Kristin Giuliani 
Creating dialogue between Trump supporters and members of the Muslim community; a violin brings peace, healing, and friendship to a child in the Bronx; and Christian and Muslim women build friendship through serving their community together.
Here are the week’s best stories of people reaching across enemy lines, loving the other, and waging peace…
So, a Muslim and two Trump voters walk into a restaurant…
Donald Trump’s proposal to regulate Muslim immigration to has sparked a lot of discussion in the U.S. It also prompted one Muslim filmmaker to reach out to two voters who are supporting Trump in the presidential election. “We get judged a lot, so I didn’t want to judge anyone else,” says Murad Amayreh, a Muslim American who opened up his house to Daniel, a Trump voter. See what happens when Trump supporters and Muslims decide to set aside their fears, see each other as human, and truly listen to the other. Trust us, you’ll want to watch to the end. Read the full story…
Joe’s Violin: Music brings peace, healing, and an unlikely friendship
Joe’s Violin, which premiered this week, is a documentary that chronicles what happened when one man chose to use his pain and healing to remake someone else’s life. Joseph Feingold, a 91-year-old holocaust survivor still had the violin that he got by trading a pack of cigarettes while waiting in a refugee camp during World War II. The violin brought him 70 years of peace and healing from the horrors of war, and when he could no longer play, he decided to share that freedom to someone else. His violin went to 12 year-old Briana from the Bronx. She lives in the poorest congressional district in the U.S. The violin changed her life, gave her peace, and a way to escape. It also brought Briana and Joseph together in an unlikely, life-altering friendship. Read more…
Common Ground Gathering: Christian and Muslim women build friendship through service
A group of 50 women in Michigan—half from a mosque, half from a church—will be “building bridges while making a difference” at a local domestic abuse shelter this weekend. The women are from Common Ground Gathering, a group formed by Muslim and Christian women to build friendships by serving together, laughing together, and celebrating what they all have in common—a desire to show love to one another. The experience has led to a friendship for two participants in particular. “I became aware [Hasina] really is just like me, but we have different faith practices and beliefs,” said Nancy Sullivan. The group also plans to hold a book discussion, trade cooking lessons, and reach out to other faith groups in the community. “In Islam, you are not a true believer until you want for your brother what you want for yourself,” said mosque member Ayesha Joz. “We’re all sisters in humanity. That’s the motto.” Read more…
Stay tuned for more hope-filled peacemaker stories next Friday!
