Presentation: Countering Antisemitism and Islamophobia

This intercultural Jewish-Muslim panel begins by providing definitions of terms, and then discusses the roots, history and impact of antisemitism and Islamophobia on Jewish and Muslim communities here in the US and around the world. The panel ends with calls to action on what we can do working together as Americans to counter these and other forms of bigotry in the country. Throughout the event the panelists will entertain questions and have a discussion with the audience.

Panelist:

Jewish American: Karen Stiller

Karen Stiller has a MSSA with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Stiller started her professional career in social work and nonprofit management. She moved to the Bay Area in 2000, where she worked in the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University. She has been with the Jewish Community Relations Council since 2002, first as Peninsula Director and currently as Senior Director of Jewish Affairs. She has been deeply involved in interfaith work over the years, including helping start-up two local interfaith councils. 

Muslim American: Maha Elgenaidi

Muslim American: Maha Elgenaidi, ING's founder and executive director, holds a Stanford M.A. in Religious Studies and American University in Cairo B.A. in Political Science and Economics.

Muslim American: Maha Elgenaidi, ING's founder and executive director, holds a Stanford M.A. in Religious Studies and American University in Cairo B.A. in Political Science and Economics.Elgenaidi  is the founder of ING and currently its Executive Director, overseeing the organization. She is the author of training handbooks on outreach for American Muslims as well as training seminars for public institutions on developing cultural competency with the American Muslim community. She received an M.A. in religious studies from Stanford University and BA in political science and economics from the American University in Cairo. She has taught classes on Islam in the modern world at universities such as Santa Clara University and the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the “Civil Rights Leadership Award” from the California Association of Human Relations Organizations, the “Citizen of the Year Award” from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and the “Dorothy Irene Height Community Award” from the NAACP-Silicon Valley. She’s currently an advisor for the CA Commission on Police Officers Standards and Training (POST), a member of the Council of Advisors for the Freedom Forum that helps shape American views on the First Amendment; and Commissioner on the County of Santa Clara’s Hate Crimes Task Force. Read Elgenaidi’s blog here.

ING Facilitator: Zachary Markwith

Markwith is the Deputy Director at ING. He received his PhD in Islamic Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He also earned an MA (cum laude) in Comparative Religious Studies at the George Washington University and a BA in Islamic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research and teaching focus on Islamic sacred texts, early Sufism, Sunni-Shi‘i relations and the comparative study of religions. He has taught classes on Islam and other world religions at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara University and the Graduate Theological Union. He is the author of One God, Many Prophets: the Universal Wisdom of Islam (2013) and the forthcoming book And When I Love Them: the Hadith al-Nawafil and the Formation of Sufism (2024). Zachary has also worked with other non-profit and community-based organizations, including Hub Foundation, the International Peace Project, and Food Not Bombs. Read Zachary’s blog here.

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