+ WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “FAITH” OVER “FEAR”?

In responding to anti-Muslim bias and discrimination, we have a choice. If we choose fear, there are only three options - fight, flight, or freeze - and that can look like harmful rhetoric, hate crimes, discriminatory policies, siloing off in our communities, running away from engaging with folks of different faiths & backgrounds, or remaining idle, staying silent, and doing nothing. If we choose faith, a world of possibility can open up. Faith can be found in a religious tradition or spiritual path, rooted in sacred text, ancestral wisdom, and/or it can be guided by a deep sense of hope for what this nation and this world could be: faith in the possibility or the promise of change. At Shoulder to Shoulder, we believe that people of faith are powerful agents of change. No matter your faith or background, we hope you’ll join us in choosing Faith Over Fear.

+ I am not clergy and I do not consider myself a leader in a faith community, is this training for me?

Yes. While this training was originally designed for clergy, lay leaders, and faith-based and interfaith organizational leaders, this training is open to anyone who sees a need in their community and wants to respond to anti-Muslim sentiment with proven methods and research. We do ask participants to reflect on their role in their community, their personal motivations for the work, and understand their individual leverage points. Regardless of our job title, each of us has something unique to contribute and we each hold a responsibility to respond to discrimination and hate in our communities.

+ What is the format of the training? What topics will we cover?

We cover the following main topics:

1. Understanding and Contextualizing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry in the United States (providing a broad overview of the historic context, complexity of the issue, key data points, and how it shows up in our communities today)

2. Messaging and Communicating for Change (reviewing underlying dynamics of why negative speech resonates, how to avoid reinforcing stereotypes, sharing top-testing messaging recommendations and communications tips)

3. Strategies for Engagement and Change (offering concrete ideas and tactics for moving people on the issue)

We supplement these units with additional sessions and topics, depending on timing, the expressed needs of the host community, and the intended participants.

Both our in-person and virtual trainings are a mix of expert lectures and panels, reflective exercises, small group discussions, and strategy sessions. Our virtual trainings blend self-guided coursework that includes videos, articles, quizzes, and reflective questions, and live virtual conversations on zoom. During these live sessions, we unpack the content, answer questions, and engage in small group discussion. The self-guided content for the virtual trainings take approximately 1-2 hours per module.

+ I may have to miss one or two live sessions during the virtual training, should I still register?

We ask you to register and commit to attending all four live sessions. If these times do not work for you, please know that we will be offering our virtual training again in the future. We also understand that life happens so if you are registered for a course and something unexpected comes up, just contact us.

+ I do not intend to interact with the course platform and only intend to join the live sessions, should I still register?

Our course platform has high-quality videos featuring our partners, national and local leaders, and experts. Their voices and experiences are critical to completing the course. The live sessions build upon and develop from this self-guided content on the course platform. Formatting the training in this way allows us to focus our live sessions on real conversations to get to know each other and unpack the content together, rather than it being a webinar style presentation.

+ I have already taken this training, what should I do next?

Consider inviting others to register for the next training and/or consider taking the training again to brush up your skills. (We learn something new every time!)

Check this list of our local members on this page to find the organizations in your area that are addressing anti-Muslim discrimination in some capacity and/or consider signing up your organization or congregation to join the network. They may have additional ways to get involved.

In addition to offering our training, Shoulder to Shoulder hosts a number of related events including workshops, public conversations, and webinars and we regularly collect and develop a growing set of relevant offline and online resources for this work.

Every Ramadan we also uplift and host opportunities for communities to connect and engage in local and national events. Our Ramadan page includes upcoming events, as well as our Ramadan-specific video series and resources.

If you’re looking for something specific, contact us.

+ I’m interested in hosting a virtual, in-person, and/or hybrid Faith Over Fear training. What should I do?

We’d love to explore partnering with you! Email one of us to set up a conversation. If you’re looking to host an in-person or hybrid training for your community, you can review this quick two-page document and get in touch with us.

+ What’s the difference between the virtual training and the in-person training?

Both our in-person and virtual training is a mix of expert lectures and panels, reflective exercises, small group discussions, and strategy sessions.

Each in-person training is customized with the local host community so will vary in length and exact format. The in-person training would have a panel of local leaders, and a selection of our national partners and experts present. These speakers would give their presentations live, with time for Q&A and discussion.

Our virtual trainings blend self-guided coursework that includes videos, articles, quizzes, and reflective questions, and live virtual conversations on zoom. During these live zoom sessions, we unpack the content, answer questions, and engage in small group discussion. The self-guided content for the virtual trainings takes approximately 1-2 hours per module.

+ What is the difference between Shoulder to Shoulder’s Faith Over Fear training and your Overcoming Fear: Addressing anti-Muslim bias in the classroom and community” training?

Both versions cover the same core content mentioned above with one difference. The Overcoming Fear training was developed in partnership with the South Dakota Voices for Peace’s Cohort of Courage for Educators to specifically engage teachers, administrators, parents, and students. In that effort, we added a few additional videos from experts and invited speakers to the live sessions to share more on creating inclusive classrooms and responding to anti-Muslim discrimination on campus. We also supplemented the resources and content with additional research on school trends.