Resolution, Not Conflict

Be careful of what you write or some of your peer bloggers (Goal Saedi) may accuse you of islamophobia

My colleague and I write as insiders in the worlds of psychotherapy (me) and Pakistani realities (Samdani).

If people accuse us of Islamophia I take it as a compliment. The acusation means we are seeing the truth and describing it accurately.

Name-calling with the term Islamophobia is an unfortunate attempt to hush up people like us who describe Islamic realities with accuracy in order to improve the lives of people in the Muslim world. Such name-calling blocks progress. It is a sad response indeed.

It also would strike me as funny though to be termed Islamophobic when my colleague, Samdani, is herself deeply immersed in Islam. That would be an example of exactly the kind of sectarian (between sects) hostilities that are creating chaos throughout the Muslim world.

Thank you again Eli for expressing your concern. I appreciate your support.

Durin the mid part of the 20th centuary New York City was plagued by gang activity. Often rival gangs would engage in open street warfare resulting in casualties of both gang members and innocent bystanders alike. This program bears a striking resemblence to a socialized program that was implemented to abate this and has subsequently been developed in other urban areas as well. It used social institutions such as schools, media, community groups, healthcare institutions, and govrnment agencies to call people to a higher awareness of nonviolent techniques such as conflict resolution to resolve differences in lieu of violent means and offering training programs to the community. It also set up methods for isolating and handling groups that refused to comply. Columbia University developed a Master's of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution to train professionals to work in the community to promote this program: http://ce.columbia.edu/Negotiation-and-Conflict-Resolution/About-the-Pro....

That's 5 minutes of my life I'll never get back....the only remedy for Pakistan is it's Balkanization.

Richard, Thank you so much for telling us about this project in urban areas. I totally agree that it offers an excellent precedent for the project my colleague Mehlaqa Samdani has proposed. I'm sure she will greatly appreciate the information you've given us, including the information about Columbia's program for training professionals to do this work. This is a great example of how the internet's networking potential can make a huge difference in the world.

Balkanization is to countries what divorce is to marriage. When couples are hopelessly locked in perpetual fighting, divorce can sometimes be the only route to obtaining calm.

At the same time, sometimes these couples continue fighting long after the divorce.

My own preference is for Samdani's strategy--which is why I'm a couple therapist. And at the same time, therapy doesn't succeed with everyone. Time plus efforts like Samdani's will tell if Pakistan has potential for change and growth.

This is really creative! As a Pakistani, I am actually wanting to do something like this. I am currently a M.Phil.Ed student at the University of Pennsylvania. Is there any way I can contact Ms. Samdani or anybody else who can give me information on how to get involved? Thank you.

I would be delighted to pass your contact informaton on to her. I'm sure she will be very interested to speak with you.

The best way to reach us both is via my website at www.therapyhelp.com. If the Contact Us form does not work (it lately has been stalling), please phone my office in Colorado at 303 388-4211. Leave your name, phone number, and email address for me, and I will in turn pass them on to Ms. Samdani.