Founder
25 Years of Peace Music from Hawaii to the World
Who He Is
A singer, musician, and peacebuilder who has dedicated 25 years to creating peace music with poets from over 40 countries. Based in Hawaii for 20 years, M.I. Behleem has earned international recognition from the United Nations, major festivals, and peace organizations worldwide..
His Core Belief: Music transcends every barrier. It awakens creativity, grows nonviolence, and opens the way to empathy.
Global Recognition
Universal Peace Ambassador (2006) — Conferred by Universal Peace Embassy, Geneva
Love Ambassador (2006) — Named alongside Pete Seeger, Václav Havel, Ram Dass by The Love Foundation
WEL Goodwill Ambassador of Joy for Elders (2009) — Universal Council of WEL
Commendable Effort — Circle of Peace (2007) — World Peace Film & Music Festival, Lucknow; 7-member international jury, 60 countries represented
Special Mention — Peace from East (2008) — Featured in UK Department for Education and Skills anti-bullying film Making the Difference
Special Mention — World Prayer for Peace 2008 — 187 artists from 42 countries coordinated by email; presented to 200+ delegates from 85 nations
Certificate of Appreciation (2007) — University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; signed by State Senator Carol Fukunaga and Vice Speaker Jon Riki Karamatsu
Major Projects & Impact
Plant More Trees (2008) — Created for UN Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign; distributed to 1,000+ schoolchildren; 4,000 trees planted across French schools
Making the Difference (2005) — Music for UK Department for Education and Skills anti-bullying film; used in British schools nationwide
Little Boy: The Peace Play (2005) — Original music for theater-dance production commemorating 60 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki; staged with Dayton International Peace Museum
Educational Outreach — Muppet theatre taken to 50 schools with original stories, characters, and soundtracks; produced nursery rhyme album featuring children ages 5–10
World Prayer for Peace (2008–2009) — 187 artists from 42 countries (2008), then 250 from 44 countries (2009); coordinated entirely by email; recordings at StarLight Harmony Music Studio
How the Work Is Made
A poet sends words. That is how it begins.
Poems arrive from Singapore, Romania, Belgium, Argentina—and songs return. Sometimes the two artists never meet. “May Peace Prevail on Earth” began when a Romanian poet sent his lines in October 2006; it premiered in New York in August 2007 and was first broadcast on Radio Transilvania in spring 2008.
Larger projects work the same way. World Prayer for Peace brought together artists from dozens of countries, coordinated entirely by email before social platforms made such collaboration commonplace. All recording and production are completed at StarLight Harmony Music Studio in Hawaii.
Media & Recognition
The Hindu (India, Sept 2006) — National coverage of The World Needs Peace for World Peace Day
SGI Quarterly No. 37 (Tokyo, July 2004) — Featured as TRANSCEND Method practitioner in “Music and the TRANSCEND Method”
Radio Transilvania (Romania, May 2008) — May Peace Prevail on Earth broadcast; plays regularly
Letter from Tokyo (March 2005) — Daisaku Ikeda (SGI president) received Great Hopes and conveyed deep appreciation
Peace Songs Filmed Globally
Peace from East — Pakistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates
I Dream of a World with Peace — Hawaii, USA, Singapore
Time for Peace — USA, Switzerland
The World is at Peace — Multiple continents
By the Numbers
25 years dedicated to peace music
20 years based in Hawaii
40+ countries of collaborating poets and musicians
15 albums produced (12 relaxation/meditation; 12 peace songs)
50 schools reached with Muppet theatre productions
250 artists coordinated in World Prayer for Peace 2009
4,000 trees planted through Plant More Trees campaign
His Vision
No wall stands against music. It reaches past every barrier we build—one of the finest ways we have to give voice to that fierce and living love for existence that each of us carries inside.
His work offers musical gifts to humanity—reaching toward those who carry the weight of injustice, and placing hope and strength in their hands. The goal is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of peace built on compassion, understanding, and love for all people without distinction.
What began as a simple belief—that music can heal—has grown into a global movement. Through 25 years of collaboration with poets, musicians, educators, and peace activists across 40+ countries, he has proven that ordinary people everywhere want the same thing: peace.
Every song is an invitation. Every project is a hand extended. Every collaboration strengthens the belief that music can awaken us to our shared humanity and our shared responsibility to one another and to the earth.
From Hawaii to the world, the work continues—one poem at a time, one song at a time, one heart at a time.
Join the Movement
Whether you are a poet seeking a musical voice, an organization looking to amplify your peace message, or someone who believes in the power of music to transform the world—we invite you to collaborate.
Send your words. Share your vision. Together, we can create the music our world needs.
With love, music, and peace from Hawaii
Music For Global Peace | Global Peace Through Music
