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UPF Leaders Honored at Interfaith Banquet
Written by Genie Kagawa, director, UPF Executive Office
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Dearborn Heights, United States—Dr. Thomas G. Walsh, the international chair of UPF, has been honored for his peacebuilding by the Islamic House of Wisdom.
Dr. Michael Jenkins, the chair of the U.S. chapter of UPF, also was honored at the awards banquet given by the Islamic House of Wisdom on April 25, 2019.
Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, the spiritual head of the Islamic House of Wisdom, organized the awards banquet, which was held at the Bellagio Banquet Hall in Dearborn Heights in the state of Michigan.
For this occasion, a diverse group of local and international peace advocates—including Hon. Daniel S. Paletko, the mayor of Dearborn Heights, and Hon. Sam Beydon, the Wayne County commissioner—spoke about building a world of lasting peace, family by family, and community by community.
Approximately 700 leaders of the faith community, local government and law enforcement created a very beautiful cross-section of Americans from all backgrounds.
A number of Christian pastors from the American Clergy Leadership Conference, an organization that is affiliated with UPF, attended from the community and from throughout Detroit, including a number of Ambassadors for Peace from Detroit and Dearborn. Seven mosques were represented at this most uplifting occasion.
The awards ceremony honored important figures at the national and international level who stand for peace and dialogue, democracy and diversity—peace activists who have been working in this field of diversity for decades. In addition to Dr. Thomas Walsh and Dr. Michael Jenkins of UPF, this year’s award recipients and speakers were Imam El-Amin, the founding imam of the Detroit Unity Center, and Robert A. Bruttell, the chair of the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit.
The tribute to Dr. Walsh, written on a beautiful plaque from the Islamic House of Wisdom, read, “In Honor of Dr. Thomas Walsh, for Decades of Passionate, Powerful and Incalculable Efforts in Promoting World Peace and Understanding, a True Leader and Contributor in the Academia, NGO Services and Dialogue across Cultures and Countries around the World.”
The tribute to Dr. Jenkins read, “For Your Leadership, Courage and Commitment. An Inspiring Voice of Friendship, Peace and Benevolence for Our Nation and Every Nation across the Globe.”
Congratulating Imam Elahi for his interfaith work, Dr. Walsh also testified that Father and Mother Moon for more than 20 years have had the vision for UPF to bring peace through interfaith and civic cooperation.
Imam Elahi testified to the incredible work of Mother Moon in Korea and said he saw a huge change between North and South Korea after Mother Moon rallied an audience of 80,000 in November 2017, bringing together 400 faith leaders from the whole world to pray for peace.
The dinner program came at an important time, providing an occasion to promote peace and justice for humanity, which is the mission of the Islamic House of Wisdom.
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