BRIJ is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to uncovering the histories, practices and cultures of Muslims and Jews in America. Our resources guide Jews and Muslims to explore their own identities within the U.S. while also learning about one another’s traditions and histories.
The BRIJ Team
Founded with the goal of bringing together Muslim and Jewish perspectives, BRIJ is uniquely positioned to carry out our latest Uncovering Narratives digital history project. Our co-directors have extensive leadership experience both in interfaith spaces and within Muslim and Jewish communities. Over the past four years, we have built a team of thirty college students, professors, chaplains and school directors. Our diverse team brings together a wealth of experiences, knowledge of religious history and practice, community engagement, and personal commitments to justice and interfaith solidarity.
Our Past Work:
We developed and delivered a weekly program for Muslim and Jewish fifth graders at the Islamic and Jewish day schools of Rhode Island. In addition to weekly workshops, we organized BRIJ events at Brown University for the students and their families that reached over 200 community members. In 2020, we completed our BRIJ Fifth Grade Religious Literacy Curriculum Guidebook. The Guidebook is a 70-page manual that includes our lesson plans and materials (text-studies, scripts, activity worksheets), links to interactive PowerPoint presentations, pre- and post- surveys to measure efficacy of the program, best practices for classroom implementation, and samples of student work and journal reflections from the first two years of the program. This completed work serves as the model for our proposed Uncovering Narratives Curriculum Guidebook
The BRIJ Team
Founded with the goal of bringing together Muslim and Jewish perspectives, BRIJ is uniquely positioned to carry out our latest Uncovering Narratives digital history project. Our co-directors have extensive leadership experience both in interfaith spaces and within Muslim and Jewish communities. Over the past four years, we have built a team of thirty college students, professors, chaplains and school directors. Our diverse team brings together a wealth of experiences, knowledge of religious history and practice, community engagement, and personal commitments to justice and interfaith solidarity.
Our Past Work:
We developed and delivered a weekly program for Muslim and Jewish fifth graders at the Islamic and Jewish day schools of Rhode Island. In addition to weekly workshops, we organized BRIJ events at Brown University for the students and their families that reached over 200 community members. In 2020, we completed our BRIJ Fifth Grade Religious Literacy Curriculum Guidebook. The Guidebook is a 70-page manual that includes our lesson plans and materials (text-studies, scripts, activity worksheets), links to interactive PowerPoint presentations, pre- and post- surveys to measure efficacy of the program, best practices for classroom implementation, and samples of student work and journal reflections from the first two years of the program. This completed work serves as the model for our proposed Uncovering Narratives Curriculum Guidebook
|
Mission
Drawing from a shared commitment to justice, our mission is to deepen understanding between Muslim and Jewish communities in the United States, and promote greater religious literacy among the American public. Our multimedia resources shed light on the diversity of histories, practices, and cultures of Muslims and Jews in America. |
Vision
We envision BRIJ as a platform for bringing together Muslim and Jewish perspectives to build relationships and explore history excluded from American textbooks. We strive to foster a more holistic understanding of Muslim and Jewish experiences in North America and their place within broader struggles for justice. |
We are grateful to the organizations and centers who support our work: the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Interfaith Youth Core, the Rhode Island Foundation, the Brown University Community Building Fund, the Brown Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life, and the Swearer Center for Public Service.