We are offering our flagship program, A Seat at the Table, in person and gathering diverse groups of Muslims and non-Muslims together online to share conversations that matter. This will offer us a way to get to know our neighbors, and to talk about our shared experiences in this season.
What if you could counter hate and bigotry by simply sharing a meal? At Faith & Culture Center, we believe you can. That’s why the table is at the center of everything we do.
At Faith & Culture Center, we build community by helping people get to know their neighbors, and we’re convinced the table is the best place to do just that. Our table brings together people from different backgrounds—people who otherwise may never have the chance to know one another—and provides a space for a shared meal and open, honest dialogue without fear or judgment. In this space, meaningful relationships are built across lines of religion, race, ethnicity, and culture, relationships that last long after the plates have been cleared.
You don’t have to move mountains to shatter the divide. Just come to the table. We saved you a seat.
After the Islamic Center of Columbia, Tennessee was bombed by a self-described group of White supremacists in 2008, Faith & Culture Center (hereon, FCC) was developed as a 501(c)(3) with the support of the William and Mary Greve Foundation to execute the Our Muslim Neighbor Initiative. The objective of this initiative is to respond to, and to counter, pernicious typecasts and stereotypes of Muslims and Islam (“Islamophobia”) through an experience-oriented approach that is based on the power of relationship building.
Instead of letting hate get the last word, FCC set out to rewrite the narrative, because when people actually get to know their neighbors, the fear ends and the hate stops.
Today, we’re on a mission to foster unity and understanding among diverse communities in Middle Tennessee, preventing the fires of bigotry and hatred before they ever start.
FCC executes its mission through the Our Muslim Neighbor Initiative. By creating facilitated spaces that are intentionally designed to provide the tools for Nashvillians to get to know their Muslim neighbors on a personal level, we foster greater understanding, appreciation, and cooperation between communities in Middle Tennessee across lines of faith, race, culture, and ethnicity.
OMN programs bring together Muslims and non-Muslims from varying backgrounds in forums that allow for honest conversations on sensitive issues. Every one of our programs builds a space that is intentionally designed for productive and personal relationship building, conversation, and education that is meant to demonstrate the humanity and diversity of our Muslim community. The premise of our programs is simple, but powerful: fear, discrimination, and hatred are only dispelled when we form personal relationships with “others” who we believe to be different from us and outside of our personal communities through personal experiences and encounters. By getting to know a Muslim person on a personal level—whether over dinner or at a conference—and by giving our Muslim participants a platform to share their stories and experiences, our participants have transformative experiences. They begin to see the inherent human dignity that the “other” carries within him or herself. They form relationships that help bridge divides, and that help our participants to understand the point of view of others. By getting to know a diverse group of Muslims in these spaces, our programs build the social and emotional bridges between individuals and their communities in Nashville. These relationships are the foundation of our vision for our city: a Nashville and Middle Tennessee in which there is friendship and trust between all neighbors. It is these relationships and the trust they form that we at FCC believe will counter the pernicious rhetoric and narrative that surrounds Muslims and Islam today.
A Seat at the Table creates a brave space for you to listen, share, and learn. If you’re human, you’re welcome—no matter your culture, beliefs, or experience. Come share a meal, and get to know your neighbors.
This program inspires and trains millennial leaders (and aspiring leaders) to design and implement bridge-building programs across the communities and organizations they represent and lead.
Held each year during the month of Ramadan, the Music City Iftar brings our local community together across lines of faith, race, culture, and ethnicity for civic engagement, dialogue, and cooperation.
