New Resource Dispelling Myths and Stereotypes about American Muslims released by Interfaith Alliance and the Religious Freedom Education Project

‘What’s the Truth about American Muslims?’ Takes on Questions about Sharia Law, Mosques and the Relationship between American and Religious law

Washington, D.C. – Interfaith Alliance and the Religious Freedom Education Project of the First Amendment Center today released a new resource with answers to frequently asked questions about religious freedom and American Muslims.  Following years of misinformation and demonization of the American Muslim community, this new resource aims to redirect the national dialogue to one based on respect and understanding.

The new document, entitled, “What is the Truth about American Muslims? Questions and Answers,” is an attempt by the partnering organizations to provide accurate information and delve into the law of religious freedom, the history of American Muslims in the United States, and misunderstood terms and practices, including sharia.

“In a time when misinformation about and misunderstandings of Islam and of the American Muslim community are widespread, our goal is to provide the public with accurate answers to understandable questions,” said Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance.  “The resource reflects widely-shared views among American Muslims on important topics such as sharia, jihad, the role of mosques, and the relationship between religious and civil legal codes.  In producing and disseminating this resource, we seek to uphold our shared commitment to religious freedom and contribute to a climate of understanding and mutual respect among Americans of all faiths and none.”

The new guide is available online at www.interfaithalliance.org/AmericanMuslimFAQ and at www.religiousfreedomeducation.org.

“Drafted over a period of nine months and vetted by religious liberty experts and scholars of Islam, this new resource answers key questions raised by anti-Muslim groups in the United States over the past decade,” said Dr. Charles C. Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the First Amendment Center.  “Our aim is to provide the public with balanced and accurate information about religious freedom and American Muslims in order to counter the dangerous and often vicious propaganda that has helped fuel the dramatic rise of anti-Muslim bigotry in America.”

Twenty-one religious and secular organizations have endorsed the religious freedom principles outlined in the new document and support the effort led by Interfaith Alliance and the Religious Freedom Project to publicize accurate information about American Muslims and Islam.

The endorsing organizations are: the African American Ministers Leadership Council, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Islamic Networks Group, Islamic Society of North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, People for the American Way Foundation, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Queens Federation of Churches, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, Secular Coalition for America, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Sojourners, Southern Poverty Law Center, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.

Interfaith Alliance President Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy Reacts to Religious Freedom Question during the Vice Presidential Debate

Washington, D.C. - Praising the Vice Presidential debate's moderator Martha Raddatz for raising the issue of religious freedom, Interfaith Alliance President Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, noted the very different positions reached by two candidates who expressed a deep connection to their faith. Rev. Gaddy wrote Raddatz and the other debate moderators earlier this month asking them to raise the issue of religious freedom.

Religious Freedom is a foundation of our democracy, and I am grateful it was raised during tonight's Vice Presidential debate. Having said that, I continue to be frustrated that the discussion around religious freedom is all to often viewed only through the lens of abortion. It is an important issue worthy of discussion, but so much more is at stake when we talk about religious freedom.

Each candidate answered the question in a thoughtful way that acknowledged that personal faith is not enough to base public policy on, and yet still found themselves on opposite sides of the abortion issue. That outcome is an important reminder that deeply held personal faith can and does take extraordinarily different forms in this country and each is worthy of protection and none should be given preference over any other.

We need a clear definition of religious freedom from the candidates that acknowledges that no one should worry about the imposition of personal religious beliefs of the candidate being imposed on the American people.

Interfaith Alliance and Religious Freedom Education Project to release answers to frequently asked questions on religious freedom and American Muslims

Religious Freedom Education Project: Charles Haynes, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 571-232-6536

‘What’s the Truth about American Muslims?’

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, October 11, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Interfaith Alliance and the Religious Freedom Education Project of the First Amendment Center will release a new resource with answers to frequently asked questions about religious freedom and American Muslims.

The new document, entitled, “What is the Truth about American Muslims? Questions and Answers,” is an attempt by the organizations to provide accurate information and delve into the law of religious freedom, the history of American Muslims in the United States, and misunderstood terms and practices, including sharia.

Hussein Rashid, Hofstra University adjunct professor and Religion Dispatches associate editor, and Rev. Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, will join Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance, and Dr. Charles C. Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Education Project, to discuss the guide and the state of religious freedom in the United States.

Twenty-one religious and secular organizations have endorsed the religious freedom principles outlined in the new document and support the effort led by Interfaith Alliance and the Religious Freedom Project to provide accurate information about American Muslims and Islam.

The endorsing organizations are: the African American Ministers Leadership Council, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Islamic Networks Group, Islamic Society of North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, People for the American Way Foundation, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Queens Federation of Churches, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, Secular Coalition for America, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Sojourners, Southern Poverty Law Center, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.

The event is free and open to the public. Media coverage is welcome, and interview opportunities will be available.  RSVP is requested.  The public can RSVP to attend by emailing Ashlie Hampton at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Press should RSVP to Shannon Craig Straw at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

WHAT:    “What is the truth about American Muslims?”
A discussion on religious freedom and American Muslims

WHEN:    Thursday, October 11, 2012 -- 9:30 a.m.

WHERE:  National Press Club
                529 14th Street NW
                Washington, DC 20045

WHO:     Leading experts on religious freedom and on American Muslims

Religious Freedom Education Project of the First Amendment Center educates the public about the vital importance of religious freedom through events, educational programs and outreach.  The project is an initiative of the First Amendment Center, a program of the Freedom Forum, and affiliated with the Newseum.  The First Amendment Center's nonpartisn work supports the First Amendment and builds understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.  www.religiousfreedomeducation.org 

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy’s Testimony for Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Hate Crimes

Written Testimony of Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of Interfaith Alliance
Submitted to
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
for the Hearing Record on “Hate Crimes & the Threat of Domestic Extremism.”
September 19, 2012

As a Baptist minister, a patriotic American and the President of Interfaith Alliance, a national, non-partisan organization that celebrates religious freedom and is dedicated to protecting faith and freedom and whose members nationwide belong to 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition, I submit this testimony to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights for the record of the hearing on “Hate Crimes & the Threat of Domestic Extremism.”

With dramatic unanimity, the sacred scriptures of diverse religious traditions vehemently condemn hate; it is neither a religious nor an American value. These are among the reasons why Interfaith Alliance has been a staunch supporter of laws such as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and of efforts to prevent such crimes from occurring in the first place.

At its most fundamental level, hate violence is an aggressive expression of prejudice against another person or group of people simply because of who they are, or who they are perceived to be. All crimes are not equal. We see this not only in how our legal framework metes out punishments based on the crimes committed, but in how we as individuals are affected by some crimes more or less than others. Any crime committed by one human being against another is a tragedy, but a crime that is motivated by hatred and prejudice tears apart the lives not only of the individuals who are targeted, but of the larger group they represent.

This hearing comes at a time in which it seems hatred of minority religious groups in the United States is pervasive—we see it manifested in acts of violence against individuals, in vandalism of houses of worship, and in the rhetoric of pundits and even elected officials on television. In recent months alone, six worshipers at a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin were brutally murdered, at least 10 Islamic institutions have faced attacks including vandalism, and attacks on the Jewish community continue to account for a majority of all religiously motivated hate crimes, as documented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of course, crimes of hate are committed against far too many groups for far too many reasons. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and racial minorities continue to be targets of hate crimes as well. My sorrow related to all of these tragedies is deepened by the reality of how much still must be done to eliminate violence spawned by hate, often religion-based.

Not only is it clear that we as a nation must do more to prevent hate crimes from occurring in the first place, it is also clear that our government and local law enforcement must step up statistics collection efforts. Too often, hate crimes go unreported not only because the victim is afraid to report them – understandably – but also because reporting hate crimes is voluntary for law enforcement agencies. We must do more to find ways to motivate local law enforcement to actually report this data. Furthermore, I urge Congress (and the Administration) to support efforts to collect and break down additional data under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, including crimes directed against Sikhs, Arabs and Hindus. This data is not currently collected or reported, but it is clear that members of these religious and ethnic groups are targets of hate crimes that are going under- or un-reported. Every story should be heard, every incident should be counted, and every victim deserves justice