THE INTERFAITH CENTER OF ARKANSAS ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

Dear Friends of the Interfaith Center,

It is with mixed emotions that we share with you the decision of our executive director, Sophia Said, to step away from her role as Executive Director of the Interfaith Center of Arkansas in the summer of 2023. 

For all those who know Sophia or have been touched by her compassionate leadership, this is an important time in the life of both Sophia and the Interfaith Center of Arkansas.

Since 2012, Sophia has helped develop the vision and mission of the Interfaith Center along with the Rev. Susan Sims Smith and with the support of many faith communities and congregations in Central Arkansas.  St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church has also been key to the initial development and growth of the Interfaith Center.

Countless volunteers have contributed towards a wide variety of programs offered by the Interfaith Center throughout the years as well as the dozens of faith groups and organizations that have partnered with us. These organizations and faith groups have become an intrical part of the interfaith network that has grown stronger each year. The dialogue, energy, and collaborative spirit fostered by the Interfaith Center’s programs are palpable and a testament to Sophia’s leadership over the past years.  

Many of you know that Sophia’s family is in New Jersey.  She has shared her life in Arkansas and New Jersey since 2016 and we are most fortunate for that, however, it is time for this transition.  We are honored that after a short sabbatical from the Interfaith Center, Sophia has agreed to join the Interfaith Center’s board to help with strategic planning going forward.

With several months before Sophia’s departure, we are launching a national search for the position of Interfaith Center’s executive director.  We want to have your help in identifying and encouraging applicants for this important role.  Please review the position description HERE and share it with potential candidates.

Best regards,

Jerry Adams

Board Chair, The Interfaith Center of Arkansas

Rev. Britt Skarda, Rev. Susan Sims Smith, Hon. Annabelle Imber Tuck, Dr. Sara Tariq, Honorable Joyce Warren, Dr. Jane Prince
Board Members, The Interfaith Center of Arkansas

SOPHIA SAID RECEIVES THE PRESTIGIOUS BROOKS HAYS CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP AWARD

IN A FIRST, LITTLE ROCK CHURCH’S CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP AWARD GOES TO A MUSLIM
by Frank E. Lockwood | February 18, 2023 at 8:45 a.m.

Sophia Said, a Little Rock Muslim, is the recipient of the 2023 Brooks Hays Christian Leadership Award. Second Baptist Church honored Said Sunday for her efforts to promote interfaith cooperation and to assist with refugee resettlement. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)After  working with Sophia Said to strengthen interfaith relationships and to  help resettle Afghan refugees, members of downtown Little Rock's Second  Baptist Church presented her Sunday with its Brooks Hays Christian  Leadership Award in recognition of her public service.

The  executive director of the Interfaith Center of Arkansas as well as the  founder of the Madina Institute and Mosque, Said (pronounced "Sigh-eed")  is the first Muslim to be honored.

"This  is an award we give out every year to someone whose faith has made a  difference," the congregation's pastor, Preston Clegg, said.

While it is normally given to a Christian, "We just want to celebrate virtue wherever we see it in the public arena," he said.

The  honor is named after former U.S. Rep. Lawrence Brooks Hays, a longtime  Second Baptist Church member and Sunday School teacher as well as the  only American to serve, simultaneously, as a Southern Baptist Convention  president and member of Congress.
Last year, it was given to state Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock.

Past  recipients have included the founders of Habitat for Humanity, Millard  and Linda Fuller in 2001, former Southern Baptist Convention President  Jimmy Allen in 1999 and U.S. Sens. Dale Bumpers (2000) and David Pryor  (1995).

 FAITH AND JUSTICE MEET 
Second  Baptist Church, which describes itself as a place "where faith and  justice meet," says on its website that it is compelled to "seek  justice, care for the oppressed, and pattern our lives after the way of  Jesus."

It's also, Clegg said, "a church that cares deeply about interfaith relationships."

Due to her role at the Interfaith Center of Arkansas, "Sophia has been a friend to our church for years now," he said.

Following  the August 2021 collapse of the pro-American government in  Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, Clegg's congregation agreed to sponsor  Afghan families seeking refuge in the United States.

Other houses of worship did likewise.

"There were multiple churches that helped multiple families, but overall, it was an interfaith project," Clegg said.

Said, a naturalized U.S citizen born in Pakistan, played an integral role in the process, he noted.

"She's  one of the few people in Central Arkansas who is familiar with customs  of that part of the world, the nuances of the Muslim faith, and so I  think she just became a natural linchpin," he said.

"The cultural gap was more like a ditch for her and more like the Grand Canyon for the rest of us," Clegg said.
 
SPONSORS FAMILY OF 10
Second  Baptist took responsibility for a family of 10 refugees and  subsequently teamed up with other congregations to sponsor an additional  family as well.

Whenever complications arose, Said worked hard to sort them out, Clegg noted.

"This  would have been impossible, apart from Sophia and our friendships with  Muslims all over Central Arkansas, who helped us get these families  where they needed to be," he said.

Chris  Ellis, the congregation's minister of administration and outreach, said  members of the congregation were eager to participate.

Caring for "the immigrant, alien and stranger in the land" is "kind of core to our belief as Christians," he said.

"This is part of the gospel and this is a biblical command to love the refugee. And we wanted to take that seriously," he said.

"We  hope this is not the last time that we're able to partner with our  interfaith friends in Little Rock, especially for the common good," he  said.

Sunday,  Said was presented with the Christian Citizenship Award, a plaque  featuring a black-and-white photograph of Hays and a quote from the Book  of Micah: "... What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,  and love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?"
  

'I WAS SURPRISED'
 "I was definitely surprised that they chose a non-Christian, let alone a  Muslim woman to receive this award," Said said Wednesday.

"They could have picked anybody else. Anyone else," she said. "I think it's a big honor and I'm humbled by it."

During  a question-and-answer session at Second Baptist Church on Sunday, Said  stressed the common bonds shared by the three Abrahamic religions.

"I believe all faiths tell us to come around our shared values and promote common good for everyone.'' she said.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a turning point for her, she said.

On  that day, "My life, like the life of ... many other if not all other  Muslims in America, changed drastically forever,'' she said.

"I  decided that I just have to get up and raise awareness about my faith  and bring us back to that same place where we existed before a small  group of terrorists hijacked our faith for their own purposes,'' she  said.
  

'BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL'

The  Afghanistan resettlement project is "a beautiful example of interfaith  relationships at their best and most beautiful," she stated afterward.

Since moving to Little Rock in 2007, Said has devoted much of her life to interfaith friendship and cooperation.

The  Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice named her its Peacemaker of  the Year in 2015, and in 2016, she received the Just Communities of  Arkansas' Humanitarian Award.

On Sunday February 12th, Second Baptist Church in Downtown Little Rock, honored Sophia Said, the Executive Director of The Interfaith Center of Arkansas and Founder of Madina Institute, with this prestigious award. The award was presented to Sophia during their Sunday morning worship service followed by a lovely lunch reception in their fellowship hall. This is the first time a non christian has been given this award which shows how Sophia and her work truly crosses all religious boundaries.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette highlighted Sophia and Hay’s Award in their last Sunday’s edition. You can access the newspaper article HERE or scroll below to read.

Brooks Hays was a congressman, Southern Baptist Convention president, and member of Little Rock’s Second Baptist Church. (Arkansas Gazette file photo