“We are the forefront of a major national campaign,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, Founder and President of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, told Arutz Sheva at the Israeli American Council National Conference, describing the MASO movement, an acronym for "Muslims Are Speaking Out".

The movement was founded by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and is trying to show the world that there are Muslims condemning extremism. The two-year national campaign aims at empowering moderate Muslims and non-Muslims alike to speak out against terrorism and extremism.

Major American Muslim organizations have already backed the initiative, including the Iranian Students’ News Agency and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Rabbi Schneier said that he is at the forefront of a major national campaign this year and that the goal of the campaign is to refute the popular opinion that Muslims don’t speak out against Islamic extremism and terrorism.

The latest initiative by Rabbi Schneier is to create a coalition of the most prominent American Muslim leaders to reach out to Hamas leaders, asking them to release the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in 2014 during Operation Brother’s Keeper that are still being held hostage by Hamas.

Rabbi Schneier today announced the release of an "open letter signed by 10 prominent American Muslim political and religious leaders – including the two Muslim members of the U.S. House of Representatives – which calls on Hamas leader Khaled Meshal to release the remains of Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.”

“People who fight for their rights are only honorable when they fight for the rights of all people,” Schneier told Arutz Sheva.