Joseph Ward III's blog

Yesterday I attended the first half of open testimony of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on plans to tear down the 152-year-old building at ground zero to construct a 13-story community center and mosque. The proposed "Cordoba House" has elicited some strong emotions from all sides. Here are a few videos from the hearing including an American-Muslim, a mother of a 9/11 victim and NY republican candidate for Governor, Rick Lazio.

When you finish reading this post, one woman will have died from a preventable complication during her pregnancy. That’s one of the harsh takeaways from Ms. Christy Turlington Burn’s, No Woman, No Cry— a non-fiction film documenting maternal mortality and healthcare access in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Tanzania, and the United States.

Last night my fiancé and I joined friends, colleagues and many new faces at Intersections First Annual Intersector Awards Gala. It was strange to see the event fly by so quickly knowing the months of planning, late night meetings, emails, and tireless dedication of all those involved in executing such a mighty project—including all those at Elizabeth Rose Consulting and the staff, board, volunteers and other friends of Intersections International. In addition to honoring three outstanding and diverse leaders the evening offered a glimpse into some of the intersections of social justice that our organization works. As we woke up to some of today’ headlines, we were reminded of many of these same issues.

In addressing the nation’s military, President Obama’s first State of the Union offered hope to not only expand and improve the capacity of our armed forces, but to do the same for our nation. As a member of Intersections International—a social justice organization that promotes understanding across lines of culture and faith, and whose cause célèbre is to honor the diversity of our world—it was incredible to witness that moment in the President’s speech.

The deputy leader of the Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda (Saeed al-Shehri) has called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage regional holy war against Jews and Christians. In an attempt to cut off U.S. shipments to Israel through the Red Sea, the group has also called for a blockade claiming, “... you have no other way out from this plight other than to wage jihad.” This is the same group of religious fundamentalists who claimed responsibility for last Decembers failed terrorism attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Samra Habib is a writer and editor living in Toronto. At the age of 10, she and her family were branded as “non-Muslim” by religious extremists for falling out of the Sunni Shiite majority in Pakistan. This prompted their leaving Lahore for Canada where they found religious freedom and the ability to travel with a passport that did not specify religion. “[W]e believed that we had left the fear of religion-based persecution and discrimination behind us. Our Canadian passport was our new chance in life.”

Eight years after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, there is evidence that Americans are learning more about Islam. A new Pew Research Center report, Muslims Widely Seen As Facing Discrimination found that Muslims face the most discrimination of all major religious groups. 58% of adults surveyed believed there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims, and those surveyed believed Gay and Lesbians are the only group who face more discrimination.

In this week’s Economist, a short piece titled “Man of peace, man of war” featured an article about former Liberian President Charles Taylor's 2003 indictment on 11 counts by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Many African and world leaders campaigned to hold Taylor in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, due to the high risk and danger presented by his presence in the Sierra Leonean capital.

Tall and dark skinned with an encompassing beard and “dastar” around his head, Sandeep is just your average college student. In February 2002 waiting for his flight plane in NYC, the unsuspecting student suddenly found himself flanked by a group of six armed soldiers. “Your Passport” one of the guards yelled, “lets see it.” Suspicious of racial profiling, Sandeep demanded an explanation before presenting his credentials to the authorities. Without receiving one and provoked by further demands, Sandeep helplessly forfeited his passport to the bullying guards. For the next two hours the student was subjected to interrogation in the middle of the busy New York airport where families pointed, laughed, whispered, snapped photos, and watched as security guards tried to convince themselves that Sandeep was guilty of ‘something.’ When the detention did not yield a favorable outcome to the guards, Sandeep was released and had to book the next flight out. When he returned to the seating area, every person around him got up and left.

If you've been monitoring world news recently you've probably come across some concerning headlines in Nigeria. Here's the scene from the past few days: Islamic militants in one corner, Nigerian federal troops and police in the other, and hundreds of civilians sucked in the middle of the chaos.