(Overland Park, KS, 7/18/2019) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, today requested dialogue with Independence City Councilman Curt Dougherty. In a discussion of city codes at Monday night’s City Council meeting, Councilman Dougherty referred to “Discount smoke shops owned by mostly Middle Easterners who will sell anything out the back door.”

“At face value this comment demonstrates a prejudice against citizens living in Independence who are from the Middle East or who may appear that way to Councilman Dougherty,” said CPS President Ahsan Latif. “I have reached out to Councilman Dougherty in hopes that he can clarify his statement and to ask him to enter into dialogue with the Muslim community. We believe this is an opportunity for us to learn from one another and stand together against casual xenophobia.”

The City of Independence has a diverse population of people from many different backgrounds and its elected officials are representatives for all of them. In the aftermath of Councilman Dougherty’s comment there have been calls for him to resign by the Council for American Islamic Relations Kansas Chapter. “It is our hope that Councilman Dougherty is open to dialogue and meeting with people from the Middle-East and Muslims so we can give him a more complete idea of who we are,” said Latif. “If the Councilman doubles down or stands by his comment, however, we would support those calls that he step down.”

The Crescent Peace Society hosts Meet a Muslim events, where people from different religions sit down and get to know one another through questions and dialogue. Hundreds of people in the Kansas City area have attended over the past few years. Our next such event is co-hosted by Ten Thousand Villages Overland Park and the InterUrban Art House and will take place on July 28, 2019 from 4-6 p.m. at 7947 Santa Fe Dr., Overland Park, KS. More information is available here. 
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The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures. Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.

(Overland Park, KS, 4/21/19) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, today condemned a series of coordinated bombings targeting churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. The attacks targeted foreign tourists and Easter worshippers celebrating the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus. At least 207 are dead and hundreds more were injured in the blasts.

“Kansas City area Muslims condemn this horrific attack on our Christian brothers and sisters and so many of us are utterly sick reading the news this morning,” said CPS President Ahsan Latif. “Although at the time of this writing no group has claimed responsibility, we are still dismayed by this evil act committed by criminals who target Christians in countries where they are a religious minority. We want to be clear that these individuals do not speak for the millions of Muslims in the United States and around the world.

In Islam, the protection of places of worship, specifically Christian places of worship, was pledged by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Covenant of Muhammad, which commemorated an agreement between him and the Christian monks of Saint Catherine’s Monastery. The document, which granted protection “to the followers of Jesus of Nazarene in the East and West,” including the followings stipulation:

“No one is allowed to plunder these Christians, or destroy or spoil any of their churches, or houses of worship, or take any of the things contained within these houses and bring it to the houses of Islam. And he who takes away anything therefrom, will be one who has corrupted the oath of God, and, in truth, disobeyed His Messenger.”

“Jesus is a figure of enormous importance to all Muslims. His birth to Mary was one of God’s most magnificent miracles. In the Quran, Islam’s revealed text, Jesus is repeatedly referred to as the Messiah of God and one of the closest figures to the Almighty,” said Latif. “These terrorists attempted to sow hatred between our communities by attacking those who celebrate Jesus. But they have only debased themselves and made martyrs of these peaceful worshippers.”

The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures. Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.
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If there are groups interested in having a Muslim speaker meet with their congregation or organization regarding Muslims in America or Islam, they should email us at: crescentpeacesociety@gmail.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ahsan Latif, President, 913-485-9218, latif.ahsan@gmail.com, Hibba Haider, Vice President, 816-309-8065, hibbahaider@gmail.com, and Advisory Board Member Mahnaz Shabbir, 816-213-2536 and mahnaz@shabbiradvisors.com

(Overland Park, KS, 1/27/2017) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, was joined today by Kansas Interfaith Action, Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, The Center for Religious Experience and Study (CRES), KC For Refugees and Hatebusters, Inc., in opposing President Trump’s Planned ‘Muslim Ban’ Executive Orders halting the acceptance of Syrian refugees and restricting immigration and travel from several Muslim majority nations including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

 “These Executive Orders are expected to focus on refugees, immigrants and visa holders from Muslim majority countries only.  It is clear that this is the first step in implementing the President’s promised ‘Muslim Ban,’ effectively excluding people based on their religion,” said CPS President, Ahsan Latif.  “Predicating travel, immigration and refuge from harm on the basis of religion, or a religious litmus test, is un-American.  I grew up learning the American values of pluralism and freedom of religion.  The enactment of these policies threatens to turn our long held Constitutional values into just another set of alternative facts.”

This policy harkens back to another dark time in our history, when during World War II the United States turned away Jewish refugees seeking our protection and instead sent them back to Europe where many did not survive. “Refugees entering this country are already the most vetted of all people entering our borders,” said Latif.  “They undergo several levels of screening by multiple national security agencies before they are even selected as refugees.”

These orders will adversely affect American Muslims seeking to host their family members from overseas.  They would prevent citizens from aiding parents and grandparents seeking medical treatment and tarnish our image as a country that stands for the ideals of religious freedom and tolerance.  “This ‘Muslim Ban’ does not make our country safer,” said Latif.  "Instead it will be a propaganda tool for our enemies who portray America as the perpetrators of a holy war against them."

The Executive Orders claim to focus on nations with some unspecified correlation to terrorism.  However, the countries included do not have a record of committing terrorist acts in the United States (Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for example, are not included on the list).  Additionally, statistics show that over 116 times more Americans have died from gun violence compared to terrorism (CNN: American deaths in terrorism vs. gun violence in one graph). "It is important to address the issue of terrorism, but it should be based on evidence and hard data instead of faith, race or national origin,” said Latif.

The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures.  Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.

If there are groups interested in having a Muslim speaker meet with their congregation or organization regarding Muslims in America or Islam, they email a request to: crescentpeacesociety@gmail.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Crescent Peace Society: Ahsan Latif, President, 913-485-9218, latif.ahsan@gmail.com, Hibba Haider, Vice President, 816-309-8065, hibbahaider@gmail.com, and Advisory Board Member Mahnaz Shabbir, 816-213-2536 and mahnaz@shabbiradvisors.com  

Kansas Interfaith Action, Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director, (316) 680-7381, mrieber@kansasinterfaithaction.org

Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council: Reverend Kelly Isola, Vice Chair, (816) 550-3475, kisola@me.com  


The Center for Religious Experience and Study, Reverend Vern Barnet, (816)753-1633, vern@cres.org

KC For Refugees: Dr. Sofia Khan, Founder, (913) 523-4113, zaims5@live.com  

Hatebusters, Inc.: Ed Chasteen, Founder, HateBuster@aol.com

(Overland Park, KS, 7/15/2016) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, today condemned the horrifying terror attack in Nice targeting families celebrating Bastille Day.

“Kansas City area Muslims express solidarity with the people of France and mourn the many innocent victims of this senseless attack,” said CPS President Ahsan Latif.  “We condemn this horrific attack as we have condemned previous ISIS or ISIS-inspired atrocities as well as the deviant ideology that produces such shocking and cowardly violence.”

The attack in Nice comes on the heels of attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and also outside the Prophet’s Mosque in the city of Medina.  “These attacks harm all of humanity, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim or those without faith,” said Latif.

Although responsibility for the attack in Nice has not yet been determined, similar attacks have been attributed to the so-called “Islamic State” or Daesh. “Daesh is the Arabic name for ISIS or ISIL which rejects the organization’s self-proclaimed status as the ‘Islamic State.’ Daesh has proven to be a monstrous organization whose brutal acts have no foundation in any faith or ideology.

CPS has previously joined with U.S. and World Muslim leaders by endorsing an open letter to the leaders of Daesh, refuting the ideology of the terrorist group ISIS and urging its supporters to repent and "return to the religion of mercy." The letter can be found at http://lettertobaghdadi.com.

The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures.  Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ahsan Latif, President, 913-485-9218, latif.ahsan@gmail.com and Advisory Board Member Mahnaz Shabbir,816-213-2536 and mahnaz@shabbiradvisors.com

(Overland Park, KS, 6/28/16) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, joined with Muslims around the world in condemning today’s senseless and horrific attack at the Istanbul airport.

“We are outraged by these attacks on innocent people travelling to visit Istanbul, one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” said Ahsan Latif, President of CPS. “We grieve today for the victims and their families and applaud the heroic work of law enforcement in preventing the damage from being even greater.”

“That this attack takes place during the holy month of Ramadan, especially during the last ten days of the month which Muslims revere as a time for reflection and self-evaluation, demonstrates how inconsistent such violence is to the practice of Islam,” said Latif.

Although the identities and motivations of the criminals who perpetrated today’s attack are still unknown, Turkey has been targeted frequently by the so-called Islamic State for its role as a front line member of the coalition currently fighting to eliminate the terrorist group. “In this and so many of these attacks, Muslims were the targets and the victims of ISIS,” said Latif. “Muslims worldwide are disgusted by these evil acts committed by criminals who claim to share our beliefs. In the strongest terms possible we reject their violent ideology.”

The so-called “Islamic State” is often referred to as Daesh. “Daesh is the Arabic name for ISIS or ISIL which rejects the organization’s self-proclaimed status as the ‘Islamic State.’ Daesh has proven to be a monstrous organization whose brutal acts have no foundation in any faith or ideology.
CPS has previously joined with U.S. and World Muslim leaders by endorsing an open letter to the leaders of Daesh, refuting the ideology of the terrorist group ISIS and urging its supporters to repent and "return to the religion of mercy." The letter can be found at http://lettertobaghdadi.com.

The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures. Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ahsan Latif, President, 913-485-9218, latif.ahsan@gmail.com and Advisory Board Member Mahnaz Shabbir,816-213-2536 and mahnaz@shabbiradvisors.com

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(Overland Park, KS, 6/12/16) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, today expressed solidarity with the LGBT community in Orlando and condemned the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub.

“Kansas City area Muslims join with those around the country in shock and disgust at the senseless attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando,” said CPS President Ahsan Latif. “We are deeply saddened by the evil committed by this individual and reject any claims by the suspect or others that this action was justified by his religion.”
"Our concerns and prayers are with those affected by these terrible attacks," said Latif. "Our hearts grieve for the families of the victims."
Islamic organizations in Florida are calling for Muslims to respond to this attack by joining the community in donating blood to help save the lives of victims of the attack.
The LGBT community and the Muslim community have a shared status as minority populations in the United States and have collaborated and supported one another in their shared pursuit of justice against discrimination. Our cooperation on these issues stands diametrically opposed to the hatred and disregard for life demonstrated by the suspect of today’s shooting.
The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures. Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ahsan Latif, President, 913-485-9218, latif.ahsan@gmail.com and Advisory Board Member Mahnaz Shabbir,816-213-2536 and mahnaz@shabbiradvisors.com
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(Overland Park, KS, 6/8/16) The Crescent Peace Society (CPS) will hold its annual interfaith iftar or fast-breaking dinner on June 11 at the Leawood Community Center.  The goal of the event is to share the experience of opening fast with the community and celebrate the holy month of Ramadan with neighbors and friends. 

"We value the friendship and support of our fellow Americans,” said Ahsan Latif, President of CPS. “In order to dispel misconceptions about our religion and what it is to practice Islam, it is our pleasure to bring people together to break their fast in the spirit of Ramadan.” 

This outreach effort is designed to enhance understanding of the Muslim experience in America and to help Americans of all faiths meet their Muslim neighbors by participating in a complimentary post-fast meal. Guests from all over the Kansas City Area have been invited, including local and state municipal officials, interfaith leaders, professors, activists and law enforcement officials. Expected guests include the mayors of Leawood and Overland Park and several members of the Kansas City refugee community. 

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a special time for Muslims during which they refrain from food, drink, and other worldly pleasures from dawn to sunset daily. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, which serves as a spiritual and physical cleansing of the mind and body respectively. 

WHAT: Crescent Peace Society Annual Interfaith Iftar 

WHEN: Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. with the fast opening at 8:45 p.m.
WHERE: Oak Room at the Leawood Community Center (lower level of the Leawood City Hall, 4800 Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS 66211
To RSVP please visit crescentpeace.org

The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures.  Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.

 MEDIA CONTACT: Ahsan Latif, President, 913-485-9218, latif.ahsan@gmail.com and Board Member Mahnaz Shabbir, 816-213-2536 and mahnaz@shabbiradvisors.com

(Overland Park, KS, 3/22/2016) -- The Crescent Peace Society (CPS), a Kansas City area interfaith organization, today expressed solidarity with the people of Belgium following the horrific attacks in Brussels that left at least 34 people dead and numerous injured.

“Kansas City area Muslims express solidarity with the people of Belgium and offer condolences to victims of this senseless attack and to the families of the victims,” said CPS President Ahsan Latif.  “We are disheartened by this evil committed by criminals who claim to act in the name of our religion. In the strongest terms possible we reject their violent ideology.”

The attacks in Brussels come on the heels of terrorist bombings in Turkey where several dozen lives were also lost, including two Americans.  “These attacks harm all of humanity, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim or those without faith,” said Latif.

These attacks have been attributed to the so-called “Islamic State” or Daesh. “Daesh is the Arabic name for ISIS or ISIL which rejects the organization’s self-proclaimed status as the ‘Islamic State.’ Daesh has proven to be a monstrous organization whose brutal acts have no foundation in any faith or ideology.

CPS has previously joined with U.S. and World Muslim leaders by endorsing an open letter to the leaders of Daesh, refuting the ideology of the terrorist group ISIS and urging its supporters to repent and "return to the religion of mercy." The letter can be found at http://lettertobaghdadi.com.

The Crescent Peace Society is a Kansas City area interfaith organization seeking to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures through educational and cultural activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures.  Its mission is to build bridges among faith communities, encourage dialogue, and promote justice and mutual understanding.