The memorial lights on 9/11.

Ten years ago.  TEN.  Blue skies. Slightly crisp air.  A normal day.  At home, on hold for a tri-regional conference call with the TV on.  News reports a plane hit the towers.  I saw and thought, immediately, that is NOT an accident.  When you’re from New York, you know that you can’t hit the towers or any other building by accident.  You typically fly up one of the rivers, high above the city, but close enough that you can easily identify the towering buildings. But no, you can’t accidentally hit one.  Not possible.

Confusion. 

Colleagues abroad listening as I said my brother in law works down there.  I have to go.  Second tower is hit – I see it live on TV. I call my sister.  She is trying to find my brother in law by phone.  My baby niece is with her; she stayed home that day for a doctor appointment or some baby related reason.  I didn’t have to worry about her, but where was he?

I call my Dad.  Suddenly, you can’t get through by phone to anyone.  Busy signals.  Beep beep beep beep.  Where is my Dad?  My cousin who works in midtown?  My friends and colleagues?

Finally, Dad answers, crying.  What is happening, where is your sister, he asks. I tell him she is fine. He cries more, relieved. We are looking for her husband. Dad cries again.  Dad is a crier by nature, but he is also a native New Yorker.  What is happening to his city? Our city?

I go to my friend’s house nearby.  We are in shock, unsure of what to do.  We drive to the local hospital to donate blood. They are not accepting donations.  Perhaps they realize before we do that there is no need because thousands won’t survive the heinous terrorist act.  We leave, feeling empty and defeated.  What else can we do?  We gather at a friend’s restaurant.  We all look at the little TV.  We are all in shock. The sky is still so blue.  I think it is odd how nature doesn’t understand what is going on below.

The skies are silent.  Living north of the city, they are typically full of planes passing over to Westchester airport, LaGuardia, Newark or JFK.  Silence.  Eeery silence.  Like the earth stood still for a bit.

Later that night, my sister says my brother in law abandoned his car and walked home. Across the bridge.  Miles. Alive.  Thankfully, alive.  I’ve never loved my brother in law more than in that moment.

Later I discover that two coworkers from my days at New York University lost family members.  One a wife, the other a brother.

Today, I find myself having to explain less and less that Muslims are not responsible for the acts that took place on 9/11.  Terrorists did this.  Sick, sadistic, angry people did this.  They may have called themselves Muslim, but that is not what 99.9% of Muslims believe.  Those men were simply terrorists. Cowards.

But today is a hard day for me. I have moved away from my beloved city like many New Yorkers did.  The sky where I am today is blue like on that day.  It reminds me of how beautifully that day started.  It reminds me the pain that the world felt.  It reminds me of a horrific decision by our president to start a war.

The blue sky reminds me of loss.  Of people who were just living their daily routines, of soldiers and innocent people abroad, of the pain felt by those who were left behind, of the children who never got to know their parents, aunts, uncles, etc.  It reminds me of the firefighters who were so brave, who loved this city, who lived to save people, who died trying.

It reminds me of an entire religious community that has spent a decade having to justify their existence in this country and many who still live in fear.

But today, I’m concentrating hard on hope and healing.  I am thinking about my next visit to NY and how I will take time to see the footprints where the towers stood and to reflect upon the countless visits I had taken there.  The time my mom took me and my Mexican exchange student brother, Rodrigo, there to gaze upward at the shiny silver and intricate metal work.  The awe on his face when he realized how very big the towers were.  The time when I was very little and my parents told me about the man who put a wire across the two buildings roofs and walked, without a net, way up in the clouds.  The times, as an adult, that I took the circle line boat with visiting friends past the towers and saw them shining in the sunlight or their lights dancing in the mist.  The times we drove in from New Jersey, perhaps the best view of the skyline, and saw the massive structures glistening along the water. Those are the memories I will forever hold close to my heart, the ones that I will always protect. The ones of them standing tall, solid and regal.

And when I return to NY, I will honor all that was lost on that day.  But I will look forward. And I will be hopeful. 

Peace to you all.

Please enjoy this video about the “Man on a Wire” and remember the beauty of the Twin Towers along with me:

Click here to view the embedded video.

9/11 memorial lights in NYC (Copywright: Missy Gluckmann)

The news is jaw dropping. It is raw, huge. It fills the room, the country, the world. Osama bin-Laden is dead.

I wrote a blog post just a few days ago about teachable moments with the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in mind.  I could not have imagined that bin Laden would be killed by US special forces days later.

I am from New York.  I am American.  I am a world citizen, or at least someone who aims to be.  I have written extensively about Islamophobia as a result of 9/11.

I feel a flood of emotions – they range from grateful to numb, relief to sadness.  People on Facebook are arguing over who deserves the credit – “Bush or Obama.”  Others are celebrating in the streets outside of the White House chanting “USA.” I’m proud of my country, however I want someone to be standing outside that building holding up a sign that says “Peace.”

Our nephew is in Afghanistan tonight.  He woke up to the news, elated and shocked.  I want to believe he has been there for a reason. Then again, the bridge builder in me resists.

I can still see the Twin Towers in my mind.  They are bright – the glorious sun is glistening off of their glass.  I see them at night, many lights turned on around each floor, sucking up energy as they stand as a beacon at the base of Manhattan. I recall getting out of the subway weeks after the attacks and I looked up to find that “sure thing” landmark to direct me around my beloved city.  Gone. Only blue sky remains. I put my hand up to my face and turn my head. I cannot look. It is like losing a limb and feeling it, the phantom limb.

This is a teachable moment, I’m certain. This will be remembered in our history books.  This evil, hateful, vengeful man is gone to wherever one goes when you die after murdering thousands upon thousands of people.  Yet, I have no idea how to explain to our youth, at least tonight, what a terrorist being killed means to the world.  I hope it means more peace for all of us, but I’m uncertain.

I think about the wife of a co-worker from NYU who climbed to the roof of the towers, trying to be rescued as she stayed on the cell phone with her spouse. I think of the two people who felt that leaping to their death, hand in hand, was a better option than being burned alive by the intense heat of the flames.  I think about the children who never met their fathers, the mothers who gave birth without the loving support of their husbands. I think about the firefighters and police who ran into the buildings to save lives, but lost their own instead. I think of those who survived, only to barely survive.  I think of those who were witnesses, like my beloved Tony, who suffered tremendous anxiety from watching the grand scale loss of human life and who lost their ability to talk about the day because the wounds are too deep, too much for the heart and mind to bear.

Then there are those brave men and women who are abroad, fighting for the cause of freedom.  Even when it is imperfect, I feel such tremendous gratitude for their bravery, their steadfast belief in this country and its values.  And I am angry when our media and government hide the agony of a flag covered casket from our pure eyes.  We know we are at war.  Don’t treat us like children.

Tonight, I am still digesting this news.  The consultant in me quickly “tweeted” that study abroad offices need to reach out to students abroad as there could be serious repercussions for bin Laden’s death. That is the reality of what we live with today.  The New Yorker is me longs to be home, feeling the energy of my beloved city and reveling in the unity that we felt after 9/11, at least for a few short weeks. My heart wants to curl up into a ball, huddling close to those I love.  It cries for peace, for healing, for days when the hardest thing about traveling was remembering whether or not you packed the right shoes, not whether you would remember to take them off at the security check.

Goodbye bin-Laden.  Go away forever.  Let us get on with our work.  Let our young people know a world without talk of terrorism, 9/11, or war.

And NYC, my deeply loved city, please sleep well tonight.

1)  Create a day of gratitude: One of my strongest memories of the days after 9/11 was how incredibly supportive and loving people were toward each other in NY.  People smiled at each other, reached out to help a stranger, and donated blood to the Red Cross.  No one asked whether you were Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc.  Reminding people of our humanity by creating a day of gratitude for all we do have is a perfect way to change the counter narrative about that day.  We lost thousands of lives that day, and as a result of that tragedy, we managed to find a heck of a lot of humanity. Let’s find a way to recapture that. Remind people of our common humanity.  Perhaps it is through setting up a blood drive or creating an interfaith picnic on the quad? After all, we all bleed and we all need to eat! Figure out what works for your campus or community and make it happen.

2)  Create dialogue through film:

Budrus: This is an excellent documentary that illustrates the hope and non-violent movement of Muslims (in Palestine.) It is an excellent counter narrative to the myth that all Muslims and Palestinians are terrorists. It is also a shining example of Israelis and Palestinians working together and breaking down stereotypes of each other. Link to an interview with Nadav Greenberg, the Outreach Coordinator for Just Vision (who made the film.)

Crossing Borders Film: I have written extensively about this film. I firmly believe it is the most effective tool to create dialogue about Islam.  Arnd Wächter, the film’s Director, will be in the US this fall for screenings.  Feel free to contact me if you’d like more information about how to set up a screening with Arnd.

3)  Bring in a speaker to create dialogue about Islam:

Here are three wonderful Melibee Global speakers who briefly mention 9/11 in their presentations, but more importantly, talk instead about the true fabric of Muslims in our world:

a) 30 Mosques:  Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq, the co-founders of 30 mosques are available for campus events.  They spent Ramadan 2010 and 2011 traveling to 30 states (each trip!) sharing stories of every day life of diverse Muslim communities in the US.  Feedback about their presentation has been unprecedented. What they accomplish in changing the minds and hearts of others about Muslims in America is the stuff that peace prizes are made of. This year, their trip has been covered by the BBC, Huffington Post, Travel and Leisure, CNN International, Al Jazeera (English) and a documentary is in the works about their epic journey.

b) Ibrahim Abdul-Matin:  Author of “Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet” is the best lesson in sustainability AND redirecting the dialogue to more timely issues than 9/11.  He brilliantly reminds us to talk about “water” when someone asks about 9/11.  Invite them for a glass of water  – which is a much more critical political issue in our world today.  Kudos Ibrahim!

c) Nury Turkel:  Nury is new to the Melibee “family” but very well versed on speaking publicly about the human rights violations of the minority Muslim Uyghur (pronounced)”Wee-Ger” population in Northwest China.  He does a brilliant job of explaining how politics landed innocent Uyghurs in Guantanamo Bay and how the Chinese policies have attempted to destroy the Uyghur culture.

(Reach out to Melibee Global at info@melibeeglobal.com if you’re interested in any of these, or any other speakers, for your organization’s events.)

4) Create an opportunity for reflection AND create an opportunity to feel proud:

We should lower our flags that morning and honor those who died.  We should think about their lives and their legacies.  We should thank our local fire departments and police for the services that they so unselfishly provide to our communities.  And we should also create opportunities for those who are Muslim to feel proud of their faith, as it was not their faith that killed others that day, it was a group of terrorists who did so.  I have observed Muslim students and friends in this country shying away from feeling pride for their faith and it pains me deeply. Imagine if every time you were asked about your religious beliefs, you had to defend it? That is what many of our Muslim friends continue to experience. Imagine if people looked at you oddly because you choose to wear a cross or yarmulke? Women who choose to cover their heads are often being stared at, assumptions are often made about oppression. Use this anniversary to shift the tide by creating an opportunity for Muslims to celebrate their faith, which promotes peace.  Work with your campus Muslim Student Association and your interfaith dialogue community to find an appropriate way to celebrate all religions instead of having to defend them on this important day. Many Muslim students who have heard the 30 mosques presentation write to Aman and Bassam to thank them for reminding them how much they love their faith and how they want to explore the diversity of it in the US as a result of their presentation.  Shouldn’t we all be able to feel proud?

5) Consider others who are living with terrorism:

Find a cause to support in honor of those who died and those who survived on 9/11.  Create a fund raising event to raise awareness about those who suffer on a regular basis – and donate funds and time to this cause.  Helping others in need is perhaps the best path to healing our world.

If you’d like to read more about my thoughts on 9/11, please click here.

Peace to you all.

Aman Ali from 30 mosques

I received an email from Aman Ali, co-founder of the 30 mosques project. He shared the following note from a college sophomore in North Carolina who saw his 30 mosques in 30 days presentation:

“Dear Aman and Bassam:  I attended Aman’s presentation at “X” University the other night to, I must admit, merely fulfill a requirement for a class. I am a lifelong Christian and I hate to say I don’t know much about Islam. To say I was enlightened by your presentation would be an understatement. I was profoundly moved by the experiences you shared with my fellow students, citizens, and me. I hope I get a chance to see one or both of you speak again, because the hour and half I spent hearing about 30 Mosques in 30 Days was absolutely worth failing a quiz the next day. Keep up the good work, and if you haven’t already, I hope you get the chance to visit my hometown, Milwaukee.”

Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq are two young guys who had an idea: Visit 30 mosques in 30 states in 30 days over Ramadan 2010.  They looked for funding, rented a car and mapped out a plan. They made some calls, sent some emails, packed up the car and hit the road. They had no idea what to expect, but were ready for an adventure.

Bassam Tariq presenting in Prague, Czech Republic

I met up with them on day six of their journey, interviewed them and blogged about it. During those thirty days last summer, I checked their blog, daily, to learn more about the people that they were meeting along the way. Aman and Bassam became teachers to me and thousands around the world as they racked up the miles, slept on couches across the country, and broke fast with strangers who quickly became friends. CNN caught wind of their trip and joined them on the road for two days. And when “30 mosques” ended up on the home page of CNN, Aman and Bassam just keep “truckin’ on” in their humble fashion.

I met up again recently with Aman when he presented at a local college (solo on this occasion.) His audience this time was primarily from the campus’ Muslim Student Association.  After his presentation (see a 2 minute clip below), I spoke with some of the young people in the audience. Some had heard about 30 mosques, others had no clue what the project was before that night.  But this audience did have something in common – they were overjoyed to hear a presentation that allowed them to swell with pride. The students were truly astonished by what Aman shared about the history and diversity of Muslims in the United States. Several expressed to me how frustrating it is been to have to regularly defend their religion. Aman’s presentation gave them a reminder that is was okay to feel proud.  It was more than okay – it confirmed that there was much to be proud of! They had been eager for meaningful dialogue that did not include having to defend Islam, and the 30 mosques project provided it.

After a recent 30 mosques presentation in the mid-west (US), I received the following feedback from the the college’s Global Opportunities office:

“It was awesome Missy!  The students, staff and faculty who attended were very touched by their presentation. I’m still reflecting on their experiences and I feel a great sense of hope that I haven’t had in a long time. Some of my colleagues want to keep in touch with them, follow their work and even visit them some day in New York!”

I remembered why I created the Melibee speaking series after meeting Aman and Bassam: It was because I felt inspired by their project and wanted to share it with others.

As an educator that spent many years behind a desk on a college campus, I know how many hours it takes to meet and exceed all of your students’ needs, let alone find motivating speakers that will challenge your students to think about their role in the world AND who will make them want to learn more about a subject.  I wanted to find speakers who would move students (and faculty/staff) to put their smart phones away for 90 minutes because they would be so truly engaged by what they were hearing.

Why? Because they would be inspired. Inspired enough to not care about their email and Facebook for a whole ninety minutes.

As I reflect on the 30 mosques project, I am so grateful to Aman and Bassam for their adventurous spirits, their humble dispositions, their generosity (they will be volunteering for two days at the model UN in NYC), and for reminding me how much young people have to offer to those of us behind a desk each day. This project has offered the gift of inspiration, and it comes through the hearts of two Muslim New Yorkers – two guys who write for a living but took a month off for a really cool road trip. Needless to say, these two were raised by parents who supported their kids’ goals and dreams, one mosque at a time.

Please enjoy this clip of Aman talking about his visit to the mosque in Ross, North Dakota:

Aman Ali from 30 Mosques – 2 minute Presentation from Melibee Global on Vimeo.

Here is more information about their visit to Ross, North Dakota from Day 22 of their 30 day journey.

Aman and Bassam are available to speak from March – July 2010 (in the US and abroad.)  They are also able to present in the NYC area during the week of September 11, 2011. (Note: They are not “9/11 speakers,” as the events of that day are not what sparked them to create 30mosques.) Aman and Bassam are not sure yet if they will present after September 2011. If you’re interested in booking Aman and Bassam for a presentation, please email me at info@melibeeglobal.com or via the contact form.  Other inspiring Melibee speakers can be found here.

Missy Gluckmann (Melibee Global's Founder) and Paula T. training children about Cairo, Egypt, 2003

The year was 2003 and I was working at the world’s largest international relocation company.  At the time it was called Cendant Mobility – today it is called Cartus.  I had left a career in international education to pursue one in international relocation and human resource consulting.

After the events of 9/11, I wondered what could I do to make this planet we temporarily occupy a more understanding and caring place.  As I wrote in this blog posting, I started a volunteer program called the Global Education Initiative (GEI).  GEI brought Cendant Mobility’s employees in Connecticut (USA) into classrooms in the regions to teach about cultures and other countries around the world.  One of the most memorable GEI programs took place at the Consolidated School in New Fairfield, Connecticut (USA) in March 2003.  While the program, meant to support the elementary school’s coursework on ancient Egypt, had been planned for months, the actual day we presented to forty eight second grade students was the day that the US bombed Iraq.

The irony did not go unnoticed.

My dear friend and colleague, Paula (an immigrant from Colombia) and I forged ahead, sharing our experiences in Cairo with the children.  We told them about what it felt like to visit the pyramids at Giza, how we rode camels for the first time and how we saw incredible artifacts at the museum in Cairo.  And we told them about the glorious Nile River.

Missy and Paula at the pyramids at Giza, 2003.

Long before technology was being used on a daily basis in the classroom, we had arranged to have a video conference with one of our company’s providers in Cairo and two of the local children from her neighborhood. It was a beautiful experience at the time and especially poignant upon reflection.  The photo above shows me and Paula with two of the children in the classroom in Connecticut (USA), who proudly held a sign greeting their new friends in Cairo.  The group of children in Connecticut sang “It’s a Small World After All” to their new friends in Egypt.  In return, the two girls sang a welcome song in Arabic.

I still feel emotional when I think about how our future lies in the hands of children all over the world.  Despite the start of the war in Iraq, Paula and I wanted to be hopeful about the children we were exposing to another culture on that fateful day.

Fast forward to January 2011.  Turn on your TV, internet, radio, mobile device – and the news is all about Egypt. Thousands of Egyptians are courageously demonstrating for democracy, marching and praying.

And what am I thinking about when I see this?  I’m thinking about the children in that classroom in Connecticut, at 7 and 8 years old, who are now 15 and 16 years old.  Are THEY interested in what is happening in Egypt?  Do they think about the 2 children in Cairo that day, 7 year old Pasant and her 10 year old sister, Dina, who patiently answered their questions about whether there were crocodiles in the Nile River and what kind of clothes they wore to school?  Are they now more caring American teenagers and future global citizens as a result of their interaction with these children in Cairo when they were in 2nd grade?

And I think about those two young girls from Cairo.  Are their families out demonstrating?  Have their families been injured? What does their future hold?  What do they think of what is happening in their country and do they ever recall the children from Connecticut, perhaps the first Americans they ever “met”?

This experience reminds me of the seeds that we plant as educators.  It is our responsibility and our joy to introduce new ideas, to share a new lens as a way of seeing the world, to create opportunities for inquiry, and to realize similarities across cultures as well as differences.

I hope that children like Annie, who had asked the two Egyptian students about the type of food that they ate, are carefully watching the story of Cairo in 2011 unfold and thinking about how it impacts the lives of Egyptians and the world.  And I hope that Brandon, then a 7 year old boy, will still consider going to Egypt one day as he described in 2003  – that “he liked the presentation and it made him feel he wanted to go there.”

Hopefully this can happen for Brandon and all of the children involved in our training from seven years ago.  I also hope that the movement taking place in Egypt will ultimately be one that will reflect the possibilities of the youth of 2003 and 2011.

Peace.

Today’s guest post is written by Arnd Wächter from Crossing Borders Education.  Arnd writes about the transformative power of international experiences and he offers a glimpse into his personal experience on the subject. Arnd is one of the most fascinating people that I’ve met on this international education journey; we have talked for hours about how meeting people from other parts of the world and hearing different perspectives have shaped us. Arnd has not only become a friend to me and my family, but is also a part of Melibee Global’s international speakers series. He can be booked to present his film, Crossing Borders, and is scheduled to be in the US from mid-March through mid-April 2011, so reach out if you are interested.  (His film is also available for screening in other parts of the world.)

As an educator, I believe that intercultural experiences have an important role to play in a world situation that is – to say the least – very confusing. This year, 2011, marks a decade since the tragic events of September 11. Today’s undergraduate college students were eight to twelve years old in 2001 and consequently have spent their intellectually formative years with post-9/11 media coverage, little of which addressed the need for intercultural understanding. I believe that we have the demanding opportunity to support this  generation of students and future leaders to deeper understand the major challenges of cross-cultural conflicts and to develop the capabilities, commitment and grit to address them.

Personal experiences that are transformative are often the driving force behind the passions in our lives.  I would love to share a glimpse of mine. I was born in communist East Germany and grew up next to the Berlin Wall. Sometimes my brother and I climbed trees to see boats going by on the river on the other side of the wall. We watched people having barbecue in their gardens but were never able to go there. I was 19 years old when the wall came tumbling down. At that time and in the following years, I experienced drastically in my own story the reality of the Anais Nin’s statement: “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.”

When traveling the world, I realized with amazement how much my images of history, countries and current affairs have been shaped by the context I had lived in. Intercultural experiences became one of the key teachers for my personal development and for learning about other cultures and people. My fascination grew about the process of what happens to our perception and awareness when we enter another culture with appreciation and open senses. I sensed that the world can look entirely different from a different cultural perspective when I am engaging openly in deep dialogue with people of other cultures. And I realized in these conversations that I am learning as much about the “Other” as I am learning about myself.

In the following years, I became passionate about intercultural immersion experiences and backpacked on tiny budgets across the world – often choosing solo trips in order to intensify the intercultural impact. These personal travel experiences became the vibrant background for my passion to create cross-cultural immersion programs, activities and films, which encourage, support and challenge university students to cross borders internally and externally. I would love to share a few of my observations on these activities:

Student Experiences on the Morocco Exchange programs of our organization triggered often very different responses of American students when they stayed at Moroccan family homes and interacted personally with Moroccan students. American students from a more liberal background were often surprised about the positive experiences they had. Some of them identified themselves as being very literate with critical thinking skills and were then surprised finding out how much they had been affected by images of Muslims in the US media.

Conservative students who traveled with us often had to process the shock of experiencing openness, hospitality and warmth in Morocco in sharp contrast to the hostile view their entire families held of the region. I remember a student sharing with me: “My parents and grandparents are not talking to me at the moment. They are evangelical Christians and are deeply upset with me that I am visiting a Muslim country.” After a while she added with a quiet voice: “They consider this religion as evil.”

Over the past years I saw in my own story and in the story of students that experiences themselves are the best teacher to confront existing preconceptions. It is a defining and creative moment when students encounter for themselves something that is in contrast to their accustomed perception, because it empowers them to discover themselves first hand and enhances critical thinking skills. It is powerful to experience hospitality in a Muslim country and then to reflect on: How come we hear so much about the reality of terrorism while hearing very little about the reality and beauty of the other culture? How come we saw post 9/11 on US media images of a small group of 10-20  Muslims celebrating, creating an image as if the entire Muslim world was celebrating? How come we saw these images repeated over and over again? How come we did not see 60,000 Iranians holding a Peace Vigil for the victims of 9/11? How come we did not see the images of over 1 million Moroccans demonstrating against the use of violence in the name of their faith after the bombing in Casablanca in which no American was hurt?

These are moments in which I have a lot of compassion with my students. I remember how much inner work it was after the Communist system imploded to come to terms with my entire education being incomplete or a distorted image. To change such perception does not happen in one conversation it needs eye opening experiences and time to reflect and process.

What I truly love about American students is the quality to get emotionally involved and care about issues and people. I noticed that most students who traveled with us knew very little about the region. I also experienced that the majority really cared from the moment they connected to a person or an issue on a personal level. It is a quality I deeply appreciate in the American culture.

The Educators Role: My experience is that most of the time we do not need to tell students what to think or do. We only need to encourage and support them to step into experiences that are challenging and widening. I experienced many times that the goodness within students takes over and makes them choose their next chapters of learning themselves by going into volunteer work, study abroad or long term services such as the Peace Corps. I experienced that students can discover their passion and task in this world where they are connected to their own power. So I would like to close with a quote that I love sharing with students when they ask “So what can I do?”, a quote which became key to my personal process of growing ideas and visions into creative realities.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.

Ask yourself what makes you come alive

and then go and do that.

Because what the world needs

is people who have come alive.”

H. T. Whitman

About the Author: Arnd received his school education in Communist East Germany. As a conscientious objector to military service, he was not allowed to study at university and became a carpenter. After the fall of the Berlin Wall he started to travel the world beyond Eastern Europe and was able to study abroad in London. There he completed his MA in Religious Studies and Post Graduate Certificate of Education. Since 1996 he has worked and lived in the UK, Japan, Australia, the US, Spain and Morocco and traveled extensively on six continents. The impact these journeys had on him personally made him aware of the transformative power of cross-cultural interactions. Being on a visit to Morocco during the build-up to the US intervention in Iraq, he was deeply moved by personal conversations with Moroccans. This inspired him to create an educational NGO that by now has taken over 3600 American students on programs to interact with Moroccan families, students, professors, Peace Corps volunteers, and Fulbright scholars on a personal level. In 2007-2009 he produced and directed the feature documentary “Crossing Borders”as a cross cultural tool to initiate dialogue between students in the Western and Muslim worlds. The film was selected at 12 international film festivals and won several awards.

Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf

A press release from Park 51 announced that Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, will no longer be speaking on the organization’s behalf.  Imam Fiesal will begin his personal speaking tour next week.  He and Ms. Khan will also not be raising funds for the project on this speaking tour.

Park51 states that Imam Fiesal’s work on behalf of the Cordoba Initiative, while exceptional, requires a broader scope and that Park 51 requires a focus on the downtown Manhattan community specifically. Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf will remain on the Board of Directors for Park 51.

Here is the entire press release from the newly designed Park 51 website:

New Imam Joins Park51
Islamic Community Center
Launches New Website

New York, NY January 14, 2011: Park51, the Islamic Community Center in Lower Manhattan, announced three major developments today.

Park51 announced the appointment of its first Senior Advisor, Imam Abdallah Adhami, a well-respected Muslim-American leader who for nearly 20 years has dedicated his unmatched doctoral credentials in the Islamic tradition to the service of Muslim and multi-denominational communities here at home and abroad. Imam Adhami also holds a degree in architecture from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and has seven years of corporate experience in organizational development, art direction and executive training. He was born in Washington, DC and has been serving the Lower Manhattan Community since 1990.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to be a key adviser on a project going forward that has enormous creative and healing potential for the collective good in New York City and in our nation,” stated Imam Adhami.

Imam Adhami will join Imam Feisal and other New York Imams soon to be appointed, who will help Park51 create a robust and dynamic religious and interfaith component.

Moreover, Park51 applauds the goals and efforts of our brother Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf for launching his nation-wide tour on January 15th, a campaign that we believe will have a profound and positive impact on the dialogue between different faiths. It is important to note though that while on tour and afterward Imam Feisal and Daisy Khan will not be speaking on behalf of Park51, nor will they be raising funds for the project. Imam Feisal will remain on the Board of Directors of Park51.

The Cordoba Movement and the Cordoba Initiative are separate nonprofit entities from Park51 with different missions and leadership. Imam Feisal’s tour will support only those organizations.

Due to the fact that Imam Feisal is focusing most of his energies and passion on launching this new and separate initiative, it is important that the needs of Park51, the Islamic Community Center in Lower Manhattan, take precedence. While Imam Feisal’s vision has a global scope and his ideals for the Cordoba Movement are truly exceptional, our community in Lower Manhattan is local. Our focus is and must remain the residents of Lower Manhattan and the Muslim American community in the Greater New York area.

And finally, Park51 is announcing today the launching of a new, expanded website and blog, which provides online access to many of the social and cultural services we intend to provide in the weeks and months ahead.

“We are very excited about the next phase of Park51 and the challenging work ahead,” Sharif El-Gamal, the Trustee and President of Park51 said. “It is an honor for me personally to welcome Imam Adhami to our team. I look forward to his leadership and assistance in the development of Park51. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our many supporters for their time, effort and expertise during the past few months.”

About Park51:
Inspired by Muslim values and heritage, Park51 is a center dedicated to providing cultural, social and recreational programs and services to the Lower Manhattan community, and to helping weave the Muslim-American identity into the pluralistic fabric of the United States.

Imam Fiesal and Daisy Khan

While the controversy about the proposed Islamic Center in New York City rages on, I am once again deeply moved by the dignity and grace of Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan.  They recently spoke at the Open Center in New York City.  If you don’t know The Open Center, it is a is a non-profit educational and cultural center offering programs intended to heal the body, nourish the soul and awaken the spirit. I have been to the center and it is one of the most spiritual places I have found in the hustle and bustle of the city.

In the video below, Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf speaks eloquently about the goals of the Islamic Center.  He references that the biggest issue we face as a society is extremism – in ANY religion – and that the goal of his work continues to be to build bridges between faith communities. His movement is to break the cycle of fear and misunderstanding that threatens peace in the world:

Click here to view the embedded video.

His wife, Daisy Khan, passionately speaks of the support that she and her husband have received, including a letter from a 15 year old agnostic girl who prays for less ignorance around the issue. The prayer that Ms. Khan references at the end of her talk is delivered with heart and really moved me.  (Ms. Khan is an is Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing an American Muslim identity and to building bridges between the Muslim community and general public through dialogues in faith, identity, culture, and arts):

Click here to view the embedded video.

I have written extensively about the proposed Islamic Center (previously referred to as the Cordoba House.) Needless to say, I will be watching closely as Imam Fiesal Abdul Rauf commences his national tour in 2011 to build support for the project. It will not be a fund raising tour. Sadly, his speaking tour is not open to the public due to the death threats that he has received as a result of this project proposal. The media will be invited to meetings and is welcome to report as they see fit.

(See links below for other blog postings on the subject.)

A Mirkitani Cat

I recently discovered a documentary entitled “The Cats of Mirikitani.” While preparing to write about it, I took a peek at the film’s trailer. It has no words of introduction – only music. It makes perfect sense once you see this film, as it will leave you without words and perhaps only a very full heart and a need for a box of tissues! It is hard to describe the power of the story of Tsutomo (Jimmy) Mirikitani and his journey to healing from the pain of war, loss and homelessness.  Here is the short trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I stumbled across “The Cats of Mirikitani,” which tells the true story of Jimmy Mirikitani, a Japanese American artist, who becomes homeless in New York City. The tragedy of 9/11 provided an opportunity for him to build trust with a local filmmaker, Linda Hattendorf.  As time marched on, Hattendorf helped to peel back the layers of Mirikitani’s life. Through this incredible film, we discover that Mirikitani, born in California and therefore a US citizen, was put in a Japanese interment camp for 3 1/2 years during the war. He was pressured to renounce his US citizenship. Although he ended up homeless, he continued to draw while living on the streets of lower Manhattan. Hattendorf lived around the corner from his usual hang out and she regularly filmed 80 year old Mirikitani and his drawings in the months before 9/11.

On September 11th, the planes hit the towers and Mirikitani again addressed his emotions through art. He drew the tragedy of the towers just as he drew the pain of the internment camp at Tule Lake and the devastation of Hiroshima. And when the toxic dust fell across lower Manhattan, Hattendorf searched the streets for Miritakani and invited him to stay with her in her tiny apartment. She continued to film him as they shared the same space.

We realize, as the film progresses, that his life story has lived in the art that he has drawn every day for years – the significance of the cats, the mountain, the persimmons.  With each scene of trust building between Mirikitani and Hattendorf, we learn more about the tragedy of an artist’s career being stolen from him by the forced internment, the family that he lost in both Hiroshima and the US, the pain and anger that he lives with, and how his art kept him going.

One of Mirikitani's drawings of the internment camp.

I won’t give away the ending, but I will strongly suggest that you have a handkerchief nearby!  I will say that the power of Hattendorf’s humanity and the beauty of this aging artist’s soul develop into an incredible tale that yields many life lessons.  Here is what this film made me ponder:

1) Behind the eyes of a homeless person is a life that I know nothing about – and when I don’t know about something or someone, I should ask and learn.

2) September 11, 2001 and December 7, 1941 are two dates that will live in our history books.  How we have responded to those two dates is increasingly important. We learned in time that Japanese internment camps were simply cruel and unjust.  Perhaps we will also explore the idea that demonizing all of Islam for the acts of a handful of terrorists is also cruel and unjust.

3) Art has the power to heal.  Time has the power to heal.  Place has the power to heal. Compassion has the power to heal. The most unlikely combination of people possible – a “40-something” film maker and an 80 year old homeless man – they have the power to move mountains.

This is a film that should be used in the classroom. It is appropriate for high school and college level students, and can be used in any of the following disciplines:  Sociology, Social Work, Cross-Cultural Communication, History, Film, Politics, Art, Art Therapy, and more.

Mirikitani’s work will be on display from January 15 – March 26, 2011 at the Japanese Canadian National Museum in Crescent Burnaby, BC (Canada).

I’ll simply close with Jimmy Mirikitani’s favorite expression, “Make Art, Not War!”

See larger image Cats of Mirikitani (DVD) Director: Linda Hattendorf Starring: Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani Rating: NR (Not Rated) List Price: $29.95 USD New From: $16.54 In Stock Used from: $16.50 In Stock Release date January 12, 2010.

Memorial lights at Ground Zero on 9/11/09. (Photo by Tony Zeoli.)

Each year since 9/11,  I have witnessed the blue lights that rise from Ground Zero, memorializing the Twin Towers and all that was lost on that day.  Each year I have watched the TV as the names of the victims of terrorism are read.  I cry along with the countless mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, husbands, wives, friends, co-workers, and strangers who weep for what our nation and our world experienced on a day that will live on in our history books.  I have visited the site on 9/11 over the years to reflect, take photos, observe the stillness of the space in such a bustling city, to cry, to think, to hope.  Here is a photo of me last year at the site taking photos and taking a moment to show the American symbol for peace.  (Note the 2 young women in the distance under my camera looking up at the lights, and the sign behind them referencing the memorial.)

That's me taking photos of the memorial lights in NYC on 9/11/09. (Photo by Tony Zeoli.)

If you’ve read my other posts about 9/11, you’ll know that my sister, brother-in-law, and cousin worked in the city on that day and that I spent the day on the phone trying to locate them.  My brother-in-law was the most challenging to find, as he worked near the site and ended up walking home to Queens without phone access during most of his walk.  His mother called from Ireland to find out if he was ok, and while my sister was safe at home with their 8 1/2 month old daughter that morning, she could not answer the question right away. Thankfully, he was safe.  So many others weren’t, and we were so grateful that he was not in harm’s way that day.

My love, Tony, witnessed the buildings burning from the rooftop of his apartment building in Brooklyn.  He saw people leap to their death and smelled the stench of death for months afterward.  He had nightmares, experienced bouts of anxiety and still has a very difficult time looking at pictures of the towers.  He was forever changed by that experience.  We all were, regardless of where we physically stood at the time of the attacks in NY and Washington DC.

As an international educator, but perhaps more importantly, as a human being, I believe that we have an urgent responsibility to work toward peace.  Nine years later, I see more dialogue about differences and hatred than perhaps ever before.  I remember that sense of community, of unity, of humanity, in the weeks and months after that horrific attack.  People helped each other.  Period. We did not ask if you were “for or against” an Islamic Center in downtown Manhattan.  We did not ask what your political affiliation was. We did not ask who you voted for, what your religion was, what your place of origin was, if you were straight or gay, if you had been laid off, if you had a home that was in foreclosure, if you required government services, if you were an immigrant, if you were here legally or otherwise – or any other questions.  We asked how we could help our fellow man/woman.  And in the days after 9/11, we did. At least in New York City, for a few months, we did.

Our American Congress promised to “stand together” and in a gesture of our unity, stood on the steps of the US Capitol and sang “God Bless America.”  Today, they are more divided than ever.  Apparently in the US, mid-term elections are more important that unity and peaceful solutions to American (and world) issues.

I have had countless debates and discussions with friends and complete strangers about the Islamic Center that will be built near Ground Zero.  Why do I support it?  Simply put: I support it because Islam did not kill all of those beautiful people on 9/11;  evil and hateful extremists, using the name of an otherwise peaceful mainstream religion, murdered those people.  They killed people of all faiths on that day, including Muslims.  But most importantly, the common denominator of that day is that people were murdered – no matter what their faith (or desire not to identify with one), religion, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, social status, etc.

And if we break it down, the common denominator on 9/11 is that we are all human, we all feel pain, we all love and we all need peace and unity.  And the only way to do so is to offer serious attempts at dialogue.  Politics and extremist viewpoints are not invited to the party this time.

And despite the mainstream media focusing on a country divided – I was delighted to see an example of what we are all truly capable of in this world.  This example is simple: love thy neighbor.  We should not claim that as a Christian or Muslim value, we should claim it to be a HUMAN value, as humanity is the common denominator in this life that we each live on this planet.

So, as 9/11 approaches and we honor those who were lost, we look at the faces of the people left behind in mourning, we recall the thousands of workers and volunteers who ran to the site and worked there for years to search for bodies and to begin the cleanup and rebuilding efforts, to all that came together that day – I ask you to watch this incredible example of what we are capable of as human beings:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think that all it takes is some humanity.  And on this ninth anniversary of 9/11, we could sure use some.  Peace to you all.