What We Do
Our Origin
In 2010, a group of 12 Jewish and Muslim women gathered around a dining room table with the hope that through learning about and with each other, they could build bridges of solidarity and understanding between their communities and together, stem the rising tides of polarization and acts of religious-based hate. Thus, our Charter Chapter and the Sisterhood movement were born.
Sister Spotlight
Eman El-Badawi
Chapters
At the core of the Sisterhood’s origin story are chapters, groups of 12-20 Muslim and Jewish women who gather regularly from a specific geographic locale for interfaith learning, exchange, socializing, and service work. Chapters are co-led by a woman from each faith and, in additional to their chapter meetings, have opportunities to participate in workshops and programs offered through the Central Office. Chapters have participated in community service projects together, read books and taken on cooking projects together, explored traditions within Islam and Judaism, and visited sites of cultural and religious significance. Some chapters are young, and some are ten plus years old! Chapter affiliation is for women who wish to connect long-term with a small group of women and develop close, lasting relationships.
Regional Networks
In select metropolitan areas across the United States, we have large concentrations of members grouped into regions. Each official region is co-led by a Muslim and Jewish Regional Coordinator, volunteer leaders who lend members support and create opportunities for members within the region to gather, virtually and/or in-person. Regions have engaged in work supporting immigrants, held interfaith educational events, hosted film screenings, gathered at interfaith community teas, participated in regional training workshops, and more. Regional networks are a terrific way for individuals to connect to a larger group of sisters in a broader geographic area.
National Programming
We offer regular online programming, including educational workshops and cultural and social events. We have designed these events to include content presented by a subject expert and small group time for member networking. Examples of past programming include:
Educational
Workshops
Examples include: Rising and Responding to Hate, Understanding Your Identity, Tips for Facilitating Difficult Conversations and more
Film Screenings
Film Discussion and Panel with the Directors of ABE and Stranger/Sister, Transform Films’ Documentary of the Sisterhood
Holiday-Specific Programming
Spring Series: Ramadan, Passover, & Shavuot Reflections
Book Events
We Refuse to be Enemies: How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace, One Friendship at a Time -with authors Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Panel discussions
Examples include: Israel & Palestine: Cultivating Understanding, Just Peace Series Discussions, and more
Teen Programming
Our teen program invites Muslim and Jewish girls to foster strong friendships that inspire a commitment to stand up for one another and fight bias and hate in their own communities. Teen chapters are teen-led and supported by regular check-ins with staff and fellow co-leaders. Teens participate in national, online programming and local service and social events. We also have a National Teen Leadership Board, which brings together a select group of teens to collaborate with peer leaders from across the country to design and implement programs and receive training from experts in leadership development and cross-cultural communication skills.
Annual Conference
Held each year in November, the annual conference, whether in-person or online, offers participants the opportunity to attend workshops on topics of greatest concern to our communities, participate in cultural events, be trained in skills relevant to interfaith coalition building, and meet fellow sisters from around the world
Building Bridge Trips
Each year, the Sisterhood takes a trip to a place of significance to the Muslim and Jewish communities either virtually or physically. In early 2022, 340 participants traveled on a virtual trip to Israel-Palestine in 5 weekly sessions and in 2020, over the course of six weeks, over 100 women traveled on our first-ever, virtual trip, a civil rights and racial justice journey.
In-person trips include Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border (2020), Germany/Poland (2019), Civil Rights Trip to the U.S. South (2018), Azerbaijan (2017), and the Balkans (2016).
The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom is an organization predicated on inclusion, respect, and openness to learning about and from one another. We recognize that there are as many interpretations of Islam and Judaism as there are members of each faith, and we encourage the exploration of one’s own and one another’s faiths and identities. As such, we encourage a broad range of perspectives and practices within Islam and Judaism among our members. We welcome into our chapters anyone who self-identifies as either Muslim or Jewish and as a sister. We welcome as allies and community members those of all genders who self-identify as Muslim or Jewish, as well as all people of non-Jewish/non-Muslim faiths or with no faith affiliation who wish to support our mission and work. Above all, we seek to include individuals who are willing to uphold and respect our mission and our members. We look forward to getting to know you.
