Masjid Muhammad, The Nation’s Mosque will once again facilitate a luncheon discussion for 17 international journalists participating in the East-West Center’s upcoming 2015 Senior Journalists Seminar, scheduled to take place August 19 – September 10, 2015 with travel to Washington, DC; Nashville, TN; Honolulu, HI; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Lahore and Islamabad, Pakistan. Masjid Muhammad has emerged as an important and respected voice promoting peace, racial and religious dialogue, understanding, cooperation, and mutual respect for differences, as well as a bridge builder to help the cultural and religious divide.
In particular, the journalists are interested in discussing the Masjid Muhammad’s history, its constituent base; its efforts to promote racial and religious dialogue; and what role African American Muslims have and do play in shaping the public’s views of the Islamic faith.
The East-West Center, headquartered in Honolulu, promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public, nonprofit organization with funding from the U.S. government, and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region.
While in Washington, DC, the group will meet with government officials, members of the media and experts from various think tanks to discuss both U.S. foreign policy towards Asian Muslim countries as well as American governmental structure, ideology and the American public’s perception of Islam. Our group of seventeen international journalists from Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Palestine, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United States.
Launched in 2003, the Senior Journalists Seminar is a 21-day professional dialogue, study, and travel program intended to enhance media coverage and elevate the public debate regarding religion and its role in the public sphere, specifically as it concerns U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Designed for senior print, radio, broadcast, and online journalists from the U.S. and countries with substantial Muslim populations, the seminar offers an opportunity for participating journalists to engage their peers, experts, and the public on issues relevant to U.S. relations with the Muslim world including: religiosity, religious diversity and religious freedoms/rights in the United States and Asia; identity, treatment and representation of religious minority groups; the political, economic, educational, artistic, and cultural role religion plays in societies; initiatives to reduce religious tensions and domestic extremism; and the impact of the media’s coverage of religion on public perception and international relations.