WISE Up Report Has Launched!

On Thursday, October 26th, hundreds of religious and community leaders, academics, policymakers, and lawmakers descended on Washington, DC for a historic gathering: the WISE Up Summit , featuring a series of panel discussion on how to combat all forms of hate, including terrorism and Islamophobia.

"A few years ago WISE Up was just a vision and collection of loose thoughts. Now, it’s a tangible, inspirational and knowledge-based foundation for Muslims and non-Muslims to better understand the peaceful tenets of Islam, the distortions of extremism and the critical importance of Muslims to our society.”

“I was blown away by the turn out, quality and significance of what happened today. This was a total success."

“It was refreshing to see so many grassroots stakeholders on stage and in the crowd. Truly impressive!”

"It was inspiring to see all the faces in one room coming together to ask important questions and offer ways to address the problems head on.”

"History of Islam in America and Challenges Facing American Muslims" - Moderator Jerome Socolovsky with Robert Silverman, Steve Miska, Imam Talib M. Shareef, Saeed A. Khan, Eric Treene, Arsalan Suleman, Rabiah Ahmed

“I learned a great deal about Muslim culture and religion and our office is very impressed by the report…. The entire event was incredible and I am extremely grateful that I was able to be a part of the day.”

"Understanding Extremist Recruitment and Early Intervention" - Moderator Mehdi Hasan with Scott Cooper, Sammy Rangel, Soraya Deen, Shaykh Omar Suleiman, Daisy Khan, Dr. Katarzyna Jasko

"Islamic Theology vs. Extremist Ideology" - Moderator Sally Quinn with Qamar ul-Huda, Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat, Shaikh Kabir Helminski, Rabia Terri Harris, Khaja Khaleemuddin, Ibrahim Malabari, Qasim Rashid, Daisy Khan (not pictured: Mubin Shaikh)

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Special Feature: Honoring Syrian Refugees

Paul Nasrani, owner of Adirondack Creamery, served his new "Syrian Date & Walnut" ice cream to Summit attendees - a flavor inspired by the Syrian treat ma'amoul. Paul is hoping to raise awareness about the Syrian refugee crisis, and is donating 50 percent of the profits to charity. Paul is featured as a "hero" in the WISE Up Report, and you can read more about the story of Paul's ice cream here .

Available for Purchase Here

WISE Up Summit Highlights

WISE Up Summit: Why Women Join ISIS and How Women Can Lead in Peacebuilding

WISE Up Summit: Notable American Muslims with Wajahat Ali

Left: Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Daisy Khan, and moderator Sally Quinn discuss "Why Women Join ISIS" and "How Women Can Lead in Peacebuilding"

Right: Wajahat Ali introduces "Notable American Muslims"

In case you missed it...

Click below to see videos of all sessions from the Summit

Summit Reflections

“It was a hopeful and inspiring day with American Muslim as the voices of spirituality, peace and interfaith activism, religious leaders and scholars, social justice advocates, journalists from all races and faiths united to speak on the topic of hate, extremism, how knowledge ends extremism as well as the social and political forces that conspire to hijack faiths and/or races at various times in history. It was most reassuring to hear how this has been a part of American history since its founding, and how the “politicization” of the faith of Islam is just another tragic marker on a trajectory deeply embedded in our culture. The panels were illuminating and reassuring at the same time, as they went deep to see the forces working towards hate, while spotlighting what is possible to create peace, love and understanding in the world today."

Mino Akhtar, Blogger

"I had the pleasure of providing a veteran’s perspective on a comprehensive effort to speak out against Islamophobia and push back against twisted versions of Islam like those propagated by the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations. While on an opening panel of scholars and practitioners, an audience member asked a typical inquiry, one heard countless times since 9/11, “Why don’t moderate Muslims speak out against terrorism?” I could hear some exasperated gasps from audience members. If the WISE Up Report supported by over 70 Muslim and non-Muslim experts wasn’t a clear example of “moderate Muslims speaking out,” then I didn’t know what was. The WISE Up Summit constituted a climax of years of effort to debunk conventional wisdom about Islam, to discredit terrorist ideology, and to begin a public campaign of education aimed to demystify Islam for average Americans. Hundreds of people registered to attend the Summit in Washington, D.C. at the Carnegie Endowment, yet the media didn’t show up. This was not due to a lack of effort on the organizer’s part. Daisy Khan, Executive Director of WISE, personally reached out to dozens of journalists and media organizations. She had intermediaries in the press also reach out on her behalf. It seemed there were other pressing issues to cover that day."

Steve Miska, First Amendment Voice Initiative