FALL 2010
|
|
In this issue of Non-Violent Times,we focus on opportunities and challenges for transformational non-violence: the rising tide of domestic hatred of Islam, the international arena of Afghanistan and Palestine/Israel, and the profound story of Combatants for Peace.
Two of the articles that follow present points of view somewhat different than FNVW's. The first, by Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic Studies at American University, reflects on issues related to the proposed Park 51 Islamic Center in New York. Friends for a Non-Violent World throughout its history has advocated and defended freedom of religion as well as freedom to practice no religion. Our members come from many faiths which have experienced persecution, prejudice and discrimination. Equal protection for all faiths includes the right to establish places of worship and learning. We sadly are aware that there have been numerous attempts to block or deny the siting of mosques and increased vandalism and violence directed at existing mosques. Mindful of our governing values and principles, the FNVW Board is on record unequivocally supporting the building of Park 51, the proposed Islamic Cultural Center and place of worship in lower Manhattan.
FNVW is equally on record opposing the US troop surge against Afghanistan. In our Dec. 10, 2009 letter to President Obama, we said in part "We write to express our opposition to the recently announced policy of military escalation. We urge instead military disengagement and a strategy based on regional and international diplomacy. The focus of this diplomatic initiative would be the establishment of an environment of security and the provision of development assistance." (For the complete statement) Nonetheless, we are committed to hearing different
voices. Below we present the perspective of Santwana
Dasgupta, long-time FNVW member, who has lived and worked for two years
in Afghanistan.
FNVW explores and provides opportunities to spread the
transformative power of non-violence in a society which starkly
demonstrates the need for it. Please jump on in with us...the water is
hot!
|
|
FNVW Fall
Fundraiser House Party Friday, Oct. 8, 2010, from 5:30pm - 8:30pm
1791 Dayton Ave, St Paul,MN (home of Gail Daneker and Ian Keith)
This year's event is devoted to our second Ways of Peace Conference, Ways of Peace II: Non-Violence in the Islamic Traditions and our peace education and advocacy work.
|
DONATE TO FNVW!
|
Here's where
|
People Camp 2010
Every year, People Camp offers a variety of adult workshops during the week-long camp. Three participants in this year's Dynamics of Diversity workshop reflected on their experience
In the Diversity Workshop at People Camp 2010, Erika Thorne, Interim Executive Director of FNVW, artfully built and held a firm and gentle container in which participants could take intellectual knowledge and ideas to a deeper level through encouraging a dropping of that knowledge into our hearts. Then, in recognizing us as allies for diverse groups, she skillfully called out compassion and commitment for ourselves and others. The workshop ended with a celebratory exercise where we highlighted the beauty, strength, and contribution of each individual. Many thanks to our extraordinarily talented facilitator, Erika Thorne. - Kim Lauder
The exercises that our facilitator led us through brought all of us to a deep and vulnerable place. From this space we were able with our full bodies to hear and better understand perspectives that we had not personally experienced. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a group that affirms difference and listens attentively.- Bob Nechal (For complete article) |
Do
You Know an Organization
Looking
for Thrifty Office Space?
How
about Sharing Some with FNVW?
Friends
for a Non-Violent World is looking to share our spacious offices with
a compatible community organization or non-profit. � Space at 1050
Selby Ave, St Paul 55104 is available immediately
� $800/mo
for 800 sq. feet � Plus
shared full kitchen & bathroom � Street-level
office space, wheel-chair accessible � Access
to a large conference room � Sharing
high-speed internet and printer/copier is negotiable � Utilities
not included; charged on prorated basis
Friends
for a Non-Violent World is looking to share our office space with an
organization or individual who honors our mission: FNVW
is a Quaker-inspired organization of people who affirm the dignity
inherent in each human being.We share a commitment to advancing
non-violence as an ethic for honoring human dignity and a strategy
for achieving peace and justice.
This
office space is available immediately.To arrange a viewing, please
call Ava at the FNVW office, 651-917-0383 or email to [email protected].
|
What Does FNVW Do?
Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) - AVP is a national and inter-national volunteer-run program that conducts workshops in resolution of
conflict through non-violence. AVP is in demand in prisons and communities
across the US and has been successful in countries plagued with violence. AVP
is so successful that the Government of Rwanda has made it the cornerstone of
its post-genocide reconciliation program. Currently, almost 2000 volunteers
serve as AVP facilitators in the US, with 52 residing in Minnesota.
Peace in the Precincts (PNP) - PNP is a grassroots organization
with a statewide network, a unifying policy platform, an empowered
constituency, and a growing reputation among state policymakers and political movers,
positioned to frame issues of war and peace in the public and the media, to
mobilize citizens to encourage public officials to champion the Peace Platform,
and to make the peace vote the vote that matters most.
People Camp - People Camp is a weeklong experience of cooperation,
community living, peacemaking, and the exploration of ideas and issues. This is
a summer camp experience for the whole family and for anyone who enjoys warm,
supportive community, challenging workshops and lots of recreation in a camp
setting.
Peace Education Program - Peace Education Program seeks to transform the dialog between opposing parties by seeking the common thread. For example, our Ways of Peace conference series illuminates the thread of non-violence through major religions. Watch for Ways of Peace II: Non-Violence in the Tradition of Islam next Spring.
|
|
|
Guest Column - See Above for FNVW's Position
What would our founders do about the New York mosque? By Akbar Ahmed
Florida Times Union, reprinted with permission from the author; 8-18-2010
The supporters of the mosque near Ground Zero, called the Park51 project, have argued that First Amendment gives American Muslims the right to build a house of worship wherever they wish so long as the project complies with local ordinances.
Some proponents also assert that building of a mosque near Ground Zero is a statement that America is not turning its back on the fundamental value of freedom of religion despite religious fanatics abusing a religion to perpetrate a crime against humanity.
The detractors of the Park51 project principally base their opposition on erroneous links between the terrorism being committed in the name of Islam by a handful of fanatics and the faith of Islam as peacefully practiced by the vast majority of Muslims.
Opponents have drawn encouragement from various polls that show nearly 7 in 10 Americans oppose the project. Opposition of some, but not all, victim families of Sept. 11, 2001, have also been cited as a reason.
When President Barack Obama weighed in on the controversy by affirming the right of the Park51 planners to build their mosque on a site of their choice, the decibel level from the partisan opposition went up a notch.
However, in this debate, the opponents have obfuscated several pertinent facts: � How many Americans know that Muslims were among the victims of Sept. 11, 2001? � Or that a mosque already exists near Ground Zero? � Or that American Muslims have unequivocally condemned Sept. 11, 2001? � Or that al-Qaida has killed and targeted more Muslims than people of any other faith? Either Muslims have the right to practice their religion or they do not. (For the complete article)
(For another article by Akbar Ahmed)
(For a contrasting view by Joe Volk of Friends Committee on National Legislation)
|
Ways
Of Peace II: Non-Violence
in the Islamic Traditions April 9, 2011 University of St Thomas, St Paul, MN
Cosponsored by FNVW, the University of St. Thomas Muslim Christian Dialogue Center,
and its Justice and Peace Studies Department.
The protests, heated rhetoric and violent incidents in opposition to the planned Islamic Center and Mosque in Manhattan are compelling evidence that Islam is misunderstood and scapegoated by a vocal - and powerful - minority of Americans. Ways of Peace II, planned prior to this incident, reflects our concern about this. The stereotypical, one-dimensional view of Islam as a religion of violence and intolerance, which condones or advocates terrorism, directly blocks our capacity to build global society toward the common good. The advocacy and practice of peace, tolerance, non-violence, arbitration, negotiations and mediation by Islamic scholars, leaders, activists and adherents in the various communities of Islam gets short shrift in the media, and is not well-known or understood in Minnesota or nationwide. We are in a period of enormous conflict and change between and within the traditions and communities of Islam and non-Islamic traditions and communities. A growing core of peace advocates recognizes that a deeper understanding of Islam's use of and contribution to non-violent theory and practice is crucial to peacemaking at all levels. (For the complete article)
|
What do Afghans really want? The Case for the Surge
By Sharon Sudman
Please see above for FNVW's position on the US troop surge.
A shrinking violet would never be a description I would use to describe Santwana Dasgupta, Peace in the Precincts Steering Committee member on leave in Afghanistan. Yes, you read that right, she has been spending the last two years in Afghanistan, using her hard-won organizing skills doing work to facilitate the building of schools and the development of university faculty. But her boldness reached new heights when she spoke to a gathering of committed peacemakers at FNVWon July 27, 2010, in support of the current military surge there. What she had to say was too detailed and too important to summarize in just a short article, and so I hope that you can read attentively, and that with efforts on both our parts,we can convey some of the nuance to you the reader. Attendance at the meeting at the FNVW offices was at capacity, and all who attended were deeply moved by her descriptions and stories of life in the land so many of us know so little about. First, Santwana's background: having been inspired by working with Peace in the Precincts on the PeaceFirst! effort in 2006, she started looking for a way to turn her corporate background in project management into a career in the non-profit world. After a year serving as Development Director of FNVW, she became the Executive Director of PECA, Partnership for Education of Children in Afghanistan.This is a volunteer position for Santwana, her other, paid position is with a USAID-funded University of Massachusetts project for promoting university faculty development across Afghanistan. The surge was actually a small part of the wide-ranging discussion on July 27th. Santwana insightfully described in detail the innovative, practical approach PECA takes to development, the role of the military and the surge in redevelopment, and the influence of money on the process. (For complete article) |
"Crying About the Pain of My Oppressors" by Annemarie Barrett
"I tried to hide my tears from the other prisoners: they wouldn't have understood why I was crying about the pain of my oppressors. It was the first time I felt empathy."
Bassam Aramin's words illustrate his story of reconciliation, of transformation, and of non-violent action. As a boy growing up in Hebron, the largest city in the West Bank, Bassam lived under occupation. He witnessed the murder of a twelve-year old boy at a demonstration. He ran away from soldiers to avoid being beaten. He experienced home invasions. He fostered his desire for revenge.
"We called ourselves freedom fighters, but the outside world called us terrorists." For Bassam, it began with "stones and empty bottles," which they aimed at the Israeli soldiers.
Then it became a hand grenade.Then he went to prison to serve a seven-year sentence, starting at the age of seventeen, for targeting Israeli jeeps. In prison he was beaten brutally by Israeli guards. Stripped naked and broken by pain, he recalled the oppression of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. He remembered their pain and his tears shed for the plight of those Jews.
His pain became their pain and their tears became his own. He was transformed. "Our dialogue enabled us both to see each other's purity of heart and good intent."
Following the experience of being beaten, Bassam began a dialogue with an Israeli prison guard. As a Palestinian freedom fighter in conversation with an Israeli, the two confronted their differences and their mutual prejudices; each understood the other to be a terrorist.
Yet through dialogue, it was conversation that was shared, not violent conflict. A bond was formed and stories exchanged. For Bassam, the bond proved that only "through dialogue and not force" could they create peace.
Note: Annemarie Barrett was FNVW's summer intern in 2010.
|
FNVW Calendar
(check www.fnvw.org for details)
AVP = Alternatives to Violence Project PNP = Peace in the Precincts Program
Date Event 09/27/10 Monthly FNVW Board Meeting 09/29/10 AVP Support Group 10/01/10 Hennepin Men Basic 10/06/10 AVP Support Group and Pot Luck 10/07/10 PNP Steering Committee - Meditation 10/08/10 FNVW Fundraiser for Ways of Peace II 10/08/10 Moose Lake Basic 10/09/10 Faribault One-day 10/13/10 AVP Support Group 10/14/10 PNP Steering Committee - Meditation 10/14/10 Transformative Conflict--AVP mini-session 10/15/10 Stillwater Advanced 10/15/10 Carleton Basic 10/20/10 AVP Support Group 10/22/10 Faribault Basic 10/25/10 Monthly FNVW Board Meeting 10/27/10 AVP Support Group 11/03/10 AVP Support Group and Pot Luck 11/04/10 PNP Steering Committee - Meditation 11/05/10 Hennepin Men's Basic 11/13/10 Faribault One-day 11/13/10 Community Basic, tentative 11/10/10 AVP Support Group 11/17/10 AVP Support Group 11/18/10 PNP Steering Committee - Meditation 11/19/10 Stillwater T4F 11/19/10 Faribault Advanced 11/22/10 Monthly FNVW Board Meeting 11/24/10 AVP Support Group 12/01/10 AVP Support Group and Pot Luck 12/02/10 PNP Steering Committee - Meditation 12/03/10 Hennepin Men's Basic 12/04/10 Faribault Re-connect 12/08/10 AVP Support Group 12/10/10 Moose Lake Advanced 12/11/10 Faribault One-day 12/15/10 AVP Support Group 12/16/10 PNP Steering Committee - Meditation 12/17/10 Stillwater Basic 12/17/10 Faribault T4F 12/22/10 AVP Support Group 12/27/10 Monthly FNVW Board Meeting 12/29/10 AVP Support Group}
For information on upcoming AVP workshops and weekly support groups, please call the AVP line at 651-644-5851. Unless otherwise posted, the AVP weekly support group meets every Wednesday from 7pm to 9pm in the FNVW office.
PNP meets twice a month on Thursday evenings at 7pm.To confirm that the PNP steering committee will meet at the regularly scheduled time in a given week, please call Sharon Sudman at 651-699-7132.
The South Asia Working Group meets each month at variable times. Please call the office for specifics.
|
Erika Thorne Interim Executive Director Friends for a Non-Violent World 1050 Selby Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55104 651-917-0383 www.fnvw.org
|
|
|
|
|
|