A few months ago I received a lot of grief for asking
Ilhan Omar the FGM question...

The Oldest Progressive Muslim Organization in America

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President's Note

A few months ago I received a lot of grief for asking
Representative Ilhan Omar to support us anti-FGM advocates here
in America. Considering we now do not have a federal law banning
this practice in the U.S., we need to work harder and more
urgently at raising this issue in the media, in educating the
public, and in pressuring our legislatures to pass a law banning
this harmful cultural practices. Since this confrontation with
the representative, the coverage by multiple media outlets
resulted in MPV being mentioned a total of 302,691,848 million
times. Given the extensive coverage this exchange received, the
American media by default educated the American public. Well,
maybe now the American public actually knows what the acronym FGM
stands for!

With that reach, politically progressive Muslim candidates are
now reaching out to MPV for issues that they should be
addressing. As the saying goes, “there’s no such thing as bad
publicity.”

Muslims for Progressive Value has always upheld the worth of
every human being, and in that spirit we signed on to an amicus
brief (friend of the court papers) submitted by our Board of
Trustees member Adeel Mangi, making clear our position on Title
VII. The case is that of Gerald Bostock, a gay man, who sued his
employer, Clayton County, Georgia, for discrimination on the
basis of his sexual orientation. The employer sought to exclude
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) employees from the ambit of Title VII's protections
against discrimination in the workplace. The related cases
involve a gay and a transgender individual. In this brief, the
amici curiae argued that discrimination against an employee
because of their sexual orientation or transgender status is
discrimination "because of … sex." On October 8th, representing
MPV is our Ambassador Blair Imani making a statement at the ACLU
Supreme Court rally in DC. Please read our press release here ( [link removed] ).

We have a tough environment here in America with challenges to
women’s reproductive rights, to basic anti-discrimination laws of
fellow citizens, and to a toxic political climate. We persist.

Onward and upward,

Ani Zonneveld
Founder, President

In This Issue:
* President's Letter
* U.N. Update
* National Update
* Chapter Updates
* MPV in the News

Quick links:
MPV Website ( [link removed] )
About MPV ( [link removed] )
Our Communities ( [link removed] )
#ImamsForShe ( [link removed] )
Donate to MPV ( [link removed] )

U.N. Update

November 13 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva: the Permanent
Mission of the Netherlands will be organizing a Freedom of
Expression and Mental Health, emphasizing the importance of the
freedom to express oneself as a contributing factor to a healthy
state of mind. Performers are vlogger Abdul Aziz Muhamat
(Sudanese) addressing the issue of mental health; dancers Dakota
and Nadia, and Dutch cartoonist Tjeerd Royaards, chief of the
Cartoon Movement who helped organize the cartoon competition
“Cartooning for Human Rights,” initiative with OHCHR, and Ani
Zonneveld performing her song “Let Me Try.” The event is free and
open to the public.

Time: 17:00-19:00 followed by cocktails

Location: 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, Geneva, A Building, Hall 14
(close to Pregny gate)

November 18-19 in The Hague: Ani Zonneveld will represent MPV and
AIM ( [link removed] ) at The Istanbul Process.

National Update

The documentary “al-imam ( [link removed] )” continues to be screened at Academy qualifying film festivals,
three years on since the making of the film. This fall it will be
at St. Louis International Film Festival, Lublin Film Festival,
and the Beirut International Film Festival. All this after the
Cannes Film Festival in May.

Chapter Updates

MPV-New York

On September 6, MPV-NY hosted a Friday Jum’a Prayer and Friday
Jum’a Prayer and an Interfaith Potluck. Members of all
faith-based communities participated. In addition to the
Interfaith potluck, a producer of a documentary called "About Us"
was present at the event as he was covering types of encounters
in the world where different faith groups are building mutual
respect together in the society where they live in. In an
informal setting, participants were able to have enriched and
free-flowing conversations over a shared meal.

October 5: MPV-NY is hosting a Hike Day on Saturday from 11 a.m.
- 4:30 p.m. at Harriman State Park. The meeting point will be at
the Reeves Meadow Information Center and participants will be
hiking the Pine Meadow Lake Loop, which is a beginner's trail. To
participate and get more information, please sign up either
through MPV-NY event page ( [link removed] ) or MPV-NY
Meetup ( [link removed] ).

October 11: MPV-NY will be hosting a Friday Jum’a Prayer and will
have a discussion about a matter pertinent to our community. This
month the discussion will be on "Shi’a as the Other" and what
that means through the lens of intrafaith community. To
participate and get more information, please stay tuned and sign
up either through MPV-NY event page ( [link removed] ) or MPV-NY
Meetup ( [link removed] ).

MPV-L.A.

Oct 7: With allied partner organizations, MPV launched the Los
Angeles FGM Task Force, or LAFGMTaskforce. Core partner
organizers are:
Rohida Khan (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
Athia Carrim (International Institute of Tolerance)
Senait Admassu (African Coalition)
Ginger Lee (Long Beach Mental Health)
Mame Mbaye (Honorary Consul Senegal)
Dr. Nina Smart (Advocate, Activist, Author)
Dr. Ghada (U.S End FGM/C Network)

Oct 8: Ani Zonneveld sang in a lead role as a guest singer with
the Kol Nidre Community Choir at an annual event for Yom Kippur.
This is the tenth year in a row that Ani joins the Kol Nidre
Community Choir in this way.

Oct 9: At the Los Angeles chapter of UN Women, and in honoring
the International Day of the Girl, Ani Zonneveld was guest
speaker at a panel titled: #ClubsForShe: Unshackling from
Patriarchy and into Freedom one girl at a time, a program in
partnership with our Burundi partner AICNDH, an overnight
leadership, Islamic human rights and entrepreneurship camp for
young women ages 18-25 in Burundi. #ClubsForShe is funded by the
Wallace Global Fund.

MPV-San Francisco

On September 13, MPV-San Francisco held its monthly Jum’a and
organizational meeting. Following the meeting, several of the
attendees met at Mel’s Diner for a continuation of a variety of
discussions.

The MPV-San Francisco will hold its monthly Jum’a and meeting on
October 11, at 473 Tehama Street, Third Floor, San Francisco, at
7 p.m. Items that will be addressed in the meeting include
formalizing the chapter structure, participation in the national
effort to raise money through a joint venture with The Mad
Optimist for soap sales, participation in the #NoHateInMyFaith
campaign, and the ongoing outreach for joint projects with the
San Francisco Interfaith Council and the SF LGBT Center. The
meeting will be followed by gathering at a local restaurant.

MPV-Atlanta

On August 29, MPV-Atlanta co-sponsored an interfaith service for
Atlanta Black Pride at RIM Church Atlanta. Imam Trina Jackson
delivered a khutbah in support of this effort.

On September 28, MPV-Atlanta participated in film screening for
“The ISIS Trial”, which highlighted the controversial
investigation and trial of three Somali boys accused of and
convicted of terrorism in 2016. The film and panel highlighted
Muslim political prisoner issues and islamophobia.

On October 11, MPV-Atlanta will host a juma’h service in Piedmont
Park for Atlanta Pride. Details for the service will be on meetup
( [link removed] ). Connect with Kelly at
[email protected] or Trina at [email protected].

On October 12, MPV-Atlanta will gather to decorate our vehicle
for the Atlanta Pride Parade at 5:00 p.m. at the Phillip Rush
Center. Connect with Kelly at [email protected] or Trina at
[email protected]

On October 13, MPV-Atlanta will march in the Atlanta Pride
Parade. We will meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Phillip Rush Center,
depart for the parade at 9:15 a.m. You can also join us from the
Atlanta Civic Center MARTA in the parade line-up between 9:30
a.m. - noon. The parade will start at noon. We will have a
vehicle for the duration of the parade. Connect with Kelly at
[email protected] or Trina at [email protected]

MPV-Boston

On September 6, MPV-Boston hosted a Friday Prayer meeting and
potluck. One of our guests shared stories and recited poetry from
their tradition of mourning Muharram, and also talked about how
their faith as a Shi’a informed their progressive activism. Our
upcoming meetings are the first Friday of every month from 7:00 -
9:00 p.m. Please join our MPV-Boston FB group ( [link removed] ) for more
details.

MPV-D.C.

On September 8, MPV-DC members met up for kayaking and lunch in
Georgetown. After an hour of kayaking, members walked over to Das
Ethiopian for a delicious lunch.

On September 29, MPV-DC members attended the annual Turkish
Festival in downtown DC followed by lunch at Sakina Halal Grill.

On October 5, MPV-DC is hosted a prayer and halaqa at the
Cleveland Park Public Library.

October 19: MPV-DC is hosting a visit to the American Islamic
Heritage Museum & Cultural Center followed by a group lunch.

MPV in the News

MPV on Influence Watch 2019 ( [link removed] )
“Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) supports left-of-center
Muslim community organizing around the world. [1] MPV aims to
change the public perception of Islam, portraying Islam as a
religion of social justice and left-of-center values. According
to MPV, the organization promotes “Islamic liberalism” because
Islam is “inherently progressive.” [2] MPV has gone against most
traditional Islamic organizations, including advocacy for LGBT
causes and pro-abortion movements.”

Formidable Women Magazine | Feature Interview ( [link removed] ) | September 2019

Ani Zonneveld is on Turkish Wikipedia ( [link removed] )!

Edge Weekly | Against The Grain: The Meaning Of Progressive Islam
( [link removed] ) | September 5, 2019

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