American Muslim Voice’s
Annual Convention
By Abdulrahman “AR”
Rafiq
The AMV team |
Newark,
CA: The American Muslim Voice (AMV, www.amuslimvoice.org)
hosted their annual convention at Chandni Restaurant in the
heart of the high-tech industry of the Silicon Valleyon August
20. The theme of the event was: “Ordinary People, Extraordinary
Heroes.”
Indeed, the all-day conference was about ordinary people,
like John and Bev Titus who suffered a great loss when their
28-year-old daughter Alicia Titus, a flight attendant on United
Airlines Flight 175 hit the World Trade Towers on September
11, 2001. They are member of the September 11th families for
Peaceful Tomorrows, an advocacy organization founded by the
family members of victims of the heinous 9/11 attack on the
United States, our beloved homeland.
These are the true heroes extraordinaire. To lose a loved
one is like a piece of your flesh being chopped off. Despite
the loss they have suffered, John and Bev bear no ill will
to Muslims. The “victims are on both ends of the gun”,
Azim N Khamisa, father of the 18-year-old Tariq Khamisa who
was murdered in January 1995 eloquently put it. Both his son
Tariq and Tony, the 14-year-old African American teenager
who shot Tariq are victims of society. Similarly, in the case
of the 9/11 tragedy we have victims at both ends of the gun
barrel.
Mr Khamisa has forgiven Tony; in fact he has offered him a
job at the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) after his prison
sentence is completed. TKF is a non-profit organization committed
to defeating the continuing cycle of violence amongst the
youth. Further, Azim and Tony’s Uncle Ples are good
friends, working together to curb youth violence.
Both Khamisa and the Titus’s have pledged their life
to promoting peace and progress in the world. They mentioned
that they don’t want other families to suffer the same
loss as they did. They are against wars of all forms; John
and Bev have spoken out against the war in Afghanistan and
Iraq.
The rest of the conference followed a similar theme, centering
on how the real heroes are the people like you and me. The
program was divided in two segments. In the morning session
Adeel Iqbal, AMV’s board member served as the emcee.
The afternoon session was hosted by our very own, Jaiza Television
show, executive producer Omar Khan.
Both the afternoon and morning sessions portrayed an informative
lineup of speakers. Like Stacy Tolchin, an immigration attorney
who spoke on what to do if the FBI knocks on your door; she
said, “Just because you don’t have anything to
hide doesn’t mean you don’t need a lawyer. When
you get a lawyer, in most cases the FBI loses interest in
your case.” Further, she informed the audience that
if they are approached by the FBI, they should call the National
Lawyers Guild hotline at (415) 285-1041. “Remember you
have a right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney
present, ” she said.
The AMV Team: Hats off to the AMV executive team for arranging
a superb convention; Samina Faheem Sundas, Khalid Saeed, Reshma
Yunus, Syed Mohsin, Adeel Iqbal, Shahid Chaudhry, and Nosheen
Khan, to name a few, worked tirelessly to put together this
event which was well attended by Muslims and non-Muslims alike
sowing seeds of peace, seeds which essentially are mere ideas.
Ideas which will produce lasting results —eradicating
distrust from the hearts and minds of humankind. Creating
a world where, when one looks at a man you see your brother
in him, and when one looks at woman you see your sister in
her. This is a world the AMV team has envisioned. May seem
impossible now, but don’t underestimate the power of
an idea.
The idea that we are one human race, with all our infinite
diversity; to live in a world where your race, creed or national
origins are insignificant, and you are not judged based on
any external factors. Instead you are looked upon as a fellow
human being, an inhabitant of the small lonesome planet Earth.
An utopian idea it may sound, but it is within our grasp.
All it requires is a little self-effort and courage on the
part of a few and the many will follow.
To conclude the daylong event, Azim Khamisa left the audience
mesmerized and inspired with a quote from his journal, which
essentially summed up the whole conference. “Sustained
goodwill creates friendship…sustained friendship creates
trust…sustained trust creates compassion…sustained
compassion creates peace.” And this is the aim of the
American Muslim Voice to create lasting peace and goodwill
in the world. (The author is a technology professional in
the Silicon Valley, a freelance write and journalist for the
Pakistan Link and Newsline, and an OPEN Silicon Valley Operating
committee fellow.)
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