Support MPAC's Work to Eliminate Hatred

July 25, 2014


Dear Supporters,

Let me tell you about a civil rights case we have been working on recently. At this moment, you might be thinking – “MPAC works on policy, not on civil rights, doesn’t it?”

In reality, we leverage our government relations to directly defend and secure the rights of American Muslims, both to aid individuals and to shape policies that impact all of us. Just weeks ago, a Muslim woman in Long Beach, CA was attacked because she wore a hijab. A male perpetrator assaulted her in the parking lot of a shopping plaza, first shouting obscenities and then pulling on her hijab to the point of choking her and striking her before he finally yanked it off entirely and ran away with it.

MPAC received a call from the woman’s family seeking our help. They called MPAC because they were confident in our capability to get the attention of law enforcement, government officials and the media on their case. If you feel this type of work is valuable, please donate to MPAC.

Working with our allies in local civic groups and City Hall, we were able to get a press conference hosted by the Long Beach Police Department after they met with the victim to draw a sketch of the suspect. We sent that to all of our media contacts and also raised the case with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division for further investigation.

At the press conference yesterday, we stressed that what happened to this woman goes against the values all Americans cherish and presents a threat far beyond the Muslim community. It is our duty as Americans to protect anyone who is subjected to this kind of hate, intimidation and violence.

“As an organization founded to improve intergroup relations in L.A. County and with a long history of work to eradicate hate violence and hate crime, we are proud to stand with MPAC, and other partners, including California Conference for Equality and Justice and the Long Beach Police Department, to advocate for justice for this victim, and we commend MPAC’s leadership in these efforts. It is only through the work of MPAC and other like-minded agencies, that L.A. County can hope to transform prejudice into acceptance, inequity into justice, and hostility into peace, for all groups and communities in the county.”

Robin S. Toma, Esq.
Executive Director, L.A. County Commission on Human Relations

MPAC works to prevent hate while connecting those impacted with the support they need in response to hate crimes. Because of our working relationships with key allies in government and law enforcement, we are able to demonstrate our positive force against those who want to do harm to our community and our institutions.

We need your help now during the last days of Ramadan. In the words of the Quran, three causes which form MPAC’s foundation qualify as zakat: softening the hearts of people to create more understanding of Islam and Muslims; freeing people from injustice and hate; and working for the cause of God.

Please invest in MPAC now and know that the fruit of your investment will continue as we work to create the brighter future we are all seeking.

Sincerely,

Salam Al-Marayati
President

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