The 2007 Muslim Chaplain's Conference was held on August 29 – 30, 2007 in Rosemont, Illinois. The event opened with an annual meeting of the board of directors of the ISNA Chaplaincy Board. This was followed by half day program consisting of lectures and presentations by renowned speakers in the field of chaplaincy. The conference was kicked off with the opening remarks of ILDC Executive Director Louay Safi. Dr. Safi urged Muslim chaplains to respect the religious diversity of their clients, reminding everyone of the need to promote religious dialogue as part of keeping with Islamic teachings. He also stressed the importance of intra-religious dialogue among the different Muslims sects, giving the rising tension between Sunnis and Shias in certain communities.

The first session entitled “A Conversation on Religious Diversity and Accommodations in Chaplaincy,” featured presentations by Muhammad Shafiq. The session focused on ways and means to improve working conditions in a diverse work environment setting, and to exchange such experiences. A new guide for interfaith dialogue was also introduced and discussed.

The second session focused on “Mapping the Future, Building on Past Experiences”. Conference participants developed strategies to strengthen performance, build capacity, improve networking, and use collective resources to address issues peculiar to the Muslim prison population. Bilal Ansari and Umar Bajwa facilitated this interactive session.

The first day concluded with keynote addresses by Col Steve Moon, US Army Chief of Chaplains Office and Dr. Muneer Fareed, ISNA Secretary General. Both distinguished speakers spoke on the importance of the role of Chaplaincy within the American Muslim context.

On Thursday there was a thematic panel discussion, followed by a thematic inter-active workshop which was held to establish working standards and measure that were rigorously discussed. The day began with the first session focusing on “Leadership Development: How we can raise the bar of Islamic Chaplaincy”. Abdullah Hulwe, Rabia Harris, Mumina Kowalski and Yahya Hendi stimulated discussion on the state of Muslim chaplaincy and explored ways and means to improve the work as well as raise professional standards. This session was followed by a breakout groups to discuss in more detail proposed ideas and then report the findings to the conference.

After afternoon prayer and lunch a discussion on “Trauma Transformation in the Work Place” was conducted by Osman Ali and George Fitzgerald. Questions such how does a chaplain become a transformative agent in your workplace when faced with traumatic events such as those mentioned and where does faith fit into the human dimensions of surviving trauma were addressed by both the speakers and participants.

The conference concluded with Dr. Ingrid Mattson speaking “educational Challenges in Muslim Chaplaincy”. This session explored effective approaches for improving chaplains’ continuous education at both the institutional and personal levels.