Statements
Mission
Faith & Culture Center builds inclusive communities by helping people get to know their neighbors. We bridge divides of religion, race, ethnicity, and culture, bringing people together around shared tables and conversations so that barriers can be broken and relationships formed.
Our primary initiative, Our Muslim Neighbor, helps people get to know their Muslim neighbors, combating negative images and stereotypes of Muslims and Islam through public education and community building efforts that are inclusive of Muslim voices.
Our vision is to build a Middle Tennessee community in which all people embrace humility, understanding, respect, empathy, and compassion.
Background
In January 2012, The William and Mary Greve Foundation (Greve) awarded a 6-month research and development grant to Religions for Peace USA (RFPUSA) to study methods and actors seeking to respond to the growing negative sentiments towards Muslims and Islam in the USA. The hope was to find new, creative, and effective ways of responding to the multifarious nature of "Islamophobia." To this end, Greve and RFPUSA met with a wide array of political, religious, and cultural subject matter experts, consultants, foundations, philanthropists, religious leaders, and military and law enforcement representatives to identify the appropriate geographical location and on-the-ground-team to take on the task of developing the "Our Muslim Neighbor" programming. Nashville, TN, was identified as the initial test site for the pilot program (with Minneapolis, MN, as a possible second site) based on the following factors: it has a significant Muslim population; there were recorded incidents of anti-Muslim acts or sentiments; it was identified as a location that is on the national radar in terms of its political importance and relevance; there were affiliates on the ground equipped for partnering; and there was clear interest on the part of local organizers for partnership. The Faith & Culture Center (FCC) was the catalyst 501(c)(3) institution developed to implement the RFPUSA and and Greve sponsored initiative. Current FCC President of the Board, Mr. Daoud Abudiab, was immediately identified as a local organizer with the right experience and contacts to bring together a team to develop and implement the programming. Mr. Abudiab had been involved in cross-faith and cross-cultural dialogue since 2008, when his community mosque in Columbia, Tennessee, was firebombed by a group of white supremacists. Drawing from his personal experiences with Islamophobia and his successful community organizing, Mr. Abudiab helped spearhead FCC's community building programs, helping people build relationships across lines of religion, race, ethnicity, and culture.
Impact
IMPACT
To date, Faith & Culture Center (FCC) has hosted 148 A Seat at the Table (ASATT) events, bringing together over 2000 diverse participants for a shared meal and facilitated conversation about topics like diversity, inclusion, equity, and hospitality. While most of these are hosted in homes throughout Nashville, we also partner with religious, academic, and business institutions including HCA, Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb University, Martin Methodist College, Trevecca University, Otter Creek Church, Islamic Center of Nashville, Islamic Center of Williamson County, etc. Wherever the setting, we bring together diverse groups around a shared table, bridging divides of religion, race, ethnicity, and culture.
FCC has hosted 4 Our Muslim Neighbor conferences, with more than 600 individuals having participated. These conferences focus on timely and important topics like national security, Islamophobia, and the power of rhetoric and imagery. Our conference have featured renown and influential speakers including Imam Talib Shareef (The People's Mosque, Washington D.C.); Haris Tarin (Senior Policy Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security); Dr. Issam Eido (Senior lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Department for Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University); Dr. Ingrid Mattson (Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University); Major General Douglas Stone (USMC); Alberto Fernandez (President of Middle East Broadcasting Networks), and Dr. Todd Green (Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College).
Since 2013, FCC (in partnership with the Metro Human Relations Commission) has organized an annual Music City Iftar during the month of Ramadan, hosting more than 400 Muslim and non-Muslim community members each year for a shared iftar experience. This event is a highlight of the year for many, including the many civic and religious leaders who attend.
GOALS
1) FCC seeks to diversify its revenue and funding streams in order to ensure lasting and substantial support for its community-building programs.
2) FCC seeks to create a new program that will equip leaders from various sectors and traditions to respond thoughtfully and powerfully to relevant and substantive issues (systemic racism, Islamophobia, etc.). The program would have a dual focus: content (i.e. providing up-to-date and compelling information and resources to educate participants) and consciousness (i.e. providing practices that increase participants' self-awareness and consciousness to the end that they are personally and holistically formed).
3) FCC seeks to broaden its network of program participants, partners, and supporting organizations to increase capacity and impact.
4) FCC seeks to strengthen its ASATT volunteer training program to provide year-round opportunities for support, learning, and growth.
Needs
1) FCC needs to raise $110,000 in funds to cover a year's worth of programs, events, and staffing.
2) FCC needs to develop a strategy to deepen and broaden relationships formed at our A Seat at the Table events, providing participants with easy next-step opportunities for further relationship-building.
3) FCC needs to raise an additional $40,000 in order to implement desired new programs, such as the leadership training cohort mentioned above.
4) FCC needs to broaden its reach to community entities that could partner with our work and thus contribute to increased reach and impact, particularly those entities who are not yet engaged in the kinds of conversations we facilitate.
CEO Statement
One of the reasons I believe most strongly in the work of FCC is because it is precisely what I have so longed to witness and experience. In recent years, I often have found myself wishing for people to come together across divides, so that our interactions and engagement could be marked by much more friendship and much less hostility. People simply do not know their neighbors, and we fear what we don't know. Joining the work of FCC has been a breath of fresh air for me. I am proud to be part of an organization standing at the nexus of various communities, bringing diverse people together to share meals and conversations that matter. It is our honor to give people accessible opportunities to meet and build relationships with others who are different from them, and to see the lasting impact this has on individuals and our community.
Our programs serve a critical need in Middle Tennessee, and we are uniquely positioned to do so through our relationship-building approach. It is at the center of everything we do, and it's helping build more inclusive communities where everyone has a seat at the table. FCC has built a strong reputation, a reputable brand, and programs that have demonstrated impact, and we will continue to develop innovative programs based on emerging needs in our community.
I hope you'll consider joining our work and becoming part of the solution.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mallory Wyckoff
Board Chair Statement
The need for Faith & Culture Center's work is evident in my very own story. I know too well what it's like to be the target of Islamaphobic attacks, to watch your place of worship go up in flames, to feel unsafe in your own home, to worry about your family's security in the face of threats. The realities of hatred, bigotry, and prejudice are very real for me, and for so many in our community. But more than just the need for our work, the impact of it is also just as clear for me. Time and time again I have witnessed participants overwhelmed with deep and sincere emotion at finding connections with a new neighbor, even someone they previously had feared or misunderstood. Friendship can transcend circles defined by tradition and faith, school or work, town or neighborhood. Helping neighbors make these kinds of connections and develop these kinds of friendships is what we do at FCC, and it's changing the landscape of our city and beyond.
Please join us in supporting this good and essential work.
Sincerely,
Daoud Abudiab
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Public & Societal Benefit - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Secondary Category: | Community Improvement, Capacity Building - Community & Neighborhood Development |
| Tertiary Category: | Religion- Related - Interfaith Coalitions |
Areas Served
Faith & Culture Center serves all of Middle Tennessee, as participants in our programs come from various counties in the region.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Rutherford |
