In the United States several interfaith programs, events, and relationships have been built in a post-9/11 era. These interfaith efforts have gone global and been conducted at both grassroots levels and at a government level. Intra-faith has similarly been ventured, on a scholarly level. However, what has not been significantly caught on, is grassroots intra-faith programs and cooperation between the Shia and Sunni community in the United States, which forms the foundation of a strong ummah.
The development of a UniTea program between Shia and Sunni communities in the United States would serve to strengthen the Muslim American community and fortify them through bridges of understanding shared purpose. Conducting intra-faith community service alliances between the Sunni and Shia communities will not only strengthen the Muslim American community in the United States, but also impact Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims internationally. Showing that Shia and Sunni Muslims can cooperate and unite as a community will send a strong message to those who seek to divide the Muslims on sectarian lines for political and personal agendas.
It is with this in mind United Muslim Foundation (UMF) in collaboration with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), launches the UniTea Campaign, modeled on over a decade of UMF’s work promoting Unity through Community Service and Development, to proliferate programs that encourage cooperation between the Shia and Sunni communities in the United States.
UniTea Campaign 