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 The Common Ground BlogWhen opportunity knocks: A young girl’s rise to Vice Mayor In every nook and cranny of the globe there are individuals who are full of untapped potential. They are intelligent and inspired, longing to make a difference, but needing assistance to truly make their presence known. Aichata Maman Dahabaye was one of those individuals. We first met Aichata in late 2012 when she participated in [...] Pakistani pioneer blossoms from wallflower to starlet for change “I wanted to excel for myself and my community,” says Rukkaya Hashmi of the Balochistan National Party. She had always believed that she had what it took to lead her people, but Rukkaya found she was never really heard or seriously noticed by her party’s leadership. “It was during this time that I started to [...] Journalism …with a side of peace Happy World Press Freedom Day! From Sri Lanka to Rwanda, from radio to television, from Golden Children News to media for women, Search’s journalism work spans the globe. We wanted to hear from our Editor-in-Chief of Common Ground News Service, Juliette Schmidt, to see why journalism is so important to peacebuilding. The Common Ground News Service [...] Former militant turned peacebuilder brings ‘comic’ relief to Congo Out of the deadliest trenches rise some of the most brilliant peace-builders. During the ‘90s, violence plagued the Kivu region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pulling Joseph Muhaya into the conflict. After hearing about Search’s work, he started looking for non-violent ways to end conflict. He is now the author of the wildly [...] ‘Hear me roar’: Women journalists claim their voice in the Great Lakes By Stephanie Fagan Since a young age, I greatly admired broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour for her honest news coverage and courage to address women’s issues in various parts of the world. (It also doesn’t hurt that she began her career at my local news station in Rhode Island.) Either way, I grew up with Amanpour [...] |
Common Ground News ServiceEvidence does not support fears of Islam in the West Why has a dichotomy persisted between Muslim and Western societies despite the bulk of academic research dispelling any notion of incompatibility? Director of the Islam in the West program at Harvard University Jocelyne Cesari explains. What the Pakistani elections meant With the decision of who will lead Pakistan’s next government still pending, Mubashir Akram, director of PINFO, a media research and monitoring firm based in Islamabad, tells us what is certain about the recent elections. Muslims walk the extra mile for Boston Chicago-based writer Kiran Ansari tells the story of one Muslim woman who stood firm in her resolve to participate in Project Bread’s Walk For Hunger in Boston earlier this month, despite her family’s fears of backlash after the bombings in Boston. For every instance of stereotyping, sensationalism and misunderstanding in Muslim-Western relations, there are many more stories, events and initiatives that foster dialogue and promote collaborative solutions. This new community space is a place to share such stories and opportunities. To suggest something please email cgnews@sfcg.org. Field of Muslim-Western relations as crucial today as ever In this third article in a series, former Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland Akbar Ahmed explains why working in Muslim-Western relations is just as crucial today as it has ever been. |