Picnics for peace
A highlight of the early spring for me and some other local Fellowship of Reconciliation members was participating in an interfaith peace picnic hosted by American Muslim Voice (AMV) in Stony Point, New York. AMV's founder and director, Samina Faheem Sundas, is a Pakistani native living in northern California, who has dedicated her life to interfaith dialogue and peace-building across religious, racial, ethnic, and cultural lines. As a part of that witness, Samina organizes "peace picnics" in communities wherever she travels — we enjoyed an afternoon of fablous South Asian food and in-depth conversation about current political and religious hot topics.
Samina has reached out to FOR and other friends of AMV, asking us to share an invitation to more communities to support AMV's good work and to cosponsor with AMV other such events. Please find that invitation below, which includes a list of currently scheduled peace picnics this year:
The American Muslim Voice Foundation is seeking global partnerships for its Miracle Movement of Peace. We strongly believe that in order to build peace we must get to know each other, form friendships so we can build stronger communities, safe and secure nations. Therefore we are encouraging all Americans and global community to start getting to know each other by nurturing old friendships and sowing the seeds of new ones so we can build a peaceful, inclusive and beloved world.
Our approach to community building is a simple one. AMV Foundation provides a safe and harmonious place with food and personal interaction to have difficult dialogues. We work towards the path Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved for us by bridging the cultural and religious gap between the global communities.
AMV Foundation has been hosting its Miracle Movement Open Houses, Eid picnics, peace picnics and peace conventions across USA . These social event have yielded great success past years, not just in bringing hundreds of diverse people together in a fun and relaxed social atmosphere, but also in fostering lasting friendships and shattering barriers among people from all walks of life.
AMV Foundation has been fortunate to cultivate relationships with several multi-cultural organizations, faith groups and individuals that shared our vision of a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony. Many of them wanted to be a part of our Miracle Movement of Peace and eagerly co-sponsored and endorsed these events. By co-sponsoring or endorsing these events they became our partners in bridging the cultural and religious gap between all.
Here is how you can become a part of our Miracle Movement of Peace
This year we encourage you to co-sponsor or endorse our Miracle Movement of Peace. To be credited as a co-sponsor or endorser on the official event flyers and in subsequent press releases, please email samina_faheem@yahoo.com as soon as possible.
To co-sponsor please send us a check payable to AMV Foundation for the amount of $150.00 (minimum), attend the events and start spreading the word around the local and global community. Co-sponsoring these events reflects a shared vision of a peaceful, harmonious, beloved and all-inclusive world where all of us feels safe and at home.
You could still become our peace partner even if money is an issue for you or your organization. To endorse “The Miracle Movement of Peace” Just send us an email, attend the events and help us with outreach locally and globally.
The Miracle Movement of Peace is but a part of AMV Foundation’s mission. We are a grassroots, nonviolent and inclusive organization dedicated to preserving and protecting civil liberties and constitutional rights for all. AMV Foundation was founded by American Muslims to work for and with all Americans towards this goal.
We work with all Muslim, multi-faith, community organizations/groups and individuals that share our vision of a peaceful, harmonious and inclusive world.
We believe that working alongside neighbors and strangers towards a shared goal — by strengthening the fibers of our world and eradicating cultural fault lines — forges bonds and often sparks friendships.
AMV Foundation enjoys the success that our simple approach to community building yields, but our greatest assets are the lasting friendships, coalitions and alliances we have made in our efforts to bridge the cultural and religious gap between all Americans and the world.
We hope that you will consider co-sponsoring or endorsing “The Miracle Movement of Peace” and will adopt an ongoing role in this movement.
To learn more about these events, who we are and what we do, we invite you to visit www.amuslimvoice.org. From there, you can also print out the flyers.
We hope to see you among our sea of smiling faces.
About the Miracle Movement of Peace
Let us face the truth about our homeland. Today we stand divided due to the policy of the Bush administration. That administration created a culture of hate, anger, division and violence among Americans. We need to replace it with the culture of love, joy, inclusion and peace. Please join hands with us as we walk on the path Martin Luther King Jr. paved for us by becoming full partners in “The Miracle Movement of Peace” to foster friendships among all Americans and the world by bridging the cultural and religious gap. No forums and no teach-ins; good food, good discussion and a chance for us all to get to know each other.
Just one rule to follow: nurture old friendships and sow the seeds of new ones.
AMV Foundation is striving to create a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony. Together we can build an inclusive, peaceful and beloved nation for us and our kids.
AMV—Foundation’s 2009 scheduled Peace Picnics, Open Houses and Peace Convention:
Saturday, April 18th in Stony Point, NY (Done)
"Light the Night for Peace": We will have a peace picnic and candle light vigil on September 11th 2009 in Washington DC in loving memory of 9/11 victims. We will honor them, their families and their friends by working towards creating a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony.
Saturday, May 23rd in peace picnic in Woodland , CA
Sunday, June 7th open House in Palo Alto , CA.
Saturday, August 1st peace picnic in Milpitas , CA
Friday, September 11th in Washington DC
Saturday, October 10th in Newark, CA
