Muslims for Progressive Values

History

Ani Zonneveld, a prominent Muslim activist and performer, founded Muslims for Progressive Values in 2007 and has served as its president since. The organization has since grown to incorporate chapters in nine different U.S. cities and in the Netherlands. ¹ MPV has partner organizations in 15 countries around the world. ¹

MPV is a founding member of the Alliance of Inclusive Muslims, a global left-of-center Islamic movement designed to align Islam with progressive political values. ¹ As of 2015, MPV alone has recruited over 10,000 members. ²

Activity

Muslims for Progressive Values is focused on both community programming and political advocacy, with emphasis on women’s and LGBT issues.

Community Programming

MPV provides various services to the Muslim community, including providing imams to perform traditional Islamic marriage services for Muslims and those in interfaith relationships. MPV has also focused on LGBT issues, connecting LGBT individuals with resources and attempting to change the perception that Islam is anti-LGBT. ³ In doing so, MPV has gone directly against the policy of other Islamic organizations, such as the Islamic Society of North America, the largest Muslim organization in the United States. ⁴⁵

MPV has also used religious principles to take ostensibly pro-abortion positions. MPV was part of a coalition of left-of-center religious groups that filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt. ⁶ The case pertained to the legal disposal of fetal tissue after an abortion or the loss of a pregnancy. A set of laws in Texas said that tissue must be either cremated or buried to “protect the sanctity of life” and reflect “respect for life.” ⁶ MPV disagreed and filed a brief to allow aborted babies to be disposed of in alternative ways, claiming that requiring burial or cremation would violate religious freedom. ⁶

Political Advocacy

MPV is involved in advocacy both in the United States and abroad. United States advocacy is the organization’s largest focus, costing $178,104 in 2017 alone. ⁷ Projects in 2017 included a LGBT Eid al-Adha dinner, a partnership with the LA Pride Parade, and the One Mile Prayer March in Columbus, Ohio to push for left-of-center criminal justice policy reform. ^{7 7} MPV opened a San Francisco chapter in 2017. ⁷

Globally, MPV has focused on two main projects: The Alliance of Inclusive Muslims (AIM) and #ImamsforShe. #ImamsforShe began in 2015 as a project to support the work of religious leaders and scholars who argue that Islamic scripture is consistent with a liberal interpretation of women’s equality and read left-of-center values into religious texts, specifically targeted in the Netherlands, Burundi, Tunisia, and Malaysia. ⁸ In 2017, MPV convened the first ever meeting of Alliance of Inclusive Muslims, a “global umbrella organization which will solidify progressive Muslim organization from around the world.” ⁸

MPV has also worked extensively with the United Nations in an effort to ensure that there is a left-of-center “Muslim voice” at the United Nations. ⁹ In 2017, MPV co-sponsored an event with the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights about Islamist extremism. ⁹

People and Funding

Malaysian-American singer and activist Ani Zonneveld is the founder and president of MPV. ¹⁰ Zonneveld is one of the only female imams in the world, and she spends most of her time working in Los Angeles. ² Zonneveld is the founder of Alliance of Inclusive Muslims and the subject of the documentary Al-imam, which follows her advocacy as a female imam. ² Zonneveld also serves on the UN Inter-agency Faith Advisory Council. ¹⁰

In July 2019, Zonneveld clashed with Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) at a public meeting. Zonneveld asked Omar to condemn female genital mutilation, the ritual process of mutilating the genitals of young women associated with some Islamic cultures. ¹¹ Omar responded by saying she was “quite disgusted” to be asked to condemn the practice once again, saying that a non-Muslim representative would never have to deal with such questions. ¹¹

MPV is funded primarily by donations, which have rapidly expanded across the past several years. In 2013, MPV reported receiving $89,233 in public donations. By 2017, that number reached $381,427. ¹² Notable contributors include the Arcus Foundation (a liberal foundation focused on LGBT interests) and the Wallace Global Fund. ¹³