THIS WEEK IN DC - Biden officially wins electoral college; Support begins to cohere in Congress around a $900 billion COVID relief stimulus and more!

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THIS WEEK IN DC - Biden officially wins electoral college; Support begins to cohere in Congress around a $900 billion COVID relief stimulus; Biden nominates Rep. Deb Haaland to be the first Native American to serve as Interior Secretary; William Barr to step down as AG; Biden selects Buttigieg to serve as Transportation Secretary; Biden selects Michael Regan, North Carolina environmental chief, to be first Black man to head the EPA

IN THIS ISSUE
* Feature Story: Lack of Government Support is Crippling Small Businesses
* The Only Way Out is Through: The Case of French Muslims and Laïcité
* Tanzin v. Tanvir Is a Win on Multiple Fronts
* MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati pens op-ed in the Forward critical of the Anti-Defamation League, inviting commentary from both sides of the American debate on the Israel-Palestine issue.

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FEATURED ISSUE

Lack of Government Support is Crippling Small Businesses

Baqir Mohie El-Deen analyzes the impact of the pandemic on small businesses
As the nation waits on the United States Congress to pass a second large-scale stimulus package, some states have created programs to help small business owners. Without the federal government, however, states can only afford to support a fraction of small businesses. On Tuesday of this week, the Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Program opened ([link removed][UNIQID]) up its applications for small business owners on a first-come, first-served basis at 9 a.m. By 12:30 p.m., the program had received 2,700 completed applications, with another 16,000 in progress, which is 28 times the number of businesses the program was designed to help. Similar programs have launched around the nation that faced a similar outcome that the Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Program did.

Read the full analysis → ([link removed][UNIQID]#FeaturedHeader)

This Week at MPAC's D.C. Bureau
MPAC Human Security Program Manager, Prema Rahman, breaks down why last week's unanimous SCOTUS ruling allowing Muslim plaintiffs to seek money damages for being on the No Fly List is a win on multiple fronts.
MPAC Policy Analyst Adam Beddawi analyzes French policies toward Muslims and identifies the political implications for all Muslims in the Western world.
MPAC Policy Analyst Adam Beddawi analyzes ([link removed][UNIQID] WEEK IN DC - Biden officially wins electoral college; Support begins to cohere in Congress around a $900 billion COVID relief stimulus;) what the debate over Section 230 reveals about the political fault-lines that exist between Silicon Valley, the military-industrial complex, and both parties.
MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati pens ([link removed][UNIQID]) principled critique of Anti-Defamation League in the Forward, inviting commentary from both sides of the American debate on the issue of Israel-Palestine.

GOOD TO KNOW
* Imam Mohammad Yasir Khan becomes ([link removed][UNIQID]) first ever Muslim chaplain appointed to the California state legislature.
* This past weekend, U.S. intelligence agencies were breached. People close to the matter believe ([link removed][UNIQID]) the hackers to be from Russian intelligence.
* After weeks of speculation, Nina Turner announces her bid ([link removed][UNIQID]) to succeed Marcia Fudge as the Representative of Ohio's 11th Congressional district.
* Biden nominates ([link removed][UNIQID]) Michael Regan to lead the EPA. If appointed, the North Carolina environmental chief would be the first Black man to ever lead the agency.


This Week In History

Dec. 14, 644, Uthman ibn Affan (R.A), companion of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), appointed 3rd Caliph of Islam; Dec. 14, 1995, The Dayton Peace Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments ending the conflict in the former Yugoslavia including Slobodan Milošević, Alija Izetbegović, Franjo Tuđman and Bill Clinton, ending the ​3 1⁄2-year-long Bosnian War; Dec. 16, 1920, Ma Yuanzhang, Chinese Muslim rebel and Sufi master, crushed to death during the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake at an unknown age;

Dec. 13, 1920, League of Nations establishes the International Court of Justice in The Hague; Dec. 15, 2015, Mayor of Flint, Michigan declares state of emergency over contaminated water supplies amid calls for a criminal investigation; Dec. 15, 1791, US Bill of Rights ratified when Virginia gives its approval, becomes amendments 1-10 of the US constitution; Dec. 15, 1791, 1st US law school established at University of Pennsylvania

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