The
Peaceful Families Project (PFP) was founded by
Sharifa Alkhateeb (1946-2004) in the year 2000.
Sharifa was a pioneer who spent 40 years advocating
for the civil rights of Muslims in the United
States, and for Muslim women's rights in particular. She
worked tirelessly on behalf of Muslim victims
of domestic violence, and collaborated with Muslim
leaders and communities across the nation from
2000-2004 conducting workshops to raise awareness
levels. In 1993 she conducted the first national
study on the prevalence of physical violence among
Muslims in the United States, showing that 10%
of Muslims were experiencing physical abuse, a
figure that is comparable to national statistics
and other faith groups. Her
enthusiasm inspired Muslim activists to become
proactive in their own communities, resulting
in the development of domestic violence organizations
and victim resources in many Muslim communities.
To
address domestic violence issues, PFP conducts
Islamically grounded peaceful family dynamics
and violence awareness programs across the United
States for Muslim communities. We also provide
Cultural Sensitivity Trainings for service providers
and professionals serving Muslim clientele.
Our
organization is currently headed by Co-Directors
Salma Elkadi Abugideiri and Maha B. Alkhateeb.
Ms. Abugideiri focuses on the facilitation of
our workshops and the development of domestic
violence related educational materials. Ms. Alkhateeb
focuses on community relations, resource development,
and social research. Between 2000 and 2006, PFP enjoyed the solid financial support of FaithTrust Institute (FTI), a multi-faith domestic violence advocacy organization based in Seattle, WA, with a grant from the Violence Against Women's Office. During that time, PFP functioned as the Muslim program of FTI. Currently, we are proud to maintain a close working relationship with FTI, but are in the process of becoming an independent non-profit organization.
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