December 16, 2008

Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge

The Muslim Public Affairs Council today announced that South Asian rock musician Salman Ahmad, Grammy Award winner Melissa Etheridge and author Deepak Chopra will introduce their national "Ring the Bells for Peace" campaign at MPAC's convention on Saturday, December 20th.  

 Ahmad and Etheridge will also perform their song "Ring the Bells," which promotes message of unity across religious, racial and national boundaries during the banquet.

CLICK HERE to listen to "Ring the Bells"

The pair met a year ago at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in honor of former vice president Al Gore and the U.N. Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change. Indian doctor, author and leader in the mind-body medical movement Deepak Chopra soon joined the movement.The "Ring the Bells of Peace" campaign, initiated by musicians Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad, was inspired by the question: If you had the power to change the world would you? The answer is you are the only person who can! On December 21 at noon, they are calling on people to go outside, meditate, pray or wish silently for one minute, and then ring a bell for peace for one minute.

"The intention is to energize young people and channel their energy into all kinds of grassroots activist groups," says Ahmad in a recent blog entry about the campaign. "In both East and West, it's poetry and music which unites humanity rather than politics which aims to divide and demonize 'the other'. Melissa and I also talked about the children of Abraham and their common spirit of brotherhood and sacrifice. We sat with acoustic guitars and out of that intense talking and jamming came 'Ring the Bells.'" 

A recipient of MPAC's Media Award honoring Voices of Courage & Conscience, Salman Ahmed is doctor by training and a rock musician by profession. His band, Junoon, has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Salman has also been appointed as U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS. He has personalized the "I care, do you" U.N poster campaign in Pakistan by paraphrasing a popular Quranic verse, "Saving one life [from AIDS] is like saving the whole of humanity." 

Melissa Etheridge is a Grammy award-winning musician, who has sold more than 10 million albums in her career. Known for her soulful, bluesy sound, she was named Best Female Rock Vocalist in 1995. A vocal survivor of breast cancer, she credits early detection for her recovery and has been active in raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American medical doctor and writer. In 2005, Chopra became a staunch advocate for disarmament and international peace in Peace Is the Way, where he argues that a "critical mass" of people of like mind can defeat the global "addiction to war". In the same regard he became president of a broad-based organization, the Alliance of a New Humanity, that seeks to form "peace cells" around the world and to foster such related goals as environmental healing and sustainable economies in developing nations.

Click here for program details or to purchase your tickets now!

Focused on the theme "New Era, New Role," MPAC's 8th annual convention on Saturday, December 20th at the Long Beach Convention Center will explore possibilities for Muslim American to continue expanding their political and civic engagement as well as their role in shaping the public image of Islam and Muslims.