The Human Right of Religious Freedom
February 11, 2021

— THIS WEEK IN DC —
ICE threatened to expose asylum-seekers to COVID-19 if they did not accept deportation; More than a dozen accused Capitol rioters say Trump incited them; House Democrats keep $75k income threshold for direct payments; Trump’s second impeachment trial begins with damning video of insurrection; Senate votes trial is constitutional after emotional first day; Democrats offer new footage showing 'extreme violence' in Capitol attack; House Democrats propose multi-billion dollar COVID-19 relief package; Biden terminates Trump emergency order used to construct border wall; Democratic leaders push to raise minimum wage amid Senate resistance; Biden formally ends Trump's border emergency, but troops will stay; McConnell not pressuring GOP to acquit Trump.
In This Issue
- Reimagining A World Without FGM
- MPAC Welcomes Sri Lanka’s Reversal of Forced Cremation Policy and Urges Codification
- Stanford Law review elects its first Iranian-American, Muslim president
- Harvard Law Review elects Hassaan Shahawy ’22 as its 135th president
- China bans BBC World News from broadcasting Former Republican officials float possibility of forming 'center-right' party
- Saudi Arabia releases prominent women’s rights activist from prison after pressure from the Biden Administration over human rights violations
Featured
Reimagining A World Without FGM
By: Shaezmina Khan, MPAC Policy Intern
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), calling for an end to the cruel practice. This day functions as opportunity to amplify the existing efforts on the elimination of FGM, recognize the many women and girls who have suffered as victims of this practice, and to call on the global community to reimagine a world where women have total autonomy over their own lives. In keeping with MPAC’s values, eliminating FGM also requires renewing our collective commitment to the health, wellbeing, and economic advancement of all women and girls around the world—both near and far.
Members of Muslim group Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamaath protest against the cremation of Muslim COVID victims near the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo [Chamila Karunarathne/EPA]
MPAC Welcomes Sri Lanka’s Reversal of Forced Cremation Policy and Urges Codification
By: MPAC's D.C. Bureau
On Wednesday, February 10, following immense international condemnation, Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, while answering a question by Muslim lawmaker Rishard Bathiudeen, indicated that his government will grant permission for Muslims who have died of the COVID-19 virus to be buried. This marks a clear victory for international religious freedom, a key issue in MPAC’s advocacy. Through our engagement with the U.S. Legislature, Department of State, and civil society stakeholders, MPAC joined allies Imam Malik Mujahid (Justice For All) and CAIR National in advocating for international religious freedom, human rights, and fair treatment of Muslims in Sri Lanka.
Good to Know
- Stanford Law review elects its first Iranian-American, Muslim president
- Harvard Law Review elects Hassaan Shahawy '22 as its 135th president
- China bans BBC World News from broadcasting
- Former Republican officials float possibility of forming 'center-right' party
- Saudi Arabia releases prominent women's rights activist from prison after pressure from the Biden Administration over human rights violations
—THIS WEEK IN HISTORY— Feb 7, 1947 - The UK announces its intention to end the mandate for Palestine; Feb 7, 1969 - Al-Fatah-leader Yasser Arafat becomes President of PLO; Feb 7, 1999 - Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein; Feb 8, 1962 - In Paris, 8 people killed at a protest against independence for the French colony Algeria; Feb 9, 1994 - Israeli minister Shimon Perez signs accord with PLO's Yasser Arafat; Feb 10, 2015 - Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha murdered; Feb 10, 1098 - Crusaders defeat Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch; Feb 11, 1979 - Iran's premier Bakhtiar resigns, Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power; Feb 11, 1985 - King Hussein of Jordan & PLO leader Arafat sign accord; Feb 12, 1502 - Muslims in Granada forced to convert to Catholicism; Feb 13, 1258 - Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age; Feb 13, 1991 - US air raid on the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad kills more than 408 civilians.
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IN THIS SECTION
- Policy Analysis
- Statements & Press
- White House Nominates Rashad Hussain as Ambassador for Religious Freedom
- The Blackhouse Foundation and MPAC’s Hollywood Bureau held their first-ever Television Screenwriting Lab for Black Muslim Writers.
- MPAC CONGRATULATES NUSRAT JAHAN CHOUDHURY ON HISTORIC NOMINATION
- GOP Blocks Coronavirus Bill
- Protect Rights During COVID-19
- Coronavirus Joint Statement
- Senate Passes Coronavirus Relief
- Iran Sanctions In COVID-19
- Historic Senate Relief Package
- Coronavirus Stimulus Problems
- Trump Immigration Suspension is Nothing but Cynical Opportunism
- House Introduces the HEROES Act
- Joint Action to Condemn the Murder of George Floyd
- Toward Pluralism: DA Rosen Must Retract His Whistleblower Complaint
- Supporting of Attorney General Keith Ellison Leading Prosecution for Murder of George Floyd
- Trump’s Executive Order on Census Is Unconstitutional
- MPAC Stands with the NBA Players
- What Muslims Want Heading into the 2020 General Election
- Declare Rittenhouse a Terrorist
- MPAC Firmly Denounces the Failure of the Criminal Justice System for Breonna Taylor
- There Is No Place For Violence in Civil Society
- Updates
- A Win Against White Supremacy
- Mosque Safety & Security
- How We’re Confronting White Supremacy
- Our Work on the Muslim Ban
- 2020 Muslim Voter Guide
- Responding to Covid-19
- Census 2020: What You Need To Know
- Human Security During COVID-19: Our Right
- Quarantine Webinars
- Make an impact in 1, 2, 3...
- Mark Kevin Lloyd is Unfit to Serve in State Department
- SoCal Muslims Show Gratitude To Frontline Workers
- DREAMERS are here to stay!
- A Ramadan Like No Other
- Creating inclusive content for kids & families
- National Muslim Task Force Recommendations for Ramadan During This Pandemic
- Ramadan Mubarak!
- Tale of Two Futures: American Muslim Life After the Election
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