By Naheed Samadi Bahram* and Said Sabir Ibrahimi**
Peacebuilding experts say that societies usually achieve two kinds of peace—negative and positive peace. Negative peace is the absence of physical violence. Positive peace is the absence of both physical and structural violence. One would hope that in a developed country like the United States, the society would have achieved positive peace. However, the wildly controversial 2016 presidential election and recent events in Charlottesville indicate that there is much more work to be done in the US in order to achieve positive peace.
While a political will is important to achieve positive peace, a bottom-up approach, which involves grassroots engagement of diverse constituencies, is equally critical.
Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is one grassroots organization that has worked for the betterment of respective communities in the US and in Afghanistan, working at the forefront of women rights and against domestic abuse. WAW has condemned terror attacks around the world—from Kabul to Charlottesville—and has praised initiatives that can contribute to the creation of a more peaceful world. WAW seeks to encourage diverse groups to reject isolationism and, instead, take every opportunity to engage with their sisters and brothers of different faiths, nationalities, and backgrounds.
This fall, WAW is proud to participate in the Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy (ICLA) for religious and civic leaders in New York City, organized by the Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY). WAW hopes that many suitable candidates would join this great initiative, in particular from marginalized communities such as the Afghan, Indian, Pakistani, Uzbek, Chinese, Arab, and other communities to represent the richness and diversity of New York.
Programs like ICLA are important for religious and civic leaders in several ways. Most importantly, they create a platform for leaders to talk to each other and thus encourage interfaith and secular dialogue. Hopefully, the program leads to the creation of community-based initiatives that are inclusive and serve New Yorkers.
WAW works with women, girls, men, and boys to address the root causes of domestic violence. WAW brings up to attention the harmful social norms and behaviors that lead to violence and violent act in order to bring positive change. Since 2001, WAW has seen amazing transformations among the over 5,000 clients served by our New York community center. We have done this in partnership with religious and civic leaders in our community and the local government.
Through ICLA, community representatives and leaders can share lessons they learned from their work over the years, such as understanding how the interfaith community can constructively interact with the municipal, state, and federal governments. This can serve to lessen suspicion or anxiety between government institutions and civic and religious groups, as well as encourage cooperation. The promotion of trust and engagement between religious and civil leaders can also have a top-down effect on youth, which can lead to exponentially more collaboration.
Getting a group of good candidates together to participate in these programs is difficult, particularly among marginalized communities that have little faith in the government or their fellow citizens. This is especially common among identity groups that too often isolate themselves to interact solely with those whom they share a faith or country of birth.
However, we hope community leaders see programs like ICLA as an opportunity to break down barriers, promote cross-cultural understanding, and create occasions for mutually beneficial collaboration.
Indeed, the ICLA will serve as a platform from which diverse groups can engage with and learn from other communities that may be facing similar challenges, such as those related to housing and immigration obstacles, as well as incidences of hate crimes.
Peacebuilding initiatives at the grassroots level are critical in promoting sustainable peace—particularly in a country as diverse as the US. Programs, such as the ICLA, are steps towards positive peace and can help make our neighborhoods safer, tolerant, collaborative and prosperous.
* Naheed Samadi Bahram is the New York Program Director for Women for Afghan Women.
** Said Sabir Ibrahimi is an NYU Graduate Consultant at the Interfaith Center of New York.
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Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy (ICLA):
Beginning in November 2017, ICNY will sponsor 20 faith community leaders to participate in evening training workshops on a bi-monthly basis in civic engagement, legal literacy, and community organizing. These workshops will be led by expert partners including: The Center for Court Innovation, Faith in New York, The Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, CUNY CLEAR as well as the NYPD.
Individual participants will each receive a $1,000 stipend + seed funding for community projects.
The application deadline is October 2, 2017
Program details and application info is available at https://interfaithcenter.org/icla
A flyer for the academy is available here
For more info, email Iman Boukadoum or call 212.870.3515.
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