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MPAC honors Muhammad Yunus |
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MPAC honors Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus
Arab American News 14th March, 2008
New York — In front of a packed New York City audience last week, the Muslim Public Affairs Council honored Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, with the MPAC Foundation's 2nd Annual Human Security Award.
MPAC leaders also announced the opening of a New York City chapter that will brings MPAC's work to engage with national media and leadership development.
Following a touching video compilation of the extraordinary work
Dr. Yunus has accomplished, the Nobel laureate shared the story of the
birth and evolution of the Grameen Bank, which he founded in the
mid-1970s to provide small, collateral-free loans to women in remote
Bangladeshi villages who were crippled by poverty.
"Whatever I
have done, you can say it's the work of a desperate person," Yunus told
the audience, after being presented with the award by Executive
Director Salam Al-Marayati and MPAC Foundation Chairwoman Zubeida Khan.
"If you can make so many people happy with such a small amount of
money, then why shouldn't you do more of it?"
The MPAC Human
Security Award was created to recognize those extraordinary individuals
who protect and empower the world's most vulnerable populations. The
inaugural award was presented to Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for his efforts to reduce
nuclear proliferation.
In 2006, the Nobel Prize committee
awarded Dr. Yunus and the Grameen Bank for "their efforts to create
economic and social benefit from below." A pioneer and maverick who
Business Week magazine dubbed the "microcredit missionary," he is also
the author of "Banker to the Poor" and "Creating a World Without
Poverty."
Starting in the mid-1970s in the Chittagong district
of Bangladesh, Dr. Yunus' innovative approach has been exported to more
than a dozen countries worldwide. Most recently, he helped launch
Grameen America in New York City. To date, the Grameen Bank has lent
$5.1 billion to 5.3 million people, 96% of whom are women.
During
the event, MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati also announced the
launch of the MPAC-New York City chapter, which will be headed by Naoma
Nagahawatte. MPAC-NYC steering committee members Dalia Mahmoud and
Shaheryar Azher shared their plans for their local efforts.
Special
guest Rabbi Marc Schneier, co-founder of the Foundation for Ethnic
Understanding with hip-hop mogul and philanthropist Russell Simmons,
shared his hope for increased Muslim-Jewish dialogue to break down
barriers to mutual understanding. The Foundation recently held a
historic summit of American imams and rabbis, which will result in a
nationally aired public service announcement denouncing anti-Semitism
and Islamophobia.
Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs
Council is an American institution which informs and shapes public
opinion and policy by serving as a trusted resource to decision makers
in government, media and policy institutions. MPAC is also committed to
developing leaders with the purpose of enhancing the political and
civic participation of Muslim Americans.
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