Ingrid Mattson, the President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), was one of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention’s interfaith gathering on Sunday. One media report indicates that she said that:
…she tells Islamic leaders abroad that Muslims in the United States still face discrimination constantly.
Another media report said that Mattson concluded her remarks:
… on an optimistic note, saying she believes America can be a beacon for the rest of the world, but that it must be conscious of the innocent and the planet in doing so.
Mattson reportedly received a “standing ovation.”
Other speakers were Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, and Sister Helen Prejean, an activist an author of book Dead Man Walking. It was the first interfaith gathering that is officially part of a Democratic convention.
Mattson, an Islamic convert, became the first female President of ISNA in 2006 having previously served as vice-president. Under her tenure, ISNA has developed a relationship with an organization representing Reform Judaism and, as a previous post has discussed, has been criticized for not being sufficiently “radical.” ISNA is one of the organizations comprising the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and has a history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism. Global Muslim Brotherhood organizations frequently enage in interfaith activities.