Peace X Peace Calls on the US Congress to Build Security by Meeting Human Needs, Not Deepening Divisions

(WASHINGTON, D.C., March 9, 2011) — Peace X Peace, an online women’s peacebuilding organization that connects more than 18,000 community members in 120 countries, is concerned about the impact Rep. Peter King’s congressional hearings will have on peace and understanding both in the United States and abroad. We caution that an unintended effect of these hearings may be to stoke fear and misunderstanding rather than to provide a constructive forum to further understanding between non-Muslims and Muslims in the United States.

Peace X Peace members around the world call on their elected representatives to build security by meeting human needs, not deepening divisions. We encourage Americans of all faiths and traditions to use this opportunity to broaden understanding by engaging in constructive, fact-based dialogue. We all win when we focus on what binds us together and we all lose when we draw our power from fear, revenge, and demeaning the ‘other.’