​Interested in bringing the Muslim Neighbors exhibit to your community? We provide the framework, research, training, and resources to create opportunities for your community to get to know their Muslim neighbors. We believe that different forms of engagement are needed to facilitate this intentionally inter-religious relationship building, and do so through formal, educational presentations, a photonarrative exhibit, and more informal dialogue events. The Getting to Know Your Muslim Neighbors initiative challenges Islamophobia by humanizing Muslims in your local community in this three-prong approach – education, exhibition, and engagement. We offer a sample budget and the resources and training to facilitate your own events and exhibitions. 

Education through Panel Presentation

In Lafayette, we offered formal panel presentations at local churches to educate about Islam and Muslim American experience. These presentations offer an invaluable opportunity to answer questions, clarify misrepresentations and misconceptions, and share how Islamophobia affects individuals personally. This is an opportunity to get to know our Muslim neighbors as Muslims in a formal setting.
 
In several instances, individuals who attended a panel presentation reported later that they were able to address a comment or question regarding Islam. For example, one woman shared that when a co-worker asked if all Muslims supported ISIS, she was able to engage them in conversation about it and explain that it would be a similar question to asking if all Christians supported the KKK.
 
Our role would be to train representatives from your community to lead a panel presentation and offer strategies for responding to commonly asked, and sometimes difficult or offensive, questions with factual information and personal experience. 

Exhibit through Photography and Narrative

In Lafayette, we created a photonarrative exhibit by interviewing and photographing eleven Muslim American individuals and families. In the narratives, participants share their stories about growing up, their daily lives, and being Muslim American. This exhibit has been/will be displayed in several community spaces including: a local church, coffee shop, hospital, and public library. The photos and stories are also published on the project website (www.muslimneighbors.com). This is an opportunity to get our Muslim neighbors and hear/read/see their stories. The images, in their large format, also help visually humanize and normalize the diversity of Muslim American experience.
 
The photonarrative exhibit consists of large scale photographs and a collection of narratives written from interview transcripts. Ruth Smith, PhD, will conduct interviews and photography sessions with 10-15 Muslim Americans in each location who identify themselves as practicing Muslims. These interviews will focus family background, the coming of age experience, and daily life via the following questions:

• When and how did you and other members of your family come to Lafayette?  Did coming to the US make you and/or members of your family more or less connected to religious practices and identity?  How so?   
• What was it like growing up Muslim in Lafayette?
• Describe a typical day. How does being Muslim American affect your daily life?  How does it not affect your life? 
• If you could share one thing about yourself and your experiences, what would it be?

 
At Fuel Coffee Shop, this exhibit was on display for six-weeks, during which patrons viewed sixteen large-scale photographs and read a book of narratives. In one instance, a viewer asked if all the individuals were Muslim (there are individuals of many races and styles of dress portrayed) and engaged in a conversation regarding the diversity of the Muslim American community, dispelling misconceptions about the association of Muslims with foreigners.
 
Our role would be to interview and photograph individuals and create the exhibit materials to be installed in local community venues. We will also contribute previous photographs to the exhibit to present a growing body of work that accumulates as we visit more locations. This work will also be included in our online exhibition. We will install the exhibit if requested. 

Community Dialogue Events

In Lafayette, we offered Coffee and Conversations, an interfaith dialogue event in the space where the exhibit is on display during which participants from the exhibit and community members discuss topics raised during the exhibit interviews in order to provide an opportunity to get to know our Muslim neighbors as fellow community members with common interests, passions, and concerns in a structure, but less formal setting. During these dialogues, individuals share resources and ideally plan future collaborative events and service projects.
 
Our role would be to provide the resources for you to facilitate your own dialogue events, including a planning timeline, advertising protocols, discussion questions, and suggested outcome goals. If requested, we will help facilitate the event as well.

Sample dialogue questions