Peacemaker Fridays: August 12, 2016

The Olympian refugee who swam to save lives, a Muslim dentist serving Christians in Iraq, and 100,000 Muslim students protesting extremism in Bangladesh.

Here are the week’s best stories of people reaching across enemy lines, loving the other, and waging peace…

Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini: the refugee who swam to save lives

This week, the special Olympic-sponsored Refugee Team has made headlines in Rio. None more so than Yusra Mardini, a competitive swimmer from Syria. Mardini and her sister, Sarah, were fleeing war-torn Syria and used their years of training to help pull a capsizing boat of 16 other refugees through the Mediterranean Sea for over three hours before reaching safety in Greece.  Read more…

Muslim dentist serving Christians in Iraq

Dr. Sarah Ahmed travels all over Iraq to meet the needs of Christians, Yazidis, Muslims, Shebeks and others who have been persecuted by ISIS. Ahmed is the director of operations for the Christian aid organization Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME), and long-time friend and partner of Preemptive Love. “She is there protecting all of the Iraqi Christians,” says Canon Andrew White, the former chaplain of St. George’s Church in Baghdad and founder of FRRME. “You never hear anything about it in the news… [but] the work that I am doing is being done by a Muslim caring for the Christians. We think and hear about Islamic terrorism all the time. What about Islamic people working for the protection of Christians?” Dr. Ahmed says, “I feel that God is always there for me…to be able to reach all these areas and all these people… for me, we are all equal.”  Read more…

 

100,000 students protest Muslim extremism 

Last week, over 100,000 students across Bangladesh gathered to protest recent terrorist attacks. The protests were organized to show the enormous number of people willing to stand against Islamic extremism in a Muslim-majority nation. Banners held by protesters read “Bangladesh stands against terrorism” and “We want peace; no place for terrorism.” Organizer Tanvir Shakil Joy stated, “I feel encouraged to see so many students, both male and female, have joined the protest.”  Read more… 

 

Do you have a story to share? We would love to hear how you and your community are waging peace right where you are. And stay tuned for more hope-filled peacemaker stories next Friday!