be highlighted: Palestine, Kashmir, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Xinjiang (East Turkestan) or Myanmar. We can have a continuous two-day session on each of them and catch up with the latest news. We can have experts on all 57 Muslim-majority countries and Muslim minorities.
We will record all speeches and discussions and upload them to ISNA’s YouTube site. No one will have to regret that they couldn’t attend all of the sessions, because the ones they missed will be available online perpetually.
The bonanza coming our way reminds me of a couplet from poet-philosopher Mohammad Iqbal’s Shama Aur Shayar (The Candle and the Poet; “Bang-e-Dra,” 116):
O ignorant one! Only you became content with some flower buds. Otherwise in the rose garden there is also a cure for the receiver’s small capacity!
Please open your hearts, unwind your imagination and visualize the world’s largest convention — an event rich with thoughts, words, people and parties, hopes and ideas. Imagine that you are catering this bonanza for the entire world, insha’ Allah.
May God inspire His people with confidence, vision and hope.
