The month of June has been extraordinarily busy. Please read on for a summary of our activities and all of our upcoming July events.
One important issue we want to highlight is an advocacy effort we signed onto alongside our friends at Hindus for Human Rights - a letter to President Biden asking him to bring up the issues of human rights and democracy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit to the White House.
This week Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha. We want to encourage folks to relearn the meaning of Eid al-Adha with a 20-minute lecture by Professor Shehnaz Akhani on her YouTube Channel “What the Patriarchy?” Wishing our Muslim friends a blessed Eid! Onward and upward… |
Ani Zonneveld MPV Founder & President |
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A Message for our Fellow Muslims |
Some of us are here, some of us don’t have the privilege to be here. Some of us wear a veil to our local mosques, some of us have to wear a burqa just to see our families. Some of us had to run away to save our lives. Some of us were killed in the name of honor. Some of us took our own lives just to find peace. Some of us are scared to speak up, some of us leave it to Allah (SWT) to help us find peace.Some of us stop believing because your religious institutions told us that we could not be gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans or queer and a Muslim when Allah (SWT) created us this way.
I ask you to spread solidarity for LGBTQ+ Muslims. Take a solidarity picture and share with us and tag us and #AllahIsJustice and #IslamIsJustice
Kandeel Javid MPV Boston |
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As an organization founded on the rights to religious freedom, and at the heart of it as a woman, MPV’s president Ani Zonneveld contributed her experiences to a workshop “FoRB and Gender Equality in South Asian Context” organized by Stefanus International. It is worth noting that the Indonesian Grand Mufti Dr. KH. Nasaruddin Umar attended the entire two-day meeting, showing a genuine interest about the issues at hand from those of us who work in the field.
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Ani Zonneveld was invited to speak at the Tabouk Festival about Progressive Islam and the role it has to play in creating a culture rooted in human rights, particularly on the rights to freedom of expression. You can read about the festival and its participants here. |
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Purple Check Mark Project |
Muslims for Progressive Values is excited to announce the launch of the Purple Check Mark Project, which was created to fill the gap/do the work for the Queer Muslim community seeking mental health care from providers that are Muslim and LGBTQ affirming. All Muslim Queer or Queer affirming mental health practitioners are invited to apply!
If you’d like to support the initiative and ensure that Queer Muslims have access to reliably queer affirming and culturally competent therapists, you can do so below. |
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Why you might notice more religious groups at Pride celebrations this year
NPR | June 7, 2023 |
More protests planned at MCPS headquarters over LGBTQ+ inclusive books MoCO 360 | June 16, 2023 |
Op-Ed: Some Muslims are attacking LGBTQ rights - They don’t speak for all of us Religion News Service | June 16, 2023 |
Unlikely crusade: Are Muslim immigrants joining the anti-LGBTQ right? Yes and no Salon | June 18, 2023 |
One Year Later: The ERA is More Urgent Than Ever Women's E News | June 24, 2023 |
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MPV NY held its first meeting after a long hiatus and it was a huge success! We had several people attend in person and even more attend virtually over Zoom. We enjoyed Egyptian food, donated by the MPV NY leadership team, from Abu Rass, a small business owned by a Muslim family in Paterson, NJ. |
| Please join the MPV NY Chapter on July 6 @ 6:30 PM for 'The Power of Storytelling: A Conversation Between Two Authors" at Adanne Bookshop. During this event, co-presented by Simon and Schuster, we'll be hearing from Aaliyah Bilal, author of Temple Folk, and Omer Aziz, author of Brown Boy, as they discuss the intricacies of growing up Muslim in North America. |
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NYC Pride with MPV New York was also widely successful. We walked around with our MPV signs and several younger people approached us to ask us about our organization and how to get involved. The visibility was extremely important because many young queer Muslim people feel isolated and alone. |
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MPV-SF Bay community members had the opportunity to actively participate in several Pride events in June. Our directors and members participated in interfaith worship events and marched all month long–often in partnership with sister organizations: Santa Cruz (June 4, with the Out in Our Faith contingent), Concord (June 3), San Mateo, San Francisco (June 25, with United in Spirit–joyously rejoining after a break of a few years).
Members also gathered for a discussion and commemoration of Juneteenth, hosted by Cafe Da Fonk–on their first day of serving the community in San Francisco as a Euro-Cali coffee stand. |
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MPV Boston held a mehandi (Henna) ceremony for a queer couple. Community members came together to show support for this couple in their new chapter of life.
On June 16th, community members attended another pride celebration that offered us to chance to embrace a classical south Asian drag performance by Kulfi Jaan. |
| On June 10th, 2023, the Boston community set up a booth at Boston Pride where 100s of supporters took pictures with our #AllahIsJustice and #IslamIsJustice sign, to show solidarity with LGBTQA+ Muslims and their families. We saw overwhelming support from local faith based inclusive Christian, and Jewish communities. |
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Please join MPV Boston on July 14th for Celebrating Love: Across Caste and Religious Divide featuring speakers Beena Sarwar, Sanjay Bhagat, and MPV Boston’s very own Kandeel Javid. This event will take the place of our regular monthly meeting and will be held from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM at the Community Church of Boston. Please RSVP at the link below to guarantee a seat for yourself. |
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On June 17th, MPV-Boston marched at the Providence pride parade to show support for our LGBTQ+ community members with a local organization, Party of Socialism and Liberation RI . This march was inclusive of all human rights. During the march, participants praised names of all innocent Black Trans Lives lost throughout the U.S. Providence Pride March shared a sign of peace and justice with people from all faith and non-faith backgrounds.
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MPV-DC members will meet up for the following events in July: Rooftop Social (July 1); Smithsonian Folklife Festival (July 9); and Outdoor Movie Night at Columbia Pike (July 22).
Visit the MPV-DC Meetup page for more details.
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The Women in Islam Series |
is a public education series that demonstrates the compatibility of Islam and feminism. It is our effort to expand public knowledge on the explicit right of Muslim women within the human rights framework. The series consists of 11 parts, which highlight women's rights to bodily autonomy from an Islamic tradition.
Read all about Child Marriage in Part VI of the series. |
| We are proud to announce to launch of MPV's Learning Portal. Over the years, Muslims for Progressive Values has published a number of reports and fliers that seek to educate individuals on a variety of topics within the realm of human rights advocacy, including religious freedom and child marriage. Now, they're all available for you to learn from on our website today. |
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Want to see a grassroots Progressive Muslim movement flourish across the United States? Consider donating to one of our many MPV Chapters across the country to support their commitment to offering Progressive Muslims a safe, spiritual space for all. |
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Hey, would you like to see more of MPV in your feed?
Connect with us on our social platforms! |
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