Justice is NOT Debatable

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The Oldest Progressive Muslim Organization in America

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This month we welcome a guest writer from our MPV-Boston chapter Nour Sulaiman

“Pray two rakat for Ruther Bader Ginsburg.” You may remember that line from Ramy, a series that follows a Muslim-American millennial stumbling through life and spirituality. Although it’s a humorous line, it is also deeply felt because of the truth that it exposes — that Muslims in America are living in dangerous times.

Since winning the presidency, Donald Trump’s administration has worked tirelessly to upend the federal judicial system as we know it. As of October 1, 2020, the Senate has confirmed 218 Article III judges nominated by the president. These nominations include two associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, 53 judges for the United States courts of appeals, and 161 judges for the United States district courts.

By filling the courts with far-right justices, these appointments will change federal courts for a very long time. And now, the worst imaginable has happened: Ruth Badger Ginsburg has passed away. May her memory be a blessing. Throughout her life, she was a strong advocate for women, and a strong voice of dissent against prejudicial policies.

Ginsburg created the ACLU’s Women’s Rights project, and through her work as a litigator, she almost single-handedly devised a new class for discrimination claims. Before her work, discrimination that was recognized included those based on race, national origin, color, and religion, but not sex. Through her relentless litigation, she gave us the legal means by which to make discrimination based on sex unlawful.

On the night that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, Donald Trump held a rally in northern Minnesota. During that appearance, he touted the eugenics theory that white Minnesotans have “superior” genes. This is far from the only disturbing statement he has made during first his 2016 election campaign and subsequent presidency. It was, however, a particularly disturbing statement to make while the country was reeling from the death of the first Jewish woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

If the president fills the empty Supreme Court seat, the court will lean heavily to the right. It may well overturn Roe v. Wade. To avoid this disastrous possibility, some have called for “packing the court.” The idea is to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court, and appoint justices that agree with the president. Although this seems like a fine idea on the surface — and it’s certainly a tempting one if Trump fills Justice Ginsburg’s seat — it will create an incredibly disturbing precedent that will empower other administrations to abuse the power of the Supreme Court at a whim.

Her loss is a wake up call. The fact that the death of one unelected 87 year-old woman can have such an impact on the rights of millions of people tells us that the Supreme Court has too much power to exist in its current form in an ostensibly democratic country. We shouldn’t be empowering the court any further — rather, we should limit its power through legislation; reducing the types of cases that can appeal to them, and overturning their ability to strike down state legislation because it is “unconstitutional.”

This November, we must vote like our lives depend on it — because it just may. We need a president who will not threaten to ignore the results of the election, and one who will not unleash violence against those who do not support him. We simply cannot have another four years of a president who has done all he can to destroy this country and all that is good about it. The resistance begins — and does not end — in voting for leaders who will commit to reforming our legal system so it is more just and equitable, and a president who will appoint judges that actively uphold equality and recognize the need to protect our individual rights. Otherwise, we may face a country that we barely recognize in 2021.

—Nour Sulaiman Langendorfer, Esq. is a business and commercial litigation attorney at the law firm of Cook, Little, Rosenblatt, and Manson. She’s also a cat mom, dog mom, wife, artist, and aspiring homesteader. Follow her on Twitter @LegallyNour, and on Instagram @PortraitArtEtc

Book Recommendation

An incredibly hopeful, urgent and well told coming of age story about religion, class, and LGBTQ+ acceptance - no doubt reading it will save someone’s life.

“As an ally reading Mohsin’s story, it affirms the work we do at MPV in admonishing religious-base justification for prejudice and discrimination, and the unnecessary pain and suffering it inflicts” - Ani Zonneveld

*Although we prefer to support local bookstores, if you do purchase on Amazon, please do so on www.smile.amazon.com and select Muslims for Progressive Values as your non-profit of choice. Amazon donates a percentage of all purchases to your designated charity. Every penny counts and adds up!

Watch the event Faith in the UN: Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations on Facebook here and Ani Zonneveld’s song is at 2:24:36:

October 6: As an implementing partner of UN Women’s Equality in Law for Women and Girls by 2030 initiative, MPV will be presenting a case study of the work we are doing in Kenya with our partner organization AMWAN in supporting the restoration of a sharia court system that is CEDAW compliant, the promotion of female judges, and the development of a training toolkit for end-users which include litigators, women’s rights groups and womenfolk.

The Istanbul Process 16/18 website has been launched. Check it out! 16/18 is a resolution to support intergovernmental policy framework for combatting intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.

National Updates

December 10: Save the date! Join us for our annual Celebration of Life on International Human Rights Day featuring Attorney General Keith Ellison, Social influencer and historian Blair Imani, and many others to be confirmed.

Chapter Updates

MPV-LA

Sept 30, 6:00 p.m. PST: Join the The LGBTQ+ Alliance of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils inaugural Talkabout Panel Discussion Series: A Conversation of Progressive Interfaith Leaders where we ask, “How can religion and spirituality support the LGBTQ+ Community across Los Angeles?” An online event, Wednesday, September 30th, 2020 at 7 pm PST.

Please register for free tickets here. An event access link will be emailed out to you one hour prior to the panel discussion, at 6:00 pm PST.

Oct 10 and 31: The Quran is the central text of Muslim religious tradition and deeply poetic and beautiful. Yet it has been and continues to be used to justify oppression like misogyny and violence. Approaching the text can be difficult, but it's crucial for us to reclaim our heritage. With elections coming up, we will be discussing the Quran's many Moses vs. Pharaoh narratives, and their implications for standing in the face of political tyranny. Check out our calendar and join us here!

MPV-NY

On September 27, in collaboration with the national team, MPV-NY facilitated a conversation with pole practitioner, artist, and dancer Neda, also known as hijabiluscious. Attendees heard from Neda about her unique journey in being both a Muslim and a pole practitioner, how she's processed responses to her personal pursuits by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and the sexist double standards she witnesses in the Muslim American community.

On Friday, October 23, MPV-NY will resume its monthly prayer and discussions. Topic TBD. Check out MPV-NY’s calendar and join us here!

MPV-Boston

On September 4, 2020, MPV-Boston held, “Hispanic Heritage & Muslim.” This event was for sharing stories and challenges of Muslims from Hispanic Heritage in the traditional communities and their interfaith families. our guest speaker for this event, Miriam Colon, Is a Puerto Rican Muslim from NJ. She is a contributing member of Islam in Spanish Houston chapter and American Islamic radio. She has been broadcasted live on Radio Islam on Topic of Modesty in America’s Islamic Radio where she shared her journey to Islam.

Miriam was recently published in a Rice University Research Project “What Does it mean for Muslim Women to cover in America.” Miriam collaborated on the Kaaba Design for the Children’s Hajj Simulation which was featured on the 2019 Vice TV Documentary called “Why Latinos are Converting to Islam.” She was photographed by the Award Winning Photojournalist Lyndsey Addario for a Diversity In America a National Geographic series covering racial, ethnic, and religious groups in the 21st Century

Starting October 4, MPV-Boston, is hosting their routine event for the first Friday of the month, A discussion about Khadijah (R.A) and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (ET). To RSVP, check out our Facebook page for more details.

MPV-San Francisco Bay Area

On September 20, MPV-San Francisco Bay Area held a meeting with a broad discussion topic about Muharram and Ashura from interfaith and intrafaith perspectives.

On October 18, MPV-San Francisco Bay Area will have our 3rd Sunday monthly meeting with a topic to be announced. If you are not on our Meetup Group you can email us at [email protected].