Our New Year's Resolution: Walking the Talk in 2021
December 31, 2020
THIS YEAR IN DC
Jan 3 - America assassinates General Qasem Soleimani, Iran's top-ranking military commander. Jan 21 - U.S. confirms its first COVID-19 case. Feb 5 - Trump acquitted on two charges of impeachment. Mar 26 - America leads the world with highest confirmed cases of coronavirus. Mar 27 - Trump signs $2 trillion COVID-19 economic stimulus bill. April 15 - Trump pulls the US out of World Health Organization (WHO) May 26-28 The murder of George Floyd sparks peaceful demonstrations in Minneapolis, which eventually devolved into violent protests and a national debate September 18 - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative federal appeals court judge, to succeed Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court. November 7 - various news sources called the election, giving President-elect Joe Biden 279 electoral votes and President Trump 214. The results also make Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the first female VP, as well as the first African and Asian American to win the title. FDA approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine - December 11 - the FDA issued authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to be used. Millions of doses are expected to be shipped to the US in the next few days.
In This Issue
Our New Year's Resolution: Walking the Talk in 2021
MPAC's POLICY TEAM REFLECTS ON A PIVOTAL YEAR
As we enter 2021, the idea of leaving 2020 in the dustbin of history is alluring. While a hellish year, it is important to reflect on all that made 2020 a pivotal moment in the history of our nation and faith community. This past year, we persevered through a pandemic, engaged in the American political process to record degrees, and rallied popular support and organizational resources toward the fight for racial justice. But we also endured over 340,000 COVID-related deaths, the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and over 100,000 small business closures, the vast majority of which are permanent. These catastrophic consequences were not necessary parts of post-pandemic life. From the onset of the pandemic, the Trump administration and HHS response to the crisis had been woefully slow and inadequate. Health care workers nationwide scrambled to put together rudimentary PPE to combat the worst public health crisis of our lifetime while our government was stuck deliberating emergency spending. Since then, the government has passed three legislative responses to the health and economic consequences of COVID-19, but the American people continue to suffer.
After an absolutely chaotic past four years, we successfully voted out President Trump, and a multicultural, multi-ethnic coalition elected the first African-American, South Asian, female Vice President, who is also the child of immigrants, in our nation’s history. With all of the work MPAC does toward inclusion at every level of government, media, and civil society, this was a huge step forward and cause for celebration. We are hopeful about the prospects of engagement with the Biden-Harris administration. Joe Biden’s pledge to repeal the Muslim Ban on Day One of his term may reflect an administration committed to working with us and not against us. We look forward to working in collaboration with other Muslim civic organizations to ensure that the rights of American Muslims are restored and upheld.
- This Week in History - Jan. 1, 630, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) sets out with his army towards Mecca, capturing it bloodlessly; Jan. 2, 1492, Muhammad XII, the last Emir of Granada, surrenders his city to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile, ending both the Reconquista and centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula; Dec. 27, 1945, International Monetary Fund formally established by 29 member countries based on ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes; Dec. 28, 1860, Harriet Tubman arrives in Auburn, New York, on her last mission to free slaves, having evaded capture for 8 years on the Underground Railroad; Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in US confederate states; Jan. 1, 1892, Ellis Island opens as a US immigration inspection station - it would go on to be the gateway to the US for more than 12 million people; Jan. 2, 1947, Mahatma Gandhi begins march for peace in East Bengal
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This Week's Feature
Our New Year's Resolution: Walking the Talk in 2021
By: MPAC's Policy Team:
Iman Ali, Adam Beddawi, M Baqir Mohie El-Deen, Prema Rahman January 1, 2021
A | S WE ENTER 2021, the idea of leaving 2020 in the dustbin of history is alluring. While a hellish year, it is important to reflect on all that made 2020 a pivotal moment in the history of our nation and faith community. |
This past year, we persevered through a pandemic, engaged in the American political process to record degrees, and rallied popular support and organizational resources toward the fight for racial justice. But we also endured over 340,000 COVID-related deaths, the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and over 100,000 small business closures, the vast majority of which are permanent. These catastrophic consequences were not necessary parts of post-pandemic life. From the onset of the pandemic, the Trump administration and HHS response to the crisis had been woefully slow and inadequate. Health care workers nationwide scrambled to put together rudimentary PPE to combat the worst public health crisis of our lifetime while our government was stuck deliberating emergency spending. Since then, the government has passed three legislative responses to the health and economic consequences of COVID-19, but the American people continue to suffer.
After an absolutely chaotic past four years, we successfully voted out President Trump, and a multicultural, multi-ethnic coalition elected the first African-American, South Asian, female Vice President, who is also the child of immigrants, in our nation’s history. With all of the work MPAC does toward inclusion at every level of government, media, and civil society, this was a huge step forward and cause for celebration. We are hopeful about the prospects of engagement with the Biden-Harris administration. Joe Biden’s pledge to repeal the Muslim Ban on Day One of his term may reflect an administration committed to working with us and not against us. We look forward to working in collaboration with other Muslim civic organizations to ensure that the rights of American Muslims are restored and upheld.
With the Biden administration, we certainly have cause for hope; but we cannot let our guard down just yet. 2020 exposed some of the greatest inequalities and insecurities of our country. We cannot sweep those issues under the rug while ushering in the new year. It is now more apparent than ever that we the American people need a concerted government effort to guarantee human security, whereby we can all live free from fear and want.
Over the course of the next four years, MPAC is committed to ending systemic racism, pushing for police reform, honoring our nation’s commitment to religious freedom, and comprehensively reforming our nation’s immigration policy. We still have a lot of work to do and MPAC is committed to that work.
As a policy organization, we are taking these reflections with us into the year of work that is to come. In many respects, this year will be a continuation of our work from this past year, which went toward preparing our community for the 2020 elections, initiating a legislative response to the issues of human security, and drafting in-depth policy analyses of the day’s events. The President-elect and his cabinet have promised to restore the soul of this nation, Build Back Better, and rectify the last four years of divisive nationalism. We are among the communities that the Biden campaign relied upon in order to win office. This past year of work, during a global pandemic and economic depression no less, comprise building blocks for the future we hope to build. We made clear the place of American Muslims in the American social fabric, and now we expect to have the ear of our partners and stakeholders in government and federal agencies on our issues and recommendations. We are pleased to have an administration that appears accessible and amenable to our community’s concerns, and we are prepared to hold them to account.
Their promises are not checks we can cash, but we will capitalize on the fact that both parties need American Muslims to win and maintain control of the Legislative Branch. You trust MPAC to do this work, and we take that responsibility very seriously.
We must choose between passive or active participation in the political process that is to come. Active participation looks like building power based on our shared values. “Tale of Two Futures” also analyzes parties in order to determine just how we should prioritize our political actions. Case in point: our Campaign for Human Security, which tries to unite civil society groups and elected officials around a people-centered approach to national security. In the years to come, our collective actions must reflect the urgent need to build power within the community and among our allies.
If we choose active participation, we can maximize the political capacity of our American Muslim community -- the one percent, whose commitment to faith can be a shining example for the 99 percent. If we do, then 2021 will be the next step toward a lasting American pluralism, one that respects and honors the contributions and unique differences of American Muslims.
Our fight continues, and it won’t stop until we deliver for you an American pluralism for all.
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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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