I was invited to put on a peacemaking seminar and speak at a large evangelical church. A few months after I confirmed, they also asked me if I would be willing to speak to elementary school children at their Christian school. I do not usually speak to children and was not too excited about it. But when I remembered how Jesus rebuked his disciples for not receiving and blessing children, I knew I had to speak.

Why would I link the illustrious (principal) author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and its third president with 38-year-old Indian Muslim immigrant Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core? The answer is that Jefferson consciously paved the way for Muslims to be citizens of the country he helped to found.

I think I am allergic to interfaith dialogue. When I get near interfaith dialogue events, I begin to gnash my teeth in frustration at the tendency toward superficial, lowest-common-denominator discussions about how similar we all are and the often-aggressive hostility toward very basic religious practices such as evangelization. When I, as a Christian, am asked to come to such events but am told that no sharing of faith will be allowed, I feel as if I am being asked to leave a part of my faith at the door. How can an event be interfaith if I cannot bring my faith fully and wholly?

Inspired by my own memories of being warmly welcomed into Azerbaijani homes for traditional holidays during my two years in the Peace Corps, I envisioned international students celebrating Thanksgiving at friendship dinners. What better way to develop friendships between Muslims and Christians than over great food and conversation? The Thanksgiving holiday seemed like a perfect time to include guests from Muslim backgrounds at the table.

The war in Syria is complex and catastrophic. The United Nations has called this conflict one of the very worst humanitarian disasters the world has seen. Even worse, the governments of the world seem incapable of helping. So what can people of faith do about this?

U.S. foreign policy should become more effective in advancing the institutions and habits of religious freedom. Doing so would aid the victims of religious persecution in Muslim-majority countries and advance American national security.

A few months ago, Douglas Johnston called and asked if Peace Catalyst wanted to partner with ICRD. He asked me to recruit evangelical leaders who would meet with high-level Muslim leaders from Pakistan to dialogue about religious freedom. We have a two-point agenda: (1) to address the persecution of minorities in Pakistan, many of whom are Christians, and (2) to address the problem of Islamophobia in the U.S.

In this, the second blog in a series of two, I would like to discuss the 2011 Gallup Poll report called, “American Muslims: Faith, Freedom and the Future” and some of the challenges the U.S. Muslim community faces in the coming years.

An extensive Gallup Poll published in 2011 (download it here) reported that “though they continue to experience some perceived bias, both in their interactions with other Americans and in their exchanges with law enforcement, Muslim Americans are satisfied with their current lives and are more optimistic than other faith groups that things are getting better.”In this blog I offer a brief synopsis of this 132-page document, singling out what I’m guessing are some of its most startling findings. In a follow-up blog I’ll look at the challenges facing the Muslim-American community, as seen through the eyes of three prominent leaders.