<[link removed]> October 2025 Newsletter President’s Note On September 12, Muslims for Progressive Value’s new arts initiative, Silver Thread, hosted our first Emmy’s Brunch where the TV show Deli Boys (Hulu) was awarded with the first Silver Thread Cultural Impact Award 2025. Recipients of the Silver Thread Cultural Impact Award must fulfill four criteria: Representation: works that amplify marginalized voices and expand diversity in storytelling. Influence: art that sparks public conversations and raises awareness. Society: contributions that go beyond the screen, helping to build bridges and create meaningful change across communities Evolution: honoring traditions while reimagining them for a modern audience. Actor Saagar Shaikh was there to receive the award on behalf of the show’s creators, who created a piece of work that was certainly deserving of the inaugural Cultural Impact Award. The award is a metal sculpture of a twirling dervish designed by Salma Arastu and especially commissioned for MPV. For updates on upcoming Silver Thread activities, please follow our Instagram @silverthreadmpv <[link removed]> Saarish Khan, Ani Zonneveld, Saagar Shaikh, Farah Merani, Anna Khaja (photographer: Niaz Uddin) After the Hollywood glamour, I was off to Nairobi to attend the Faith To Action Network conference. Besides meeting with African faith leaders, youth representatives, and community activists working to advance human rights, I was there to do a presentation of a new curriculum MPV co-authored and designed with our #ImamsForShe partner in Burundi, Imam Khalfan Bukuru Elie, “Positive Masculinity in Islam”. There was a lot of interest in the curriculum and in MPV’s other educational resources products, including the Inclusive Religious Curriculum <[link removed]> for children designed for madrassas and our #TeenClub and #ClubsForShe programs, all which promote inclusivity and positive masculinity. Ani, Imam Khalfan and DRC Grand Mufti Sheikh Luaba. Besides going there with a mission to share the work of MPV, I also learned a lot from other attendees, whose personal insight and work offered additional perspectives that are important to incorporate into our programs. For example, I learned that in Zimbabwe there was a high number of men committing suicide. It is said that many do so because they are unable to find work, and with their wives being the bread winner, they feel emasculated. This sentiment is an extreme outcome of toxic masculinity. Both partners should contribute to the family’s wellbeing, as income-earners, in domestic work, as engaged parents, and as caring and loving partners. While my September may have been consumed by two seemingly contradictory experiences, they do indeed thread together to reflect that advocacy work I have dedicated my life to. In my memoir “An Unlikely Social Justice Warrior: Making My Life Count as a Muslim Feminist”, I write extensively about why and how I do my work. You can ask your local bookstore to order it for you or buy it online from the publisher <[link removed]> . Onward and upward… Ani Zonneveld President & Founder of Muslims for Progressive Values National Updates October 4: Registration is now open for the 8th workshop in our Progressive Islam Curriculum <[link removed]> Workshop Series! Join us as we discuss Gender Equality in Islam to learn about an approach to Freedom of Religion and Belief that actively affirms women’s rights, rather than impedes feminist movements, and four core Islamic principles that protect Muslim women’s right to bodily autonomy. Register Here! <[link removed]> National Updates Despite overwhelming opposition from teachers’ unions, civil rights groups, and education advocates across California, lawmakers advanced AB 715, a bill that will silence Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Jewish, and other marginalized voices in our classrooms. Urge Governor Newsom to stand with students, educators, and communities fighting for truth and justice in California classrooms here <[link removed]> ! National Updates The Inclusive Islam Curriculum for Children ages 4 - 7 We are pleased to share that all units of the Inclusive Islam Curriculum for Children (IIC) are now available for sale on our partner’s website, Curious Iman <[link removed]> . The IIC combines inclusive Islamic values, domains of early learning and universal human rights values to help your child nurture a Muslim identity that is rooted in compassion and human rights values. You can purchase the Inclusive Islam Curriculum for Children here <[link removed]> . UN Updates The Global Campaign for Equality is thrilled to announce our #HRC60 side event, which will spotlight the crucial link between family law reform and the advancement of economic rights for women worldwide. 📅 2nd October 2025 at 10:00 - 11:00 am (Geneva time) 📍 Room Concordia 1, Palais des Nations, Building A, 2nd Floor Palais des Nations, Geneva Join the conversation <[link removed]> - in person or virtually. #FreeOurFamilyLaws UN Updates A New Advocacy Brief from the UN Multi-Faith Advisory Council Gender Working Group Despite international commitments like the Beijing Declaration, gender equality continues to face resistance across global platforms. The UN Multi-Faith Advisory Council Gender Working Group has developed the ‘Side by Side: Connecting Sacred Dialogue and Responses in Promoting Gender Equality and Human Rights’ Advocacy Brief to equip faith-based organizations with examples on how to counter pushback and promote values-based, rights-affirming dialogue. Read the brief here <[link removed]> . MPV in the Media Good Faith Media | Interview with Ani Zonneveld <[link removed]> | September 5, 2025 MPV Boston October 4 | Join MPV Boston x South Asian Center for an upcoming Diwali-Eid Dinner. We’ll be gathering in community on: 🗓️Friday, October 4 ⌚6:00 - 9:00 PM 📍Reservoir Church The event is free and all are welcome to attend but we ask that all interested individuals please RSVP below to confirm attendance. We are also looking for volunteers and performers to showcase their talent throughout the evening! RSVP Here! <[link removed]> October 26: Join MPV-Boston the last weekend of every month for a community watch party featuring Muslim-themed TV shows and movies (think We Are Lady Parts, Mo, and more!). This month, we’ll be screening Polite Society, an action-comedy film about British-Pakistani teen Ria Khan who dreams of becoming a movie stuntwoman and sets out to save her sister Lena after she gives up her dreams to get married. 🗓️Sunday, October 26 ⌚6:00 - 8:00 PM 📍PSF Community Center (New Balance Room) 👉 You can RSVP here <[link removed]> ! MPV Great Lakes October 19 | Please join MPV Great Lakes for our monthly virtual meeting on October 19 2025 at 7 PM CST. You can join the meeting here <[link removed]> . For regular updates about Chapter events, we encourage you to join ur newly made WhatsApp group chat <[link removed]> . <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <mailto:[email protected]> Muslims for Progressive Values 1465 Tamarind Ave., #702 Los Angeles, CA 90028 U.S.A. Powered by Squarespace <[link removed]> Unsubscribe <[link removed]>