On Wednesday, September 21, FCNL lobbyist for Human Rights and Civil Liberties Yasmine Taeb was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Mission of Finland to the United Nations on the role of religious actors and policymakers in the current global refugee crisis.
Bringing religious actors and policymakers together, this event improved understanding on both sides and provided faith-based organizations with an opportunity to describe their support needs. In addition to representatives from national and international faith organizations, officials from the United Nations, White House, Department of State, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation participated in the discussion.
Timo Soini, the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, opened the event with a discussion of the critical role of faith-based organizations in both developed and developing nations. His words were followed by a statement made by Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She extended personal thanks to the faith-based organizations in attendance on behalf of the President.
Mohamad Elsanousi, Director of External Relations for the Secretariat of the Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, then moderated a wide-ranging discussion among attendees. Attending as special guests, Syrian refugees Maryam and Fadi Al Radi also had an opportunity to speak about their personal journeys and the support they received from faith-based organizations. Their own faith, they said, called on them to recognize the humanity in everyone around them, whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish, etc.
Building on the theme of unity, Melina Macall, a congregant of Bnai Keshet Synagogue in New Jersey, said she had been delighted to watch diverse members of her congregation come together in support of local refugees. Rogers said that she had seen the outpouring of pro-refugee sentiment from religious groups “transcend political divides.”
Even as some participants took the opportunity to celebrate the essential work that faith-based organizations have already done, others reflected on the further potential of American faith communities as agents for change and voiced a call to do more. Floris Faber of the Act Alliance, noting the gap between the compassion demonstrated by local faith communities and the hateful rhetoric voiced by American leaders, said that she was both “heartened and concerned” by the conversation. Communities already involved in refugee assistance, she said, needed to find ways to both spread the movement to other local communities and change the conversation on the national stage.
