My Nonprofit Reviews

I am writing on behalf of The Salaam Network (TSN). As an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, I have been seeking an organization that separates Islam from terrorist pretenders. Having worked in Indonesia among Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus, I knew Muslims were a part of a faith that emphasizes peace and care for others.

I have organized three 6-week sessions for The Veritas Society on the campus of Bellarmine University. (Veritas is a non=credit educational program for adults over 54). Our first course was "Islam: One Branch of the Abrahamic Faith Tradition." Other offerings included: the Golden Age of Islam, Islam's role in the European Renaissance, Islamic Visual Arts, and Muslim Core Beliefs. I also presented a lecture on "Islam and Democracy in Indonesia". In 2018, we offered "The Abrahamic Faith Traditions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam." This course explored the commonality and diversity among our 3 faith traditions. One class focused on the stories of Mary, mother of Jesus, in the Qur'an and the New Testament.

In the spring of 2020, our Veritas program focused: "Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Confrontations with Modernity." This course scheduled six weeks on the issues of (1) the rise of women in leadership and (2)the LGBTQIA communities. Our question: How can our traditional faiths support the realities of the modern world? Two classes met at the University; during the Covid-19 quarantine, we met via ZOOM.

The Salaam Network has offered programs in Christian churches, Mosques, Synagogues, the Universities of Bellarmine and Louisville, public library branches, Universalist Unitarian and Catholic and Buddhist Centers. Speakers and discussion leaders come from Conservative and Reformed Jewish traditions, Protestant and Catholic Christian traditions, and from leaders in several Muslim organizations. Our classes are given the largest available rooms, but several would-be participants have been turned away because our rooms were not large enough to accommodate all. We have been asked to offer a 4th course in 2021. Because ZOOM will be used, everyone will be accommodated.

TSN has accomplished much to help people celebrate the unity and diversity of the Abrahamic faith traditions. Louisville is fortunate to have The Salaam Network in our midst.