Tag Results

  • Ferguson: Confronting

    November 26, 2014
    Last night’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson for fatally shooting 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown came as an immense disappointment to many. There are on-going issues that we as Americans need to deal with as a result of years of institutional racism and systemic biases toward communities of color.

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  • Leadership Forum with American Muslim Communities

    November 11, 2014
    Every week is busy at MPAC, but last week was especially busy! For the past couple of years, the American Muslim community has been facing challenges regarding issues of national security, surveillance, foreign policy and public perception. The day following the midterm elections, American Muslims from around the country came together to strategize how we can collectively overcome issues that impact our communities. In partnership with the New America Foundation, we convened over 50 American Muslims from across the nation for a leadership forum called “Policy Challenges and Opportunities Facing American Muslim Communities.”

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  • Partnering with the State Department to Ensure Protection of American Muslims

    September 19, 2014
    Our National Policy Analyst Hoda Elshishtawy attended a meeting at the State Department this week regarding the protection of American Muslims traveling to Saudi Arabia for hajj. The impetus for the meeting was to prevent any attack on American Muslims while performing the hajj. Last year, a group of American Muslims from Michigan were harassed and attacked by a group of Australians. Read more to find out what happened at the meeting!

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  • ACTION ALERT: Meet with Your Representative in District Office During Congressional Recess

    July 31, 2014
    During the next few weeks, your senators and representatives will be home working in their district offices. Take advantage of the Congressional recess by reaching out to your elected official to discuss issues that are important to you. Here are some easy and effective ways to schedule a meeting!

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  • CNN Belief Blog Publishes MPAC Op-ed Critiquing Obama

    July 29, 2014
    Yesterday, CNN’s Belief Blog published an op-ed called “President Obama's Ramadan Slap at Muslims” by Salam Al-Marayati, President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. The op-ed describes how the President’s pro-Israel remarks at the annual White House Iftar left guests and many American Muslims feeling “shocked and dismayed” and called it a talking point that “is code for whitewashing decades of atrocities committed against the people of Gaza.”

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  • Support MPAC's Work to Eliminate Hatred

    July 25, 2014
    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.

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  • Raising Policy Concerns During White House Iftar

    July 14, 2014
    In 1996, MPAC collaborated with diverse organizations to work with then First Lady Hillary Clinton to host the first White House Eid celebration in recognition of the heritage and contributions of American Muslims to the mosaic that makes up America. If mainstream American Muslims are not at the table, they will be replaced by voices who seek to further marginalize our community and promote problematic policies. This year, we plan to discuss the NSA and FBI surveillance of American Muslims and the administration's failure to call on Israel to halt its appalling assault on Palestinians.

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  • L.A. Sheriff’s Candidates Meet Muslim Voters at Election Forum

    May 8, 2014
    On Sunday, MPAC hosted its first L.A. County Election Forum at the Islamic Center of Southern California with candidates for L.A. Sheriff. Moderator Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC President, talked about the importance of being civically engaged and voting, especially with regards to issues important to Muslim Angelenos.

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  • MPAC Joins LAPD in Answering Community Questions

    April 7, 2014
    Last Friday, Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC's President, presented the Safe Spaces Initiative, a campaign to provide American Muslim communities with tools for developing and maintaining a healthy community, at an LAPD community forum at the Islamic Center of Northridge.

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  • What Happens When Federal Agencies Go Rogue

    April 4, 2014
    During the past few weeks, Washington, DC, has seen more drama than an episode of “House of Cards.” Remember when the Senate Intelligence Committee was spied upon by the very agency it was tasked to oversee? The CIA, afraid of looking bad, sabotaged Senate staffers who were investigating its torture techniques. A damning report set to be released soon by the same committee exposes the CIA’s efforts to exaggerate the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation (torture) techniques.

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  • LAPD Wants to Better Serve Muslims: Take This Survey, Share Your Thoughts

    March 27, 2014
    A rare opportunity has arisen to collectively tell the LAPD how it can better serve the needs and interests of Muslim communities based in Los Angeles. Through a survey created by the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell and helped framed by MPAC, the community is invited to share their thoughts in an effort to make our communities safer and foster a stronger relationship.

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  • MPAC Kicks Off 'Safe Spaces Initiative' with Panel Discussion

    March 26, 2014
    Last week, Haris Tarin, the Director of MPAC's Washington, DC, office, partnered with Alejandro Beutel, an independent research consultant and analyst, who specializes in countering violent extremism and , for a panel discussion, “God Loves the Just: American Muslims Tackling Extremism and the Path to Violence," at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).

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  • Congress is in Recess! Schedule a Meeting with Your Representative

    March 20, 2014
    This week, while your members of Congress are at home working in their district offices, take advantage of the recess by contacting your elected official to discuss issues that are important to you!

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  • Public Policy Is Laila Alawa's True Passion

    March 20, 2014
    Laila Alawa, a 2012 graduate from Wellesley College in psychology and education studies, is MPAC's Spring Government and Public Policy Intern in the Washington, DC, office. Through her research and work post-graduation at Princeton University, Alawa realized she wanted to devote her time to working for the American Muslim community, which led her to move to DC to pursue her dreams of public policy, media and social enterprise and find a home at MPAC.

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  • Spying on Those Who Oversee Spying

    March 14, 2014
    The issue of NSA surveillance of civilians through implementing the data mining PRISM program, monitoring telephone records and planting software on personal computers has, over the past few months, launched a national debate about surveillance. However, while the public and media outcry has only risen, the outrage seems to be absent among the Senate Intelligence Committee members who oversee the intelligence agencies.

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  • Jalloh Hopes to Empower Community as MPAC's New Policy Intern

    February 26, 2014
    Hailing from Gaithersburg, MD, Salimatu Jalloh is MPAC's new policy and legislature intern in the DC office. Graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park, in May 2013, with a degree in government and politics, Jalloh became interested in advocacy civic engagement through her work with Terps for Change, a campus service organization that focuses on addressing poverty, homelessness and education inequalities.

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  • Court Ruling in Favor of NYPD Surveillance Further Erodes Civil Liberties

    February 24, 2014
    MPAC expressed its disappointment with a federal ruling that the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey was “a lawful effort to prevent terrorism.” Eight plaintiffs brought the suit against New York City, claiming that the NYPD infringed on their civil liberties with its mass surveillance of Muslim communities in New Jersey.

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  • MPAC Rep Participates in Google+ Hangout with President Obama

    February 3, 2014
    On Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, Riham Osman, MPAC’s Washington, DC, Program Assistant, joined eight Americans across the country for the first “Virtual Road Trip with President Barack Obama on Google+” Hangout three days after his State of the Union address. From the Roosevelt Room of the White House, President Obama responded directly to questions posed by diverse Americans about issues he laid out in his speech.

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  • Vying for the ‘Gold’ Standard in Security at Olympics

    January 31, 2014
    For the athletes entering the Winter Olympics, it’s about the games. For the host city of Sochi, Russia, it’s also an exercise in homeland security. From Feb. 7 to the 23rd, the world will be watching as thousands of athletes from more than 80 countries showcase their skills and extraordinary talents in a competition among the world’s best athletes. Right now, days before the Olympics commence, the Russians have been ramping up their security in Sochi with more than 50,000 police, army and security officers.

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  • President Obama Tells Congress: You Are Either a Help or a Hindrance

    January 29, 2014
    On Jan. 28, 2014, President Barack Obama delivered his fifth State of the Union, discussing three key elements needed to make America more prosperous: opportunity, action and optimism. Touching upon unemployment, our broken immigration system and equality for women, Obama delivered a powerful speech with some choice words for Congress and their delay tactics.

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