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The Buxton Initiative blog offers a space for young, diverse writers to learn about one another's faiths and confront historically divisive issues related to faith and society.
Muslim Women Perspectives: A Young Professional Roundtable
On
July 15th, about twenty young professionals gathered together for lunch and intimate discussion about the varying perspectives of Muslim women in the world. In an effort to explore the diverse and complex identities of Muslim women living in the US and abroad, four Muslim women serving as summer interns for the National Council on US Arab Relations (NCUSAR) agreed to lead the roundtable, sharing their own stories and journeys as a starting point for the discussion. Read the rest of this entry »
July 23rd, 2010 
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Muslim Women: Navigating Identity
On Thursday, July 22nd, The Buxton Initiative held an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Muslim Women: Navigating Identity gave voice to the personal stories and experiences of four Muslim women. The program helped facilitate discussion on the challenges Muslim women are facing in order to better support and understand one another.
To start the event, Karen Meacham from the Center for Strategic and International Studies welcomed all of the participants to the venue before briefly introducing moderator Sandy Brock and former Senator Bill Brock. Following Karen’s welcome, Bob Woody and Kathryn Goetz from the Buxton Initiative spoke about the goals of the events and Buxton’s emphasis on open and honest conversation. Before the panel began, Buxton welcomed Shaista Mahmood to open up the discussion. Shaista, a native of Pakistan and co-founder of the Aschiana Foundation, which provides education and training to street children in Afghanistan, discussed living out one’s identity as a Muslim women in the United States and the importance of engaging in interfaith dialogue. Read the rest of this entry »
July 23rd, 2010
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Irresponsible Media
By Faten Al-Alawi
Today, I went to visit a group of young adults at Pediatric Care who are curious about different religions. I spoke as a Muslim working at the Buxton Initiative. It was encouraging to see that they were very eager to know about Islam, and for me, opportunities to correct stereotypes about Muslims and Islam give me some sort of thrill. It’s very comforting to know that I saved somebody from falsely believing – all their life – the stereotype that Muslims are horrible, violent people. However, it is not only outside the religion where people develop stereotypes; it occurs within the religion as well. Read the rest of this entry »
July 15th, 2010
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No Reason for Thanks in Your Own Home
By Mac Skelton, Buxton Senior Fellow
At the end of June, my time as a staff member at the 
Buxton Initiative came to a close. Though it was hard to leave Kathryn, Doug, Bob and the rest of the Buxton Team, I am enjoying my new post. For the past week, I have been getting settled in the ancient but still vibrant city of Sana’a, Yemen. As many of you know already, Sana’a is like a second home to me. Read the rest of this entry »
July 8th, 2010
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The Electrons Should Be Superfluous
By Faten Al-Alawi, Buxton Intern
For me, Islam is like a weird atom, in the nucleus of Islam is: “doing the right thing.” The protons and neutrons are: loving God, loving others, and loving myself. Then, there are electrons whizzing all over the place that complicate everything. For me, these electrons are like restrictions: don’t eat pork, don’t have premarital sex, and don’t insult your parents… Read the rest of this entry »
June 24th, 2010
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Dialogue and International Service: An Interview with Senator Harris Wofford
For their capstone project, the 2009-2010 Fellows compiled a journal of reflections from people who have been involved with Buxton. Throughout the summer, we will be sharing some of these reflections on our blog. The following is an excerpt from Rizwaan Akhtar’s interview with Senator Harris Wofford.
Senator Harris Wofford served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII and was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, both to Dr. Martin Luther King and as an advisor in the Kennedy Administration. Instrumental to the formation of the Peace Corps, Wofford served as its associate director and as the Peace Corps Special Representative to Africa. He also held the position of U.S. Senator from 1991-1995 and led Bryn Mawr College as its President.
Rizwaan Akhtar (RA): Describe your work today, and what you’re involved with these days.
Senator Harris Wofford (HW):Today, I am trying to make sense of my eight decades of adventures on this small planet and finish my memoir. I am also helping to organize and launch an international coalition effort which will probably be called “Service World.” It is the equivalent to the international service and volunteering of Ted Kennedy’s, “Serve America Act,” and will involve a coalition of several hundred organizations, universities, and individuals. McCain and Obama were original cosponsors when they were still campaigning. It was a quantum leap in domestic service, authorizing AmeriCorps to go from 75,000 a year to 250, 000.
June 24th, 2010
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Buxton CEO Visits Muslim Public Service Network
This week, Ambassador J. Douglas Holladay, the co-founder of the Buxton Initiative, spoke to a group of young Muslim leaders from the Muslim Public Service Network. Mr. Holladay discussed how he became interested in issues of faith and spirituality as well as the intersection of religion with other domains, mainly business and politics. He also talked about how his Christian faith acts as a guide to the way he conducts his choices and lifestyle. Mr. Holladay then touched upon what he considers to be the future of Muslim-Christian relations. The group was very energetic and posed a number of questions on Christian theology to Mr. Holladay, such as: “How can you believe in the Trinity?” Finally, the visit concluded with a short discussion on the differences and similarities between Islam and other faiths.
June 17th, 2010
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From Bahrain to America
By Faten Al-Alawi, Buxton Intern
I am a student from Bahrain and I have just completed my second year at Yale University. This summer, I am participating in a program administered by the National Council on US Arab Relations (NCUSAR). Through this program, I am able to intern at the Buxton Initiative. At the Buxton Initiative, I have started a project called “Understanding Muslim Women in Washington” with the help of Buxton staff members Mac Skelton and Kathryn Goetz. The goal of the project is to explore the lives of Muslim women living in the Washington area and to provide a platform for them so that we can hear their stories, opinions, and beliefs. Read the rest of this entry »
June 17th, 2010
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My experience visiting Washington-Area mosques
By Taylor Jones, Guest Contributor
I am a senior at Potomac High School in McLean, Virginia. The Buxton Initiative sponsored my senior project, which involved visiting various mosques throughout the Washington area (the ADAMS Center, Dar Al-Hijrah, The Islamic Center of Washington, and Masjid Muhammad). I’ve had Muslim friends but I’ve never taken the time to visit their places of worship. At first, I was very nervous about attending prayer at mosques; I was afraid of interacting with total strangers as well as crossing cultural boundaries. Read the rest of this entry »
June 10th, 2010
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Young Professional Round Table Events
Over the past few months, Buxton has gathered together young professionals in the DC Metropolitan Area to delve into deeper discussion on a more personal level. The smaller size of these events allows participants to share their experiences on various topics. These individuals represent a myriad of organizations and each contributes their unique perspective. Three of our most recent roundtables have included “Perceptions of Christians in America,” “Gender and Modesty,” and “The Future of Bridge Building in America.”
May 26th, 2010
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Buxton Advisory Council member racing to save lives
Buxton Initiative Advisory Council member Rehan Dawer is participating in the 100 mile bike race on June 6, 2010 in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. Please consider making a donation to support his participation! Use this link to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about his progress! Every four minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer and every ten minutes someone dies from a blood cancer. So just a little bit of math tells us that in the past year 52,560 patients have lost their battle and that 131,400 new ones have been diagnosed. Rehan greatly appreciates your support.
May 24th, 2010
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Watch Os Guinness @ Buxton: Toward a Global Public Square
On Tuesday, May 5th, 2010, Dr. Os Guinness talked at the Buxton Initiative, at an event entitled, “Toward a Global Public Square: Turning the perils of religious conflict into the promise of human flourishing.”
One of the world’s greatest issues for our age is “How are we to achieve global governance without a world government?” But one of the issues that must be settled first is “How are we are to live with our deepest differences?” Yet the present state of responses to the problem of religion in global public life is both inadequate and troubling. Far too many people never get beyond angry diatribes, endless academic studies, or seemingly endless interfaith dialogues. Dr. Guinness explored what it would take to work for a practical and sustainable civility in global public life.
May 5th, 2010
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Buxton Semi-Annual Leadership Luncheon
On Thursday, April 22nd, The Buxton Initiative’s Board and Advisory Council convened at the Yemeni Ambassador’s residence for its semi-annual Leadership Luncheon. Distinguished members of Buxton’s leadership shared a delicious Yemeni meal and various thoughts on the topic of Perceptions of Muslims in America. Keynote speakers included Rehan Dawer of Buttonwood Financial, Robert Destro, Professor of the Columbus School of Law, and Farah Atassi, President of the Arab Information and Resource Center.
April 29th, 2010
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2010-11 Buxton Fellowship to Draw from Local Universities
Monday, April 19, 2010
Since its inception, The Buxton Initiative has engaged dynamic young people of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths for a nine-month fellowship. In the past, we have offered this fellowship to recent college graduates. For the coming 2010-2011 year, we will welcome Washington-area university students to join us as fellows on a part-time basis. This arrangement will afford students the invaluable opportunity to compliment their coursework with real-world experience while enabling Buxton to build a stronger relationship with university groups and students with an interest in interfaith dialogue. We are excited to witness what these bright young students will contribute to the organization!
April 19th, 2010
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Why my first two Passover Seders were awesome
As Passover comes to a close today, I wanted to share my thoughts about going to my first Passover Seders. The two were very different; the first was a small gathering at a friend’s home, and the second was a large, multi-table event at the Washington Hebrew Congregation. For those unfamiliar with Passover Seders, briefly, it is to remember the suffering of the Israelites under the Pharoah and to celebrate their exodus. Passover, for Jews, is almost treated like an 8-day sabbath.
OK, let’s just get into what is awesome about Seders. Read the rest of this entry »
April 6th, 2010
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