Intersections Launches ChangeTheStory.net in Cooperation with the US-Muslim Engagement Project Report

On September 24th, Intersections launched ChangeTheStory.net, an on-line resource for religious leaders, educators, and the public at large. This innovative website has been developed in cooperation and consultation with staff leadership of the US-Muslim Engagement Project of Search for Common Ground and the Consensus Building Institute, which will release a new and major report this fall.

A Brief History of the US-Muslim Engagement Project

In January 2007, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) convened a distinguished group of American leaders to launch a two-year project to reverse the downward spiral in US relations with the Muslim world.

The report was compiled by the Leadership Group on US-Muslim Engagement, comprised of more than thirty American leaders with various expertise across a broad spectrum of disciplines. It offers clear recommendations, strategies, and actions that the U.S. can take to improve relations with Muslims across the world. The full report will be released September 24, 2008.

ChangeTheStory.net's Role with the US-Muslim Engagement Project

In order to make the US-Muslim Engagement Project report more accessible to a wider audience, Intersections has developed ChangeTheStory.net. Robert Chase, Founding Director of Intersections said, "Our goal was to build an interactive experience for concerned individuals, educators and religious leaders, to provide entry points into the report, which is not necessarily accessible to the common person, and to help people apply the principles of the report to their local settings. We wanted to create something groundbreaking, distinctive, and totally compelling to a public that has the potential to build bridges between U.S. Muslims and people of other faiths."

The website will offer tools and suggestions for how to take action on the report's recommendations at the local level. It will also feature video interviews of US Muslims from around the country, discussion guides for religious leaders on how to hold interfaith dialogues, as well as various educational tools to be used in classrooms across the country.

ChangeTheStory.net Collaborators

Intersections, SFCG and CBI share a natural synergy due to their similar missions of bringing people together to foster conflict transformation. A collaboration was begun around the US-Muslim Engagement Project report last January. Intersections has also formed collaborative partnerships with Auburn Media and See3 Communications for the production of this site.

Auburn Media, a division of the Center for Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary, seeks to lift up the many religious voices that speak passionately on social and political issues in a way that respects both religious freedom and religious diversity. See3 Communications works to make nonprofit organizations more effective in fundraising, educating the public and advocating for change.

To give guidance on the development of the site, Intersections also enlisted a broad-based group of multi-talented advisors including: rabbis, priests and ministers, professors, filmmakers, interfaith activists, peace activists, UN delegates, and talented writers.

Our Hopes

Our hope through ChangeTheStory.net is to transform the narrative we carry of each other, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Please join us on-line September 24th to meet your neighbor, change the story and change the world.