Draft Muslim-Indigenous Engagement Framework
What does ethical engagement between Muslim and Indigenous communities look like?
Islamic Family and Social Services Association set about thinking through this question for themselves. It may inspire other Muslim organizations to think through their approach to this important relationship building endeavour. Read the framework here.
IFSSA’s commitment to true partnership with Indigenous peoples is an ongoing process based on the following…
1. We seek guidance from the Creator and acknowledge the sacred in all relationships.
2. True partnership, that is sincere, authentic, curious and focussed on beneficence, joy & shared healing as well as working towards equity, power, opportunity, health & the sacred.
Acknowledge & Support…
3. Acknowledge the richness and contribution of Indigenous peoples. 1. Avoid well intentioned, but unwittingly simplistic, demeaning views of Indigenous peoples.
4. Acknowledge its not and us and them; Indigenous peoples are a vital part of the Muslim community and Islam has been/is a part of Indigenous communities.
5. Acknowledge that we have much to learn from the work of Indigenous peoples/ organizations and an obligation to contribute.
6. Support the Truth & Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) recommendations through amplifying the calls to action in our interaction with governments, as well as programming and education efforts.
7. Acknowledge that relationships are complex, subtle, dynamic and delicate entities that require nurture and maintenance, and that written objectives serve only as a starting point/ reference.
Learn, Share & Educate…
"We created you all from a single man and a single woman, and made you into races and tribes so that you should recognize one another." (Al Hujrat 49:13)
8. Serve to educate ourselves and the communities we serve.
1. Our community is not always well informed about Indigenous issues, and we have a role to correct this
2. We as Muslims have been complicit in harm to Indigenous people.
3. Religious chauvinism is inauthentic to our tradition.
4. We have personal & collective responsibilities to steward land with ihsan.
9. Expand on our shared stories & shared values.
1. Explore and articulate shared values (institutional & spiritual) through workshops and consultation with Elders & partner agencies.
2. We need to work on listening, and uncovering our vast common understanding of things. This includes belief in the divine, seeing sentience in the seemingly inanimate.
3. Cultivate shared stories and experiences of colonization, dislocation – while acknowledging our role as settlers on Treaty 6.
Act…
10. Articulate clearly what we’ll (continue to) do…
Create time and space for genuine relationships based on respect, support, embracing differences & nurturing commonality with kindness, love, and respect.
Work collaboratively to ensure Indigenous peoples are a part of first welcoming of newcomers.
Educate (especially youth) through Indigenous knowledge keepers in our programs.
Honour protocol when we engage.
Put into practice Indigenous principles of relationship specific to our local area.
Build on our collective interest in supporting members of our community to flourish
Commit to the 7 points outlined in the Philanthropic Community's Declaration of Action & the Calls for All Canadians in the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG) Report's Calls for Justice.
Integrate a land acknowledgment that is connected to the Islamic tradition & authentically our own on business cards, e-signatures, our website, and events we host. Honouring Indigenous protocol is honouring our own tradition.
Include prayers for peace, prosperity & restitution for the people of this land.
Earnestly cultivate authentic dua (prayers) & litanies specific to our time, place & people we're with.
Collaborate and serve alongside Indigenous partner organizations on improving systems, & shared celebrations like RootsResilience.ca, and the Canadian Prayer Rug.
Resources & References
Philanthropic Community's Declaration of Action (via The Circle)
Community Action: Muslims Stand with Wet’suwet’en (via The Zamzam Well)
Sample Dua & Territorial Acknowledgment
We begin first in the Name of God —who is known by many names—and who has revealed that He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We thank God for his graciousness and mercy with us, we acknowledge those who are present and join us today, our ancestors –those who came before us– who’s prayers and efforts bless us today and recognize those who are to come and for whom we do this work.
We ask that He bless this gathering and the land upon which this gathering is held, a land we recognize as the ancestral land of the Indigenous people; the Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway/ Saulteaux/Anishinaabe, Inuit, and many others to whom we are bound by treaty, our shared humanity, and a sacred call to brotherhood, sisterhood and civic duty.
May God in his graciousness and mercy support us all in our work upon this land and with each other, and may He help us to remember the work of those who have come before us and the work that is still to be done.
We thank God who, in His infinite wisdom, has made us into different tribes and nations, but never placed within any one man or woman more than one heart: one heart that is humbled and made to rest in His service and remembrance. May we always be in His humbled remembrance and may peace and blessings be upon all who serve Him. Ameen