In light of the recent distribution of more than 28 million copies of the widely-criticized anti-Muslim DVD “Obsession,” it seems as if the website ChangeTheStory.net’s launch couldn’t have come at a better time.

The site, which aims to clear up widely-held misconceptions about Muslims, launched on September 24, 2008 and was founded by Intersections, a year-old social justice organization in New York that works to deal with differences between religions and ethnicities through dialogue.

Intersections founder Robert Chase talked about what led to the creation of the site.

“We wanted to create something groundbreaking, distinctive, and totally compelling, something that Muslims and non-Muslims alike can call their own,” said Chase, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ in New York City.

The website was also created in response to a prestigious report released by a committee that included famous people such as former U.S. Secretary of State Madeliene Albright and author Stephen Covey called “Changing Course,” which can be read at www.usmuslimengagement.org. Chase said that report was more about foreign policy than educating the U.S. populace about Muslims both home and abroad and considers ChangeTheStory.net to be a “companion resource” to the report.

The website offers an interactive experience where users can read stories about everyday Muslim life and meet their Muslim neighbors, look at maps of Muslim communities in the U.S., learn about the values of Islam, and also read suggestions for having interfaith dialogues in their communities.

“It has been an honor to work on this project,” said Munir Shaikh, a doctoral student in Islamic studies at the University of California at Los Angeles and member of the site’s writing team. “I don’t know of another visually appealing resource like this that is so informative for a variety of audiences.”

While there are more than five million Muslims currently living in the United States, Chase believes that most of what people know about their neighbors are taken from mass media sources, which aren’t very good sources of information.

“There are vast amounts of people in this country who are just totally unfamiliar with the Muslim world and so they operate on this very thin veneer of impressions they receive from the media.”

Most people also aren’t aware that only about 15% of the world’s Muslim population resides in the Middle East, either.

“In our website is a whole section where you learn more about Islam and become more familiar with the religion itself,” said Chase. “I think a lot of (the lack of knowledge of Islam in America) is ignorance, a lot plays on 30-second sound bytes that are unfortunately focusing on a very small percentage of Muslims who are prone to violence. While it’s often proclaimed in the name of Islam, the vast majority denounce that sort of behavior so we find it’s more political and cultural rather than being faith-based or rooted in what’s true with Islam itself.”

As a resident of perhaps the biggest melting pot in the world, New York City, Chase made it his mission to do everything in his power to foster positive relationships between the different groups he interacted with on a daily basis, which is why he founded Intersections. Many people feel that there is a rift between Christianity and Islam but Chase believes that the problems can be worked out if both sides get to know each other a little better, especially in America.

“People from all walks of life and religions talk about how being American and being Muslim are rooted in the same values,” he said. “Polls show the same number of Americans condemn violence as Muslims as well.”

The multi-faith component of the organization is also important because of the different input each group brings to the table.

“It was really important to me in the multi-cultural society we live in and increasingly that if we didn’t have a truly multi-faith perspective we would not be able to do what we’re doing in terms of bringing people together,” said Chase.

Reaction to the site has been positive thus far for Chase. On a recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee, a reporter from The Tennessean recognized the site and complimented him on it, catching Chase off guard.

“Word’s beginning to get out,” said Chase about the site. “We’ve been very pleased with the response.”

In order for the site’s message to ever get out to the American people, however, it might take more than just the press releases and media interviews said Chase. He believes that this is a crucial time for people to get the message before misunderstandings lead to even more serious problems down the line.

“I think this is one of the most important opportunities of our time with the new administration hopefully coming in,” he said about the upcoming presidential election. “We stand at a window of opportunity with a new administration coming and it is up to us to bring this up and make it the policies of the new administration coming up.

“We need to build for own safety and security and more importantly for the way we relate to each other, so that we can together we can face the challenges of our world.”