Students Organize Islam-West
Unity Event
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nicholas D. Alexander
(nalexand@middlebury.edu)
802-349-7195
EVENT: Heal the Rift 2008
Saturday July 19, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Washington Square Park, NYC
NEW YORK, New York – July 9, 2008 - The student-run
organization Heal the Rift announced the lineup for its summer unity
event, Heal the Rift 2008, to be held on July 19 in Washington
Square Park from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
The event, organized to generate an atmosphere of new
optimism and understanding between the Islamic World and the West, will bring
together a diverse set of speakers and performers from around the globe.
Those performing include Amish Dar, the Pakistani born
guitarist/vocalist from Har ik Zehr; Zerobridge, a band made up of American and
Kashmiri members; and Ippazzi, a group that believes in celebrating diversity
and uniting culturally distinct sounds.
Their music will be complemented by Azhar Usman, a
Chicago-born Muslim Comedian of Indian origin, whose sole goal is to promote a
better understanding of Islam and Muslims through comedy.
The HTR lineup also includes scholars from the academic and
religious realms, including Dr. Ali Yurtsever, the President of the Rumi
Forum, Arya Zarrinkelk, an Iranian-American activist and the Human
Rights/Peace and Security Program Assistant at Americans for Informed
Democracy, and Omar Ashmawy, a Pentagon prosecutor, U.S. Air Force officer,
and outspoken critic of fundamentalist Islam. Expedition leader, Lance Trumbull
will deliver a speech on his experiences organizing the first joint
Palestinian-Israeli peace climb of Mount Everest. New York arts activist Robert
Galisnky will emcee the event.
In the past, the peaceful majorities from both civilizations
have spoken, but they have not been heard. Suspicion, polarization, and
incessant fear mongering is turning the “clash of civilizations” myth into a
self-fulfilling prophecy by exaggerating our differences, and disregarding our
shared values.
Heal the Rift 2008 is an opportunity to reject the
status quo and foster a new climate of understanding in which peace and
coexistence are possible.
On July 19, college students from both worlds will lead the
way into a better future by publicly pledging never to allow the strength of
their transnational relationships to be sapped by the cynicism of global
politics.
* * *
Heal the Rift was an idea thought up by four college students,
two from the West and two from the Muslim World. These four friends refused to
accept the status quo of increasing polarization between the West and the
Islamic world, and resolved to help end the downward spiral of distrust that
divides their cultures. HTR is a simple, but powerful concept: to bring
representatives from both civilizations together in a public forum of truth,
respect, and reconciliation.
I like the idea of Healing the Rift...it's a good idea and it should certainly be held at least once every year (if not more frequently)..but unfortunatelly you can't save the world by singing..but then again if you can make people understand..mybe through understanding you can save the world...idealism is always great..but it fades quickly as the years pass you by ...
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In the past, the peaceful majorities from both civilizations have spoken, but they have not been heard.
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