Southern Rhode Island Islamic Society, Inc. is a not-for-profit tax exempt organization. It was formed in 1995 with the objective of promoting understanding between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities and thereby to promote social harmony. Lack of information, worse yet misinformation, about the cultural others is the cause of suspicion about the others that creates prejudice, bigotry, and hatred of others. These vitiate the social environment and destroy the fabric of the healthy society. Thus to fight prejudice and bigotry, there are no alternative to knowing each other through dialogue public education. Southern Rhode Island Islamic Society's main objective is to get the Muslim community involved with other communities by participating in interfaith, multiracial, and multicultural main stream organizations to learn about others and to let others know about the Muslims.
Activities
With this objective, the Society started functioning jointly with other community groups in putting together different programs to educate the general public about Islam and Muslim culture. Following are the main activities of the Society:
1.Outreach Program-Working together with various interfaith and civic-social organizations to act against prejudice, bigotry, and hate, and to support the cause of social justice and promote social harmony and peace. Thus, the Society works with South County Interfaith Council, National Conference for Community and Justice, Rhode Island Commission on Prejudice and Bigotry, Rhode Island Civil Rights Round Table, American Civil Liberties Union, Rhode Island Ministers Alliance, Rhode Island Coalition for Affirmative Action, Rhode Island Committee for Nonviolence Initiative, Rhode Island Peace Mission, and Rhode Island Commission on Women's Project on Cultural Pluralism in High School and College Curriculum.
2. University of Rhode Island Muslim Cultural Heritage Program-A month-long program was planned and implemented in 1995 at the Kingston campus of the University of Rhode. The Program featured lectures by distinguished scholars such as, John Esposito and Jamal Badawi, movie and video shows, group discussions, Islamic exhibits, Muslim food festival, and Muslim attire show. The success of the Program prompted the campus community's demand to continue it on an annual basis. Since then this program has become an annual, however, a one-day event. For two years, the Program was held jointly with the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth at U-Mass-Dartmouth campus and with Massachusetts Institute of Technology at MIT campus. Each year, it dealt with lectures, discussions, and movie and video showings with a theme such as, justice, peace, and international governance, generally from the Islamic perspective. Last year, we dealt with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from both Palestinian and Israeli peace perspective. The Program continues this year (September 19 - 21, 2003) with the same issue trying to reach citizens' solution to the conflict.
3. Discover Islam and Muslim Culture Exhibits
An exhibit consisting of 60 color posters and works of Islamic art and artifacts is displayed at various public libraries, schools, colleges, universities, and churches. The exhibit has six segments-Discover Islam, 25 posters, produced by Transcom International in Virginia, mosques architecture in North America developed by Dr. Omar Khalidi of MIT, Islamic architecture from around the world, color posters of Hajj, Islamic calligraphy, and Islamic art on papyrus, wood, brass, canvass, jute, and carpets. This exhibit is available to community groups for borrowing for display.
4. Islamic Resource Center
The Society distributes copies of the Qur'an, and other Islamic books free of charge to non-Muslims and new Muslims and for donations to Muslim Community groups. Since its introduction the middle of 2002, the Center has already distributed more than 2,000 copies of the Qur'an and similar copies of A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam. A good number of Hadith books are distributed among the Muslims.
5. Resources for Lectures
The Society provides speakers to various churches, synagogues, interfaith groups, civic-social organizations, and peace groups to talk on Islam and Muslim culture. Since September 11, 2001, members of the Society have delivered more than 70 lectures and participated in many vigils for justice and peace.
6. Media Resources
The Society presents to various media outlets Islamic view points on contemporary issues of importance. Members of the Society appeared on many TV and radio talk shows and gave interviews to many newspapers.
7. Muslim Heritage Council
The Society has founded as its affiliate the Muslim Heritage Council to participate as a Partner at the $59 million Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence. The Museum is developed on a unique pledge to present the history of the people of Rhode Island, not that of the kingdoms and empires. The Council will develop a multimedia presentation of Muslim live from cradle to grave for display at the Museum. In addition, it will establish a library, organize lectures and conferences, and screen videos and movies at the Museum.
The Council has now become an independent organization.
8. Islamic Library
The Society is currently working to establish an Islamic library for the general public.