Assaalam Aleykum (Peace Be Upon You)

From an Interview with DARIA about the song, "Assalam Aleykum"

While teaching in the Middle East, I had a candid discussion with a group of Arabic women who were hosting my visit. In the conversation they shared a variety of very ugly statements made directly to them that showed how extreme prejudice was part of their everyday life. Hearing these statements, crystallized my sense that – as musicians and educators - we must work harder in every culture and every location for children who understand the value and dignity of all peoples. Prejudice and intolerance are not natural but are taught and; as educators, we can expose our children to world cultures in a way that creates little global citizens and a world of greater dignity and peace."