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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1999, pages 105-110 Muslim-American Activism
What started as a grassroots e-mail letter-writing exercise on July 29 by Ali Abunimah, a 27-year-old Palestinian-American teacher in Chicago, quickly grew into a threatened Muslim- and Arab-American boycott of the Miami-based Burger King company in the United States and the Middle East. The campaign was spearheaded by the newly formed American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ), which was joined by a coalition of 10 national organizations to protest Burger King’s decision to open a restaurant in Ma’ale Adumim, the largest Jewish West Bank settlement, with 25,000 residents, located east of Jerusalem. Jews-only settlements built on land captured by Israel in 1967 are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention’s prohibition against the transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory. The coalition argued that by opening a restaurant in an illegal Jewish settlement, Burger King became “a party to illegal occupation.” Palestinians consider these Jewish settlements the key obstacle to establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It is a concern echoed in the designation of such settlements as “obstacles to peace” by successive U.S. presidents, who have barred Israeli governments from spending U.S. foreign aid on settlements. Nevertheless, up to 170,000 Israelis now live in 144 settlements in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Many U.S.-based franchises, including McDonald’s, have refused to open branches beyond Israel’s pre-1967 borders, and last year Ben & Jerry’s ice cream refused to allow its Israeli subsidiary to use water from occupied territory. The coalition sponsored demonstrations in 12 states plus the District of Columbia on Aug. 19. At a demonstration in front of the Burger King franchise on K Street in downtown Washington, DC, AMJ executive director Khalid Turaani discussed the efforts of the Muslim- and Arab-American groups who united in their campaign to protest Burger King’s actions. They first used the Internet to involve Americans across the country in the letter-writing campaign and to update supporters on their talks with Burger King. Then, Turaani said, the coalition held an Aug. 6 press conference in Washington, DC to generate advance publicity for the actual demonstrations. Although Burger King customers and lunch-hour passers-by seemed confused about the reason for the demonstration, Turaani said he thought rallies are a good way for the Muslim- and Arab-American communities and their supporters to get involved in this issue and that any debate on the legality and legitimacy of Israeli settlements is important, even if it’s held on the sidewalk outside a Burger King. Nevertheless, it was disappointing to see a young African-American, obviously unaware of the serious issue involved, hold a burger aloft as he exited the restaurant in a kind of “so there” gesture at demonstrators. In fact, Americans have a proud history of peaceful civil rights protests like the Burger King boycott. In the 1950s African Americans were joined by other people of conscience for nonviolent sit-ins to protest the segregation of public and private facilities like lunchrooms, schools, restrooms, libraries, and buses in Southern states, including the Virginia suburbs of the national capital. In addition to the restaurants that did not serve blacks, some department stores wouldn’t let them try on clothes. Since then, many Americans of all races have felt that segregation anywhere is an issue worth demonstrating against. In the 1980s and 1990s Americans and Europeans boycotted companies that did business with apartheid South Africa, helping to bring about in that country the abolition of apartheid in 1990 and universal suffrage elections in 1994. Americans then showed overwhelming solidarity in uniting against racist policies and enforced segregation by race in South Africa. When it comes to enforced residential segregation by religion in Israel, however, Americans are a little more squeamish—perhaps because they have not been made aware by the mainstream American media that such segregation is practiced by Israel, and not just in Israeli-occupied territories. Israel’s Arab citizens are prohibited by law from living in, owning property, or even doing business in 94 percent of Israel itself. With that background in mind, one could only conclude that passersby in Washington, DC, where the majority of residents are African-American, did not understand the issue or they would have joined the Muslims boycotting Burger King. A journalist asked a “man on the street” if he felt at all guilty for eating at Burger King. He replied, “ I think business owners should be able to open anywhere they want.” Not able merely to listen at this point, this reporter asked the same man if he thought it was fair that a non-Jewish Israeli or a Palestinian Arab dad was forbidden to enter a Jews-only settlement to take his kids out to lunch at Burger King. Then another demonstrator, Khaledfrom the American Arab Institute, reminded the confused “man on the street” that American businesses disassociated themselves from South African policies during apartheid rule. Khaled said he believed that if a business invested in a piece of land that is available exclusively for one group of people, it legitimizes the injustice of that exclusion. He also thought if a franchise of an American business invests in a settlement, it legitimizes that settlement and helps it “establish facts on the ground.” If the settlements which successive U.S. presidents have branded “obstacles to peace” contain international businesses, any final peace agreement between Israel and Palestine will become even more complicated. Khaled concluded by saying that by opening a Burger King franchise on land stolen from its Palestinian owners, the company becomes an accessory to the theft. The “man on the street” agreed that a restaurant “should be open for all people.” He said he would think twice about returning to Burger King until the problem was resolved. Co-sponsors with American Muslims for Jerusalem of the Burger King boycott were the American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim Council, American Muslim Foundation, American Muslims for Jerusalem, American Task Force for Palestine, Arab American Institute, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muslim Public Affairs Council, National Association of Arab Americans, Palestinian American Congress and Partners for Peace. History shows that when businesses become the targets of boycotts that begin to affect the bottom line, some companies find they have a conscience after all. The Miami-based Burger King company proved to be no exception to this rule with its 10,365 restaurants, 2,419 of them in foreign countries, including the Islamic states of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Muslim-majority Malaysia. Only days after the demonstrations Burger King ordered its franchise in Ma’ale Adumim to close, two weeks before the 22-member League of Arab States met Sept. 4 to consider a resolution to join the Muslim- and Arab-American boycott. Burger King representatives charged that their Israeli franchisee deliberately misled them when it sought and received approval to open the disputed branch. The Israeli franchise owner listed the location as “Ma’ale Adumim, Israel,” ignoring previous directives not to place restaurants in the West Bank, whose future status is to be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. While Burger King says it has no interest in taking sides in the Arab-Israeli peace process, it still finds itself embroiled in Middle Eastern politics. The franchisee, Rikamor Ltd., has refused to close and is threatening a lawsuit. Some Israeli settlers and American Jewish leaders have also called for a Jewish counter-boycott, now that Burger King has complied with the request of the Muslim-American and Arab-American groups, but no one seems too worried about the possible disruption of 46 Burger Kings in Israel. “This is an example of what American Muslims can achieve if we work together toward a common goal,” said Executive Director Ali R. Abuzaakouk of the American Muslim Council. “The community spoke out and Burger King listened.” —Delinda Hanley
The “Battle of Burger King” was only the first victory for the American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ). ACJ supporters sent letters of protest to Sprint regarding its direct mail campaign postcard advertising low rates to Israel with a picture of the Dome of the Rock. In a speedy response to ACJ director Raafat Dajani, Sprint International president John Berndt wrote Sept. 1 that the promotion was cancelled and will not be resumed. Berndt offered Sprint’s “sincere regrets for not having adequately researched the sensitivities of this matter.” He also “welcomed the AMJ’s input, both in this instance and in the future.” —Delinda Hanley
Disney World is drawing criticism from Arab-American and Muslim-American groups over its plan to display a pavilion centering on Jerusalem. The pavilion, part of Epcot Center’s Millennium Village, has been planned with the close cooperation of, and is partly funded by, the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Jerusalem exhibit, scheduled to open Sept. 30, is the largest of the 40 pavilions on display, and is centrally located so that all visitors to the Village will have to pass through it. The Millennium Village is scheduled to run for 15 months, with an estimated one million visitors per month. The American Committee for Jerusalem, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and American Muslims for Jerusalem all have expressed concern over the exhibit, which they believe will present Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The ADC and ACJ have written to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and King Mohammed of Morocco, the two Arab countries included in the Millennium Village, asking them to investigate these fears and, if they are justified, to act accordingly. Disney officials, in response to letters of concern, have stated that no name has yet been given to the pavilion, and have refused to comment on or reveal its contents. Beyond stating that there would be a movie, “Journey to Jerusalem,” and a section entitled “Inspired by Israel”—highlighting Israel’s agricultural, energy and high-tech industries—Disney is keeping mum. Disney has also refused requests from American Arab and Muslim groups to tour the exhibit before it opens, because of an agreement with the exhibitor. Existence of such an agreement is confirmed by Israel’s Foreign Ministry which, in an August news release, said it had agreed to participate in the exhibit “after it was agreed that…the centrality of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would be emphasized.” The criticism of Disney has spread beyond the U.S. The United Arab Emirates is threatening a boycott of all Disney merchandise—films, toys, books—if the exhibit opens as planned. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahayan, the UAE minister of information and culture and son of UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, has called on other Arab and Muslim states to join in the threatened boycott. Kuwait is considering whether to support the boycott call, and the Arab League scheduled a discussion of the issue at its Sept. 12 foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo. Such a boycott would cost Disney dearly. The company currently sells products valued at $100 million per year in the Middle East. In the Gulf alone, where half the population is under 15, Disney estimates that annual sales could top $500 million by 2005. The Organization of the Islamic Conference, whose member states reach far beyond the Arab world, added its concern over the exhibit in a Sept. 11 letter to Disney. —Hugh Galford
The Southern California Chapter of the American Muslim Alliance scheduled a Civic Education and Leadership Training Meeting for Sept. 18 at the California Polytechnic University in Pomona. The purpose was to train potential Muslim candidates for elective offices at federal, state, county, city, and school district levels. In 1996 about 200 AMA members ran for public office, of whom 42, 25 from Texas alone, were elected. In the year 2000, AMA is encouraging at least 2,000 Muslim-Americans to run for public offices. Hence the motto: “2,000 by 2000.” Currently, the American Muslim Alliance has 83 chapters in 29 states. Most chapters have committed to run from 5 to 10 candidates each. Since 1998, AMA has held similar conferences and conventions throughout the United States to educate the Muslim community about the importance of long-term strategy planning, agenda-specific voting, effective political negotiation and leadership training. In 1998, the AMA held 30 voter education meetings in California which prompted former Congressman Paul Findley to write in the Nov. 6, 1998 issue of the Pakistan Link: “This is the most innovative and thoughtful program to achieve voter turnout that I have observed in 50 years of political involvement.” AMA national chairman Dr. Agha Saeed, who is also the current president of the Muslim Political Coordination Council, a roof organization, believes that the time has come to move to the second phase by beginning to implement the major components of the agendas and strategies that have been created, marketed, and polished over the last four years. The Pomona Leadership Training meeting will be followed two weeks later by the Fourth Annual AMA National Convention, to be held the airport Radisson Hotel in Orlando, Florida Oct. 2-3. Scheduled speakers at the Sept. 18 program included Congressman Findley, author of They Dare To Speak Out; Richard Curtiss, editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; Dr. Maher Hathout, senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC); chairman Omar Ahmed of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); Dr. Nazir Khaja, president of the American Muslim Council (AMC); Sheraly Khwaja, an AMA member and a candidate for the office of city treasurer from Mission Viejo; Arif Alikhan, California assistant attorney general; Nancy White, representing the San Bernardino County Democratic Party; Stuart Devoy, representing the San Bernardino County Republican Party; Jennifer Collins-Foley of the County Elections Office; Darlo Frommer, the governor of California’s appointment secretary; and Dr. Saeed. The presence of Dr. Hathout, Dr. Khaja and Mr. Ahmed reflects the existing close cooperation among the four major national Muslim political organizations and the increasing effectiveness of the American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC) as an umbrella organization. The AMPCC has brought together the major Muslim political organizations, as detailed in the September issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (p. 12). It also has made a common cause with the Council of Presidents of Arab American Organizations. The two councils have agreed to work together on issues pertaining to HR 2121 (The Secret Evidence Repeal Act), Jerusalem and Election 2000. Most recently, the two councils representing the bulk of Arab and Muslim political organizations, declared September 1999 “A Muslim and Arab Voter Registration Month.” Information on the program at the California Polytechnic University in Pomona may be obtained from Mohammed Ashraf, (909) 787-9162 or Dr. Talat Khan (909) 980-3334. Information on the Orlando, Florida convention may be obtained from AMA’s head office in Northern California at (510) 742-1126 or from <ama@hypersurf.com>. —Beena Kazi
The American Muslim Council (AMC) and seven American Muslim and Arab organizations kicked off National Muslim Voter Registration month Sept. 1 starting with a registration table in Northern Virginia with balloons and baklava. Part of a new drive to coordinate election-related activities, the September campaign will involve national efforts to mobilize Americans of both overlapping communities to vote and be active in the political process. AMC is helping streamline voter registration efforts around the country with its voter registration kit and supplies to help activists organize local voter registration drives in mosques and Muslim communities. AMC kits have been sent to activists in California, Tennessee, New Jersey and in other states around the country to help sign up American Muslims to vote. AMC also produced a video to help communities set up local voter drives. The kit includes material on all steps of the process, from determining a location for the voter registration table to follow-up after the drive. In addition, voter registration T-shirts (short- and long-sleeve) and posters on the theme of “Your Values, Your Voice, Your Vote” are available for sale from AMC. The kits also invite U.S. Muslims to fill out AMC’s voter registration survey at www.amconline.org, and to contact AMC for more information on setting up voter drives in their own communities. Persons interested in participating can download the entire kit from the Web site (above) or development@amconline.org or telephone AMC for a kit at (202) 789-2262. —Shirin Sinnar
On June 15, the Detroit chapter of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA) held its second annual Leadership Training Conference at the State Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan. Speakers included State Representatives Ed Vaughn and Hansen Clark and Imam Elam Muhammad of the State Prison Board. “The two main purposes of this conference were to educate ourselves about politics, and to let the legislators know who we are,” explained AMA Detroit chapter secretary Mitchell Shamsud-Din. “We are encouraging Muslims to get more politically active. The political process is there; and we need to know how to use it effectively.” The conference concentrated on four main subjects: skills pertaining to running for public office, critical evaluation of state and city politics, comparative discussion of Republican and Democratic party programs, and coalition-building. Many community analysts noted that since most members of the AMA-Detroit chapter are African-American Muslims, they, due to their generations-long knowledge of the society and local contacts and influence, have a better-than-average chance of winning in local elections. Rep. Hansen Clark, whose father was a Muslim of Indo-Pakistani origin and whose mother was an African-American and who won his seat in the Michigan State Legislature by only a few hundred votes, told the audience that the only formal endorsement he received during his election campaign in 1998 was from the AMA. That endorsement was invaluable in creating his slim margin of victory. —Ahmad Hassan
The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the Iran-Iraq war, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Gulf war and the attempted destruction of the World Trade Center in New York all are associated in the minds of most Americans with Islam. “Islam’s Dark Side,” “Haunted by an Angry Faith,” “Sword of Islam,” “Fundamentalist Cry: Death to America” are only some of the media headlines concerning the above events. Movies such as “The Siege,” “Aladdin,” and “Not Without My Daughter” have instilled in viewers the idea that Muslims are cruel, suspicious, lazy, and violent outsiders. All convey the message that “they” are most definitely not similar to “us.” Americans will only realize that all this is aberrant behavior, like lumping all residents of North America with its child abusers, serial killers, and survivalists, when they gain some understanding of the core beliefs of the worlds billion-plus Muslims, at least six million of whom live and work in the United States. To help address this problem, and as part of an extensive project to study different ethno-religious groups, Pew Charitable Trusts has awarded Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding a $1.25 million grant. With the funding, the Center is undertaking a three-year research effort, MAPS (Muslims in the American Public Square), to document the presence, participation, and contribution of Muslims in American civic life and to deconstruct the misconceptions that exist about Islam and Muslims. As founding director of the Center and professor of religion and international affairs, Dr. John L. Esposito will serve as the principal coordinator of the project. Acting as one of the two principal investigators will be Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang, professor of African-American studies at Howard University in Washington, DC. Dr. Zahid Bukhari, a political scientist from the University of Connecticut and former chairman of the Islamic Circle of North America Relief division, will serve as the second researcher for the project. According to Dr. Bukhari, an appointed National Advisory Board comprising six recognized academic scholars on Islam would provide guidance and expertise to the researchers. Four scholars named to the board thus far are Dr. Ali Mazrui of Binghamton University, Dr. Vincent Cornell, Dr. Esposito, and Taha Jabr. “The American Muslim community is going through a transitional period as it comes out of its initial phase of hesitation, isolation, and anxiety,” Dr. Bukhari explained. By documenting its movement into the larger public life and its interaction with civic institutions, scholars can begin to fill the void of research and basic information that exists about Muslims residing in the United States, Dr. Bukhari said. Researchers can begin to examine how Muslims are reacting to American traditions, and whether their civic participation is concentrated on the local or national level, Dr. Bukhari continued. MAPS, still in its initial stages, is working on forming a group of 20 individuals who will contribute to publication of a volume that will encompass five major themes. Some of the participants, Dr. Bukhari explained, will be asked to engage in the discourse on living as a minority in a pluralist system. The individuals will explore experiences of the Muslim minority in the United States and examine the tensions between isolation from and assimilation into the larger society, Dr. Bukhari said. Others will be asked to focus on the evolving role of the masjid (Islamic center) in the Muslim community. Members of this group will examine the function of the masjid not only as a disseminator of religious knowledge but also as a place from which to encourage Muslim communities to be involved in public and political institutions. A third element of the MAPS project, Dr. Bukhari said, is to ascertain whether the willingness of Muslims to participate in the political process is determined by their ethnicity, nationality, age, education or affluence. The group of scholars within this topic will have to examine the distinctions between indigenous African-Americans and immigrant Muslims and the historical baggage which determines whether each group will or will not participate in American politics, Dr. Bukhari continued. The panel of experts will have to factor in the historical struggle of African-Americans for emancipation from slavery and apartheid, and their basic mistrust of conventional politics. As for studying the attitudes of immigrant Muslims toward political participation, the scholars will have to examine immigrants’ use of the American political process to address international issues. The fourth issue MAPS will deal with is the response of existing Muslim organizations to Muslim participation in American public life. The fifth and final section will address how international issues, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, the growing tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, and Kosovo act as catalysts to Muslims to get organized at the local and national level. Part of this study, Dr. Bukhari continued, will also include the study of how Muslim participation in American politics is affecting the solutions of these issues, and its impact on governance within Muslim countries. The second volume to be published at the end of the project is a compilation of one thousand contemporary Muslim figures, similar to the series Who’s Who in America. MAPS hopes to document the Muslim men and women who have made great strides in business, computer technology, sports, and even the entertainment industry, Dr. Bukhari said. In addition to publishing these two volumes, Dr. Bukhari continued, MAPS will create a comprehensive and up-to-date directory of all the Islamic centers within the United States. Included within the directory will also be a detailed outline of each center’s civic activities. Information will be obtained through a two-stage national survey of Muslim communities and religious leaders. By creating such a directory, Dr. Bukhari said, MAPS hopes to provide Islamic centers with a mechanism to report on their achievements. This would provide Islamic centers, such as the Islamic Society of Central New York (ISCNY), a platform from which to inform the wider Muslim community of its participation strategies and successes. Under the guidance of Shaykh Ahmed Nezar Kobeisy and years of local participation by Muslims, ISCNY has convinced Syracuse University to recognize Islamic holidays and to provide halal meat for Muslim students in several cafeterias. The masjid also has persuaded the local airport to construct a special ablution and prayer facility for Muslims traveling through the airport. The fourth element of MAPS, Dr. Bukhari explained, is the creation of an interactive Web site as a resource on Muslims and Islam in America and also as a link to similar projects being conducted on other religious groups. The Web site will also serve as a means of dispelling myths and misconceptions that exist about Muslims and Islam. Throughout the MAPS project, newsletters, regional seminars, intra-community dialogue, and national conferences will disseminate the findings of the scholars involved. These settings will also provide an opportunity for individual Muslims to offer input and participate in ongoing discussions. For MAPS, this is an extremely important aspect because of its desire to include the wide array of opinions that exist on the issue of civic and political participation. “What we hope,” Dr. Bukhari said, “is that MAPS serves as an important part of the development of the Muslim community in America and that we utilize it as an opportunity to overcome misunderstandings that exist between Muslims and non-Muslims. To put it simply, the fastest-growing religion in the world today can no longer afford to be misunderstood.” —Sadia Razaq
Muslims from the San Francisco Bay Area turned out in large numbers for a Kashmir Solidarity Day program Aug. 7 in Santa Clara. The program, organized by American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice in conjunction with a number of local organizations and local chapters of national groups, was moderated by Yousef Al-Yousef. Speakers included American Muslim Alliance secretary general Dr. Agha Saeed; Dr. Wasiullah Khan, chancellor of East-West Uni- versity in Chicago; and Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, executive director of the Kashmiri American Council in Washington, DC. Dr. Wasiullah Khan opened with a message of greeting from Dr. Riaz Ahmed of Detroit, president of the Pakistani-American Congress. Turning to the theme of the event, “How to Bring Peace to Kashmir,” Dr. Khan said that the methodology of the settlement, based upon a plebiscite to determine the wishes of the 13 million Kashmiri people themselves, was agreed upon by the United Nations half a century ago. The fact that the popular referendum was never carried out because of objections from India illustrates the sad “reality of might being right,” Dr. Khan said. Dr. Fai contrasted this year’s Lahore Declaration, which resulted from a meeting of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at which they “finally agreed to address all issues including the issue of Kashmir” and to take steps to prevent an accidental nuclear exchange, with the subsequent outbreak of fighting in the Kargil area of Kashmir. “The Kargil tragedy testifies to the fact that nuclear confrontation in South Asia is a possibility,” Dr. Fai warned, adding that the underlying cause not only of the Kargil fighting but of all aspects of the dangerous Indian-Pakistani friction is the unresolved problem of Kashmir. “Everywhere there is pain in Kashmir,” Dr. Fai continued. “More than 65,000 of your brothers and sisters have been murdered in the Valley of Kashmir. We have more than 12,000 orphans there. We have more than 17,000 widows in Kashmir. More than 6,000 of our mothers and sisters have been humiliated in Kashmir.” Reminding the audience that the Indian government had once pledged to allow Kashmiris to decide their own future, he asked why President Bill Clinton has accepted the refusal of Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee to carry out India’s promises. Did Clinton accept such a refusal from Iraqi President Saddam Hussain or from Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic? Dr. Fai asked. “How can the United Nations maintain its impartiality when it sees a bleeding body, that of Kashmir?” Fai continued. He criticized the silence of the White House and the inaction of U.S. National Security Adviser Samuel (Sandy) Berger and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan which, he said, has given Indian occupying forces in Kashmir a sense of impunity. “Kashmiris are not an integral part of India and we are not separatists and we are not terrorists,” Dr. Fai concluded. Dr. Agha Saeed, who is the first chairman of the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council, opened his remarks by praising the work of Dr. Fai’s Kashmiri American Council and its efforts to educate Americans concerning the problem. “The question that needs to be asked is how the Indians have been able to carry out this vicious crime against humanity and why they still are getting away with it,” Dr. Saeed said. He added that American Muslims must assume personal responsibility to improve the situation. Dr. Saeed reviewed events which led to independence for India and Pakistan in 1947 but left the Kashmiris under occupation and still awaiting the self-determination promised them by the United Nations. He praised Arab Muslim groups who support the Kashmiri cause and called for a round of applause in appreciation for those efforts. Describing India’s “great leverage in this country today” based on the existence of a huge Indian “middle class market,” Dr. Saeed cited an example of a recent speech by presidential candidate Dan Quayle indicating support for India in the Kashmir matter. Dr. Saeed was critical of Pakistan’s Kashmir strategy, saying it “lacks coherence.” By outspending Pakistan, India is seeking to do to Pakistan what the U.S. was able to do to the former Soviet Union by forcing it to continuously spend more resources on defense, Dr. Saeed said. Citing the inability of Pakistan, with a population of 150 million, to compete on this basis with India, with one billion people, Dr. Saeed said this put responsibility on expatriate Muslims in the West for assisting the Kashmiris. “We must play a very pivotal role in this country to internationalize the dispute of Kashmir,” Dr. Saeed concluded. —Staff Report
Dear American Muslim activist(s): The organizations signing this letter have come together to cooperate on several issues, one of them being activities related to the 2000 elections. The first of these is our jointly designating September 1999 Voter Registration and Education Month. As families return from vacations, students start going back to school, and our institutions witness increased activity, this would be a good time for activities aimed at registering more community members as voters and educating them as to how to get involved in the electoral process (another drive is planned for May 2000). We urge you to start planning these election-related activities as soon as possible and with as much coordination as is feasible with other local American Muslim and Arab American chapters and organizations. This can range from simply advising each other of your planned activities, to eliminating duplication of efforts, to planning your activities together so you may have the maximum effectiveness possible by distributing the tasks among you and/or organizing some of them jointly. In this endeavor we encourage you, whenever appropriate, to make available to each other access to the community where no organization is planning electoral activities and to human resources that could benefit others, e.g. people from within or outside the community who can share their knowledge of the electoral process for different offices on the local, state, or national levels, organizing fund-raisers, getting involved in one of the political parties, etc. In all cases we hope you achieve the highest level of cooperation possible and we ask you to keep us advised of your activities. We look forward to your engaging the community and involving it in the electoral process so we may have more success in tackling the issues that concern us all, whether it is the use of secret evidence, stereotyping, discrimination, Jerusalem, or any other. Let us make this September witness new strides in organizational cooperation and community involvement for the benefit of all of us. Organizations: American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American Muslim Council (AMC), Arab American Institute (AAI), Association of Arab-American University Graduates (AAUG), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) Note: Please obtain the materials or further information through the following contacts: AAI Mr. David Nassar (202) 429-9210 DNassar@arab-AAI.org; AMA Dr. Agha Saeed (510) 742-1126 AMA@hypersurf.com; AMC Sr. Manal Omar (202) 789-2262 Manal@amconline.org |
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