|
Our mission & vision
Please don’t let our name mislead you. AMV Foundation was founded by American Muslims to work for and with ALL Americans.
Our mission is to foster friendships among all Americans by bridging cultural and religious gaps. We also work towards protecting and preserving civil liberties and constitutional rights for ALL.
Our values:
The AMV Foundation is committed to connect people from all walks of life. Through education and social interaction we will erase our fears and will joyously accept each other so we can celebrate our diversity. We are taking the interfaith dialog to the next level by fostering life long friendships among all Americans.
We work with all Muslim, multi-faith, and community organizations/groups and individuals who share our dedication and commitment to build an inclusive and beloved community.
The AMV Foundation celebrates diversity and values all human beings regardless of race, religion, social status, or creed. We strive to create a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony.
We regard all humans as equal and will stand by all oppressed and targeted communities in their plight. We also feel strongly about protecting and improving human rights globally. As promised in our constitution: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all humans are created equally, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” We believe in “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” for all.
Our goals:
-To work toward the path Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved for us by working toward building an inclusive and beloved community.
- To encounter Islamophobia through nonviolence and peaceful social interaction.
-To promote the cause of the Muslim community in America and advance public understanding of issues relating to the 6-7 million-strong Muslim community
- To reach out to our fellow Americans and educate them about the plight of Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks.
-To identify and oppose discrimination against Muslims and all other ethnic and religious minorities.
- To encourage the Muslim community to become full partners in American life whole heartedly through civic engagement locally and nationally. We encourage Muslims to spread goodwill by practicing Islam in their daily activitives, not just in Mosques and in their homes.
- To educate, engage and mobilize American Muslims to stand up to protect and preserve their civil liberties and constitutional rights.
Objectives:
-To foster friendships through social interaction by hosting open houses, peace picnics, cultural events and peace conventions.
-To build alliances, coalitions and genuine partnerships with like minded groups by providing them support for issues that are important to them.
-To create a safe, secure, peaceful, prosperous and harmonious America, where we all feel at home by replacing the culture of despair, division and violence by a culture of hope, inclusion and peace.
-To replace negative image of Islam and Muslim through knowledge and social gatherings.
-To host monthly dialogues to provide social contact among all Americans for mutual learning about each others cultures, customs and religion. Which would lead to promote better understanding and peace in our country.
-To provide expert speakers to educational institutions, workplaces and places of worship to enhance knowledge and understanding about Islam, Muslim, Arabs and South Asians.
Our History
The AMV Foundation was established in July 2003 as a grassroots, nonviolent, inclusive, civil, immigrant and human rights organization. We build alliances & genuine partnerships with like-minded groups and individuals. Our goal is to unite us all under the umbrella of our common humanity. We celebrate diversity & value all human beings regardless of race, religion, social status or creed.
AMV Foundation draws inspiration and seeks guidance from communities that have been persecuted and isolated in the past. Rather than exclude them from community-building efforts, we have gained their trust through sincerity and have gained the support of many groups by extending friendship consistently and standing with them in solidarity in times of vulnerability. We truly believe that to ask for support, one must offer it and follow through, first.
Our approach to community-building is a simple one. The organization hosts open houses, peace picnics and peace conventions annually to unite neighbors and strangers alike. We also provide the Muslim perspective through teach-in opportunities at schools, colleges, universities, places of worship and peace conventions.
Successful events like these separate AMV Foundation from the scores of organizations that do not go that extra step beyond interfaith dialogue. These events illustrate AMV Foundation's vision of peace through sowing seeds of friendship.
Description and Overview of the Organization:
Based in Newark, California, American Muslim Voice Foundation is a grassroots, nonviolent and inclusive organization. After September 11th, frenzied media reporting lost much of its objectivity and filled the minds of millions of fearful Americans with false accounts, blanket statements and images of Arabs, Muslims and South Asians as terrorists. With such bombardment of negativity, perpetuated by the Bush administration-driven reactions, Arabs, Muslims and South Asians became this era’s targeted population. AMV Foundation was established in July 2003 to eradicate reciprocal fears among the targeted population and Americans, and rose to the challenge of bridging the gaps between all communities by fostering friendships among all Americans.
A great part of AMV Foundation’s mission centers on educating fellow
Americans about the Muslims’ plight in this divisive era. AMV Foundation has provided hundreds of workshops, delivered informative and educational speeches in schools, colleges and universities, and at marches, rallies, protests, conventions, conferences and places of worship, nationally. The organization has organized many interfaith press conferences, vigils and rallies. AMV Foundation works with all Muslim, multi-faith and community organizations and groups that share the organization’s celebration of diversity and vision of a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony.
What makes this organization unique is its expansion of the American identity to include Muslims Arabs and South Asians. This inclusion carries with it civic responsibility. AMV Foundation is adamant about educating and mobilizing Muslims in America to protect their civil and constitutional rights.
The organization strongly encourages Muslims to work towards strengthening America by getting involved in their local communities through volunteerism and civic engagement. Working alongside strangers towards a shared goal strengthening the fibers of our country and eradicating cultural fault lines forges bonds and often sparks friendships. This complements thhe other half of AMV Foundation’s mission: to foster friendships among all Americans by bridging the cultural and religious gaps.
AMV Foundation draws inspiration and seeks guidance from communities that have been persecuted and isolated in the past. Rather than exclude them from community-building efforts, AMV Foundation has established strong relationships with them and gained their trust through sincerity. AMV Foundation has gained the support of many groups by consistently extending friendship and demonstrating solidarity in times of vulnerability. We have stood side by side with our African American brothers and sisters against police brutality, worked tirelessly with our Latino brothers and sisters to pass humane and comprehensive immigration reform and provided physical and moral support to hotel workers so they can earn living wages. These few examples illustrate our goals towards building a kinder and gentler America where we value all humans equally. The organization truly believes that to ask for support, one must offer it and follow through, first.
AMV Foundation's approach to community-building is a simple one. The organization hosts open houses (in AMV Foundation team members’ homes), peace conventions, peace picnics annually and Eid picnics to unite neighbors and strangers alike with the fulfilled promise of food and social engagement. Successful events like these separate American Muslim Voice Foundation from the scores of organizations that do not go that extra step beyond interfaith dialogue. These events illustrate AMV Foundation's vision of peace through sowing seeds of friendship.
|
