The Fight Continues

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Dear John,

“O you who have attained to faith! Be patient in adversity, and vie in patience with one another, and be ever ready [to do what is right], and remain conscious of God, so that you might attain to a happy state!” (Quran 3:200)

Election Day has passed without a clear victor at the top of the ticket. Over the course of the day, and perhaps into the next few days, we expect to be hit with an array of conflicting reports over what happened and what is to come. Rest assured, however, this delay is the result of something for which we should be immensely proud: during an era of pandemic, protest, and political turmoil, we drove out record levels of voter turnout.

Throughout this cycle, we rallied our neighbors, our congregation members, our co-workers, and ourselves to make it to the polls and vote. We made our voices heard and, in so doing, we put our elected officials on notice: we will hold them accountable moving forward. As we await for the final vote totals to be tallied, we should take a moment to appreciate this feat at the end of a long, tough year. This year, we made it clear that politicians do not decide elections; people do.

Once a victor emerges between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the real work begins. In our “Tale of Two Futures ([link removed][UNIQID]) ” paper, we predicted this fork-in-the-road moment. Over these next four years, we must choose between passive or active participation in the political process that is to come. If we choose active participation, we can maximize the strength of our American Muslim community -- the one percent, whose commitment to faith can be a shining example for the 99 percent.

What does active participation look like?
* Bridging the gaps constructed by artificial differences. Our Mustard Seed project attempts to do just that, by pointing out the fundamental oneness at the heart of our shared humanity.
* Uniting the community and allies around our shared vision: an America for all. Our Tale of Two Futures project tries to identify the opportunities ([link removed][UNIQID]) for coalition-building which exist in our shared interests. Our recently launched American Muslim Elected and Appointed Officials Network (AMEAON) will connect the past, present, and future generation of American Muslim leadership in order to build power throughout the public and private sectors.
* Building power based on these shared values. “Tale of Two Futures” also analyzes parties in order to determine just how we should prioritize our political actions. Case in point: our Campaign for Human Security ([link removed][UNIQID]) , which tries to unite civil society groups and elected officials around a people-centered approach to national security. In the years to come, our collective actions must reflect the urgent need to build power within the community and among our allies. Our flagship Congressional Leadership Development Program (CLDP) ([link removed][UNIQID]) will continue to develop the future generations of Muslim leaders by placing them in positions of influence throughout all branches of the government.

* Using that power to hold politicians accountable. That’s where your support comes in. We need you in this fight, which is a reflection of your voice in the first place.

Donate ([link removed][UNIQID]#!/donation/checkout)

We cannot lead by example if we do not work together in the first place. We must remember that, while the American Muslim community is not a monolith, we have shared interests and goals which transcend any and all superficial divisions. Now is the time to reconcile any such differences in the service of our shared mandate: to build a society based on reciprocity and in which all live a dignified life.

The next four years will be our chance to deliver. Throughout the campaign cycle, both parties promised to be the voice of those left behind by the political status quo. Once we receive word on the result of our election work, we intend to hold the next President to their promises.

We will capitalize on the fact that both parties need American Muslims to win and maintain control of the Legislative Branch.

You trust MPAC to do this work, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Over these next four years, we will continue to advocate in our nation’s capital for the policies that are most important to American Muslims. We will continue to do so with the guidance that our faith tradition provides.

Our fight continues, and it won’t stop until we deliver for you an American pluralism for all.
Donate ([link removed][UNIQID]#!/donation/checkout)

In service,

Salam Al-Marayati
President, MPAC

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