Seekers Church Explores Muslim-Led Local Initiative

For many years the Interfaith Sacred Conversation on Race & Diversity, a partnership of Seekers Church and Covenant Christian Community, has been developing a relationship with the Muslim Women’s Coalition, an organization dedicated to upholding the principles of democracy, equality, justice and communal welfare as inherently Islamic values introduced with the advent of the faith.  In recent years the Eyes to See, Ears to Hear Peace Prayer mission group of Seekers church has been integral to deepening this important relationship with MWC. Through our connections with MWC, we received an invitation to an open house on Thursday, December 17th sponsored by The International Cultural Center (ICC) in partnership with Montgomery County  Faith Community Working Group (FCWG) and Gaithersburg Interfaith Alliance (GIA). The open house was an invitation to learn more about the Montgomery County Model (MCM), a unique public-private initiative with a core focus on preventing violent extremism through engagement, education, and prevention programs.

The event was held at the International Cultural Center, a community center where people of diverse backgrounds can come together to engage in community building programs, social action projects and educational programs built to promote pluralism and social cohesion based on mutual respect and harmonious coexistence.  The ICC, as it is commonly called, is one of the outreach programs of WORDE, the World Organization for Resource Development and Education. WORDE is a nonprofit, educational organization whose mission is to enhance communication and understanding between communities to mitigate social and political conflict. The purpose of the open house was to present the Montgomery County Model, a comprehensive way to address the risks of extremism in community by creating a stakeholder based response that brings all the resources the community has to bear on finding and enacting the appropriate response to each situation.

Dr. Hedieh Mirahmadi presenting the Montgomery County Model, with Trish Nemore, Pat Conover, Ron Kraybill, and Sandra Miller in attendance

Note: You might want to check out the Guidelines to Respecting Diversity, available online through the International Cultural Center.

Sandra Miller

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