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What others say about
AMV Open House of Feb. 26, 2005
The American Muslim Voice held a Day of Solidarity Open House on February 26, 2005. Over sixteen countries, forty organizations and many religions were represented at the successful event. Here are some of the messages sent to the AMV Executive Director, Samina Faheem Sundas in appreciation of the Open House that encouraged the AMV to hold another Open House on April 16, 2005:
Thank you ever so much for a wonderful afternoon with such great food. I enjoyed the food and the company immensely, but mostly I enjoyed the idea and will do everything I can to propagate the Miracle Movement through the Buddhist community. I have already put April 16th on my calendar and with that much lead-time, plan on getting many friends to come as well. I'll be writing more later, but I just had to write something now; I was just so excited by the wonderful publicity and your exciting plans.
Eric R. Stietzel
March 2, 2005
So happy to hear from you after so long. Thanks for sending this article. And thanks for continuing the struggle. Let me know what you've been up to whenever you get the chance.
lichi damelio
March 1, 2005
If I had known about it early I probably could have planned my Saturday differently. (I just saw a notice in a PPJC e-newsletter Friday.) Sorry to miss your open house. Will there be another any time soon?
At Covenant Presbyterian Church here in south Palo Alto I am always looking for ways to have more Muslim-Christian dialog.
Rudy Dyck,
Chair of Adult Education at Covenant Presb. Church
Palo Alto CA
February 28, 2005
Thank you for all the information and for your lightning-speed response. I saw the article in the Mercury News and thought it was a wonderful event. Now I start to see how you work.
Congratulations on what seems like an AWESOME event, and the terrific piece in the Mercury News. Did you ever get in touch with the Global Women’s Fund? You should send them this piece, with a request for funds.
I have been away all week, just returned today. Looks like I missed a warm, wonderful day of sharing. Thank you so much for your perseverance and your beautiful vision of one human family.
Medea Benjamin
Founder/Director, Global Exchange
February 28, 2005
Congratulations on your great event. Getting together just to be together as humans is very important for the growth of love among us. I wish I could have been with you. I admire you both for overcoming the walls that are forming these days.
Jim Oines
National Executive committee, Blue Triangle Network
February 28, 2005
Thank you for arranging and hosting the lunch at your house on Saturday. I had no idea there were so many different peace groups at work in our area and I made connections with several new groups that I
would like to get in touch with. Lord knows our world needs all the help it can get! Thanks again.
Gloria Schulz
February 28, 2005
On Saturday, Feb 26 solidarity event was held in Palo Alto at the home of Samina Faheem. It was a simple affair, with food and conversation, no speeches or presentations of any kind, but everyone there knew why they were there and their presence was a statement. About 150 people attended from many different organizations and many different backgrounds, so there was a great interchange among people. I am forwarding a letter Samina wrote shortly after the event.
I think this kind of thing could and should be emulated. It is simple, but powerful. Not a substitute for other events, but effective and important for those who attended.
Anyone considering doing solidarity events in the future might consider this example. I for one learned a great deal from it, but in terms of the effect it can have, and from conversations with people who were there.
Ben Allan
Blue Triangle Network
February 28, 2005
Thank YOU for reaching out to touch the hearts of those around us via the gathering at your home. I regret that I was unable to attend because we were helping my daughter move into a home that they just purchased.
Socorro
South bay Mobilization
February 28, 2005
Congratulations Samina! You are the ultimate peacemaker!
Jo Cazenave
Representative of Congressman Pete Stark’s
February 28, 2005
Thanks again for that amazing open house! Delicious and great people!
Julie Yumi Hatta,
National Coalition for Redress/Reparations
February 28, 2005
I saw the article in the SJ Mercury about your lunch.
I want to congratulate on a job well done. May Allah give you the strength to keep going and keep
doing what you are doing right now and even more.
I also wanted to get together with you sometimes this week, if possible to prepare the script for the forum,
as discussed earlier with you.
Moina Shaiq
February 28, 2005
Congratulation for a great success on your open house. I am sure you receive a lot of letters from your supporters after each event. I used to get tons of it but didn’t have time to assemble them and never share with other folks because it is like self-congratulating. However, whenever I am down and saddened by people who are nasty or mean to me I pulled out this from one of my folder.
Cecilia Chang
President, J4NA
February 28
Thanks for inviting me the Day of Solidarity Event, it was great. I was able to hook up and link w/other folks and talk about possible collaboration. Thanks for leading the way and providing space for people to come together in the name of love and respect for everyone as human beings.
Lourdes Best
Program Director, United Youth
February 28, 2005
Thanks very much. It was a wonderful affair.
Richard Becker,
Director A.N.S.W.E.R International
February 27, 2005
Congratulations on this event. Thank you for letting us know. And thank you for all you have added to the planning of the March 10 event. I hope to be there. With gratitude for your great heart and your great spirit.
Patrica M Walsh
February 27, 2005
Congratulations on a well-organized event yesterday. The turn out was impressive and shows that extended community recognizes your hard work. Everyone enjoyed the event and the food was great. Thank you for opening your home to all of us.
This was a great opportunity to meet new people and talk freely about the current issues. Personally I had in depth conversation and made new friends. I was also able to answer questions about Muslim around the world.
Thank you and wish you much success in future.
Mr. & Mrs. Mohsin
February 27, 2005
It seems I missed this get together. Was there an invitation, if so I am sorry I missed it? Yes! I too wish for new understanding world where we see each other as God's creation and recognize that the only thing that makes us different is the way we live, that is the path we have been given to follow. Other than that we are all humans, as our 10th Guru says " Manas ki jat sabhey, eko paichanbo", in translation it means that recognize All Mankind is as One.
I feel all religions teach the same philosophy but it is us who take it to extremes and bring about differences.
A Sikh prayer ends with blessings for all mankind and not just the Sikh race.
Some thoughts from the heart.
Jagmeet Kaur,
Sikh Community Leader
February 27, 2005
It was a wonderful lunch and friendship gathering that you provided for all of us yesterday. Thank you so
much for your hospitality, delicious food, good friends, and mostly, your vision for a better, more
understanding world.
Please add me to your email address and then I can find out about your events directly.
Linda Faste
February 27, 2005
Thank you so much for hosting such a nice event, and for inviting me. You put a lot of work into it, and I think everybody appreciated it. The comment I heard most was, "It's nice there are so many different organizations represented."
I've been fighting a cold and got a bit light-headed, so I didn't stay as long as I wanted. But I truly did enjoy it, and am glad I went.
Diane Rejman,
Veterans for Peace
26 Feb 2005
Thank you so much for inviting us!
I'm a friend of Aseem, and I help with World Centric.
Palo Alto neighbor,
"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."
-Maya Angelou
"Mango" Martin R.S.
February 26, 2005
I received word of Saturday's open house from Karen Wald. I am also unable to be there, but would like to extend warm greetings and good wishes to you and everyone in the U.S. Muslim community.
We are in frightful times in this country. We do indeed need to reach out to each other to expose the truth, dispel the fear mongering and create a climate of trust and friendship.
I regret that I cannot be there in person this weekend.
Roxann Daily
February 24, 2005
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