ISNA Con Is Back (In Person): ‘Resilience, Hope, and Faith’ Are This Year’s Theme
Speakers and organizers reflect on this year’s convention, the first event after a two-year COVID hiatus
The Islamic Society of North America is bringing its renowned convention back in-person, for one of the Muslim community's largest annual gatherings to be addressed by leading national and international speakers.
After two years of going online due to the pandemic, ISNA leadership is focusing on the collective American Muslim struggle and community resilience for the 59th ISNA Con. to be held the first week of September.
“This year’s theme, “Resilience, Hope, and Faith: With Hardship, Comes Ease,” was chosen considering the context of our nation’s gradual emergence from the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Haroon Imtiaz, Director of Communications for ISNA, said. “Though the pandemic is not over, our country has recovered in many ways. We would like to highlight the importance of maintaining resilience, hope, and faith, as they were key drivers in helping Americans overcome the adversity of the last two years.”
The yearly event, which has previously peaked at 50,000 attendees, has held parallel conventions by Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA), and the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA).
It’s famed for offering a platform to discuss concerns such as the role of Muslims in society, politics, the media as well as community activism and has been addressed by the likes of President Biden, and Bernie Sanders, and in 2019 was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah.
One of the keynote speakers at this year's event will be former ISNA president and Executive Religious Director of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), Imam Mohamed Magid. Earlier this month he was appointed Commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom by President Biden.
Magid says ISNA has historically played a leading role in American Muslim society.
"ISNA is the longest-standing Muslim organization in America and has been a trailblazing organization in supporting the establishment of so many institutions in this country,” he said. “ISNA has been the largest Muslim-run conference in the country to facilitate the convening of people of all thoughts and backgrounds to say their piece. So many generations of some of the best Muslim minds have come through ISNA. Leaders of Muslim communities, world-renowned speakers, and organizational heads made their names at ISNA by once serving on ISNA leadership, speaking at conferences, or simply by association.”
Magid reflects on previous contributors and speakers saying, “All the pioneers who have done amazing work outside of ISNA have made great contributions to this organization. Some are no longer with us, may Allah bless their souls, but for the ones who are, may Allah continue to bless them in their work and give them long lives of service.”
Organizers have lined up more than a hundred speakers and will cover topics such as faith, education, leadership and mental health. Some well-known names include the head of ISPU Dalia Mogahed and recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Gold Star father, Khizr Khan.
“This year’s convention will feature nationally and internationally renowned speakers, political leaders, interfaith leaders, and community activists,” Imtiaz said. “The convention will cover a range of topics pertaining to social justice, human rights, spirituality, and community development. We will have an expo with hundreds of booths, a community service luncheon, where we will award distinguished guest for their contributions to public life, art exhibit, film festival, fashion show, interfaith banquet, and multiple entertainment nights with Muslim poets, singers, and comedians.”
Magda Elkadi Saleh, ISNA’s Vice President and Head of the Bayaan Academy, is another speaker and she will address the issue of education. She praises ISNA for providing help to her and her school during the pandemic with school loans and grants to facilitate online learning. Saleh believes her Academy, an online Islamic school based in Maryland, greatly benefited from these collaborative efforts.
“The theme of this year's ISNA's resonates directly with me and with so many other educators I interact with on a regular basis,” Saleh said. “Subhan'Allah, when we think of the two years that we were impacted by COVID, we recall all of the challenges we faced; we also recall all of our successes. Subhan'Allah, COVID brought so many of us together, and we networked with and supported each other to develop positive solutions for every problem we encountered.”
Like previous conventions, this year’s event will be held in Rosemont, which is close to the city of Chicago, Ill., the state with the largest Muslim population in the United States.
The 59th annual ISNA convention will take place from Sept. 2 to Sept. 5 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Anyone wanting to attend or register a booth, please visit https://isna.net/convention/.
