A Message From the Executive Director
Dear Change-makers and community members,
As a stakeholder in the NewGround community, we wanted to share with you some of the amazing successes NewGround has accomplished over the past few years to champion change. The upcoming U.S. presidential election has generated a drastic rise in social division. As NewGround launches our fall programming and prepares for this December’s first ever virtualized Trailblazer Talks, we are also working diligently to confront the tide of phobia and promote pluralism.
On September 24, 2015, I was appointed to the White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. I joined community leaders from across the nation in making recommendations for improved relationships between faith-based organizations and the government. It is an exciting new endeavor for myself and for NewGround.
Over 18 million people have viewed the new Buzzfeed video, “I’m Muslim, But I’m Not…,” featuring Change-makers such as Saaliha Khan and Tom Earl, our own former NewGround staff members, and Marwa Abdelghani, our former Muslims and Jews Inspiring Change (MAJIC) advisory board member. The video is a vehicle for change — celebrating the many faces of Muslim Americans across Los Angeles.
Harvard University’s Pluralism Project Director Diana Eck praised NewGround in the 17th issue of the Journal on Inter-Religious Studies. A piece on the transformative power of relationships written by NewGround is also published in the issue, while the Jewish Journal and Alt Muslimah ran our thought piece on resolving differences, co-authored by Andrea Hodos, an alumna of our Professional Fellowship program, and myself.
Our Change-maker initiatives, such as the Sardari & Morady Story, Two Faiths One Prayer, and 72 Virgin Mocktails, among many others, have reached over 150,000 people locally and globally amplifying our message of pluralism.
We invite you to explore more about our change-makers in action right here on our website, www.mjnewground.org, and continue the conversation on social media @MJNewGround to see how we #BreakNewGround together.
With gratitude,
Aziza Hasan
Executive Director
