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One of the impetus to starting Muslims for Progressive Values was, and still is, the censorship of the female voice whether it be in public spaces or in artistic form. The curtailing of women’s voices is an issue right here in America and indeed across other Western nations as well, and it is my participation at the various interfaith and non-Muslim events that I have found that not only is the message and messenger for human rights and equality important, but so too is the form. In my case, through music and in my singing voice, I discovered its soft powers, love. We often hear “love conquers hate”, I am a witness to that in real time. One lesson it taught and that changed me is that people don’t necessarily want to hate. In a book titled “Music and Human Rights”, I contributed my personal experience of such a beautiful encounter with a hater. More about the book and how to purchase it is below.
The heavy lifting of working toward equality and justice for all is made lighter when we have male religious allies who unflinchingly support women and girls’ rights. Incidentally, none of them are American. After six years since the launching and implementing our #ImamsForShe program, we’re very happy to share UN Women’s #HeForShe will now amplify our initiative on their platform. The UN is not known for sharing its platform or promoting the works of civil societies, by the way, so this is an exceptional benchmark for MPV. This amplification will bring more visibility to the #ImamsForShe Champions who have raised up the status of women and girls, their right to self-determination, to education, to economic independence, and have normalized these rights in their mostly rural communities.
This week I am in Washington D.C. for meetings with Congresswomen and men, and with others as we prepare to organize a September forum and workshop on apostasy and blasphemy in Muslim societies. The workshop will feature experts and grassroots advocates in human rights specific to Muslim societies at the intersectionality of women and girls’ rights, freedom of expression and freedom of religion and belief. When the flagrant murders by mob rule, and death sentences by State and religious institutions in the name of sharia law are adjudicated for offending Islam or Prophet Muhammad, it will take us Muslims to re-educate the public, and to challenging that narrative, because the religious institutions certainly won’t.
Wish me luck!
Onward and upward…
Ani Zonneveld
Founder, President
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Check out our new store and for national and chapter events, check our calendar here. |
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The Routledge Companion to Music and Human Rights is a collection of case studies spanning a wide range of concerns about music and human rights in response to intensifying challenges to the well-being of individuals, peoples, and the planet. It brings forward the expertise of academic researchers, lawyers, human rights practitioners, and performing musicians who offer critical reflection on how their work might identify, inform, or advance mutual interests in their respective fields.
The book is comprised of 28 chapters, interspersed with 23 ‘voices’ – portraits that focus on individuals’ intimate experiences with music in the defense or advancement of human rights – and explores the following four themes: 1) Fundamentals on music and human rights; 2) Music in pursuit of human rights; 3) Music as a means of violating human rights; 4) Human rights and music: intrinsic resonances.
Ani Zonneveld contributed her “Voice” under Fundamentals on Human Rights and Music.
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Progressive Islam in Practice |
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At MPV we recognize that the Progressive Muslim movement will never sustain significant growth without making information about Progressive Islam more accessible to the Muslim community. The Progressive Islam in Practice Series is a manifestation of this campaign and as a result, we’ve helped to educate the community on topics from feminist readings of the Qur’an, abortion rights in Islam, issues of child and forced marriages, to the acceptance of sexual diversity in Islam.
In addition to sharing the series on social media, we have built up an entire page on the website dedicated to the Progressive Islam in Practice Series entitled Quick Learns.
This month, in honor of Pride Month, we’re featuring Part I of our Sexual Diversity Series, a series based on a chapter, Sexuality, Diversity, and Ethics in the Agenda of Progressive Muslims by Dr. Scott Siraq al-Haqq in Progressive Muslims. The chapter, and the adapted webpage and series, demonstrate that Islam supports many kinds of diversity, including sexual and gender diversity.
To learn more about the work that MPV does to promote the rights of LBGTQIA Muslims, visit our website.
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If you appreciate the work that we do, please consider making a monthly donation to support MPV. |
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