For over 15,000 Muslims, Independence Day weekend commemorated more than the remembrance of our founding fathers and the Constitution -- it was a chance to gather at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in celebration of diversity, culture and awareness.
The theme for the second annual joint convention between the Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society was "America at a Crossroads: The Struggle for Liberty and Justice." ICNA is an organization that works to educate and unite the Muslim community through organizing conferences such as this, as well as by providing relief aid to Muslims in need, and preforming other social service work.
ICNA President Talat Sultan explained that Philadelphia was chosen for the July 4 conference because the city stands for the ideals of American liberty and freedom.
"The whole convention will focus on what are American ideals, what are Islamic ideals, and how far America has really drifted away from these ideals," he said.
The invited speakers discussed various topics, ranging from establishing spirituality in prayer, reaching out to other communities of faith, and drawing the line between liberty and security in America.
Speakers Zahid Bukhari and Jerald Dirks explained to the audience that Muslims were not the only community in American history to experience backlash.
"Racial injustice is part of the American existence since the Europeans first set foot in America in their relations with the American Indians," Dirks said.
Both speakers encouraged the Muslim community to learn from the Japanese, Catholic, Jewish and Irish experience in America.
"Islam is in this country to bring morality back to America and to fix the families of America," William Baker, the president of Christians and Muslims for Peace said.
A Christian himself, Baker encouraged the Muslim community to live their lives according to their faith and to avoid being apologetic for existing stereotypes. He also emphasized the importance of speaking out against injustice and reaching out to those in need.
Among those in attendance was Erica Gelser, a Ph.D. candidate in religious studies at Penn and director of Program in Universities, Communities of Faith, Schools and Neighborhood Organizations -- an organization that works to build neighborhood partnerships between Penn and West Philadelphia communities. According to Gelser, the conference touched upon many topics relavent to her work.
"An area of improvement is our work with the Muslim community, which makes up a huge portion of West Philadelphia," Gelser said. "It was great for the [convention] to be locally available, which allowed for PUCFSN to touch base with members of the community. It shows the strength of the Muslim community here in Philadelphia."
