Dear Muslim Friends, I hope it's okay with you if I share a bit from my heart.

The world seems to be going mad. If you go by what the news reports, the situation is pretty bleak. Particularly when it comes to relations between Christians and Muslims. But what we hear on the news is not the whole story.

It’s incredible how impactful a few hours of interaction with someone from another culture can be! Our State Department sponsors various cultural groups to visit the U.S., and sometimes those groups come to our city, Louisville, KY.

Peace Catalyst International grieves with the people of Lebanon and France over these despicable terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris. We urge followers of Jesus everywhere to love God with their mind in order to resist simplistic sound bites about Islam. Islam is radically diverse. The vast majority of Muslims are not our enemies. The tiny fraction of Muslim extremists like ISIS are.

Douglas Johnston, known as the father of faith-based diplomacy, opened a recent conference on Religious Freedom and Islamophobia at Temple University by saying, “The greatest asset we have to fight militant Islam is the American Muslim community. Unfortunately, we have alienated many in this community... and as the Muslim community is marginalized, it plays into the hands of extremists.”

"Islam is dangerous and promotes violence." It was hard to start on such a negative note. But that is why this gathering was so important.

Many people love talking about freedom of religion as long as you are talking about their religion. Christians speak out against persecution of Christians, but few also speak out against the persecution of other faiths. Here are five reasons we promote religious freedom for all.

After the cleanup effort organized in response to recent vandalism at a Louisville mosque, this video was put together by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's office. We are proud to be part of efforts like this to promote peace and cooperation for the common good in Louisville and cities around the country.

On September 16th, members of a Louisville Islamic Center arrived at the mosque to find it vandalized with disturbing messages spray-painted across the building.The malicious act, presumably intended to cause division in the community, actually had the exact opposite effect. Just two days after the vandalism nearly 1,000 Louisville residents from all faiths, including over 100 from the local Jewish community, gathered to stand in solidarity with the mosque and help paint over the graffiti.