Dear John, 

As-salaamu alaikum. Peace and blessings of God be upon you. Thank you for believing in the work that we do and for subscribing to our emails. I wanted to take this time to give you some background into why this organization was started and why we do the work we do. My colleague, Raahima Shoaib, will follow-up with you in a few days and tell you about the specific work we are doing in Policy, Government and Hollywood. 

MPAC was the brainchild of Dr. Maher Hathout, and he set its focus of improving understanding and policies that affect the American Muslim community. For nearly eight years, it was just the two of us, until our volunteer board of directors was able to raise funding to start hiring staff, one at a time. Our challenge in those years as an organization was keeping up with the momentum of events happening here and around the world. From the beginning, we have only accepted donations from U.S. donors, like you, and not from any foreign governments or groups.

The past few years have come with a set of challenges for our community as we were thrown into battles for our rights against the Muslim Ban, harmful immigration policies, and increases in hate crimes and more. While these challenges show no sign of slowing down under the Trump administration, we need to remember that coming together as a community will see us through the toughest times. The Qur’an reminds us: 
 

 “God has promised those among you who believe and perform righteous deeds that He will surely make them stewards upon the earth, as He caused those before them to be stewards, and that He will establish for them their religion, which He has approved for them, and that He will surely change them from a state of fear to one of security.” (24:55)

When I think of our work, I’m reminded of a scientific technique I learned back as a biochemistry major at UCLA. In a process called electrophoresis, the application of a negative charge causes proteins to rise up toward a positive charge. To overcome the situation we find ourselves in today, we have to make the choice to actively rise up, together, and constantly focus on moving toward the positive charges of unity, solidarity, and support. With your help, we will rise up. 

I am grateful for your support and for your commitment to building a better future one day at a time.

Welcome to the MPAC family!

Salam Al-Marayati
President and Co-Founder, MPAC