This week in DC: How to Ensure That Girls with Dreams Become Women with Opportunities & The Oscars Missed an Opportunity to Spotlight Muslim Issues

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Issue 18: Friday, 26 March 2021
— THIS WEEK IN DC —

Biden to Nominate Tech Critic Lina Khan as an FTC Commissioner; Biden Assigning Harris to Lead Diplomatic Efforts in Central America to Address Immigration; Prosecutors Allege Oath Keepers Leader and Proud Boys Coordinated Before Capitol Attack; Senate Confirms Dr. Rachel Levine as Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services; House Republicans Downplay the Military's Extremism Problem; Supreme Court to Discuss Case that Could Expand Second Amendment Rights; Biden Administration Will Spend Nearly $10 Billion to Expand Access to COVID-19 Vaccines and Build Confidence; Senate Extends Pandemic Assistance for Small Businesses for 2 Months; Biden Holds 1st Formal News Conference, Faces Questions on Pandemic, Migrant Surge.

IN THIS ISSUE
* Featured Issue: With ‘The Mauritanian’ Snub, Oscars Missed an Opportunity to Spotlight Muslim Issues by Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC President
* Class Act: How to Ensure That Girls with Dreams Become Women with Opportunities by Sarah Kawamleh, Shaezmina Khan, Mariya Ali and Iman Ali
* A Community Mourns Following Another Tragic Act of Gun Violence

FEATURED ISSUE

With ‘The Mauritanian’ Snub, Oscars Missed an Opportunity to Spotlight Muslim Issues
By: Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC President

I visited Guantanamo Bay in 2007 to assess living conditions. Upon arrival, I was explicitly instructed not to speak to any of the prisoners, some of whom had been held without charges for years. They paced back and forth like nervous animals in a zoo, some with faces pressed to the glass, their eyes looking far away. The military insisted that they were being fed well and provided religious material, a Quran, and a prayer rug, but they had been deprived of their humanity. Like the infamous Manzanar Japanese internment camp before it, Guantanamo should not only be closed, but it needs to serve as a reminder of a time to which we should never return. “The Mauritanian” highlights this point — but by shutting out the film for Oscar nominations the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences missed an opportunity to shine a light on the issue.

Read the full article → ([link removed])

Class Act: How to Ensure That Girls with Dreams Become Women with Opportunities
By: Iman Ali (MPAC Policy & Program Coordinator), Sarah Kawamleh (MPAC Policy Fellow), Shaezmina Khan (MPAC Policy Intern), Mariya Ali (MPAC Policy Intern)

Every year, we celebrate Women’s History Month by highlighting the noteworthy contributions of women to contemporary and historical events throughout the month of March. This Women’s History Month, we honor trailblazing women, who have become champions of industry not only through their own grit and brilliance, but also because of the sacrifices made by brave women before them who recognized the importance of equity for women in society. Join us as we discuss further the legacy of resolute Muslim women, the impact their work continues to have on women today, the role Islam played in helping women seek knowledge, and the societal barriers that remain in achieving equitable educational advancement for women.

Read the full article → ([link removed])

A Community Mourns Following Another Tragic Act of Gun Violence
On Tuesday March 23rd, an armed assailant, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, opened fire at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, CO, killing 10 people, including a police officer. In Islam, to take a life is like killing all of humanity and our prayers are with the families and loved ones of the innocent lives lost in Boulder. Alissa is currently in custody of law enforcement, and is being held without bail as he goes through a mental health evaluation.

This incident is part of a much larger problem in our country. So far in 2021 we’ve had 109 mass shootings. Although there is no agreed upon definition of a mass shooting, most agree that mass shootings include 4 victims. The disagreement is whether those victims survived or not. The 109 mass shootings of 2021 all have 4 or more victims, whether they were injured or killed. This year, 504 Americans have become victims of a mass shooting, including 130 who lost their lives.

We commend Boulder law enforcement’s swift and appropriate response to this attack which undoubtedly saved lives. In spite of the political debate around how we address this issue, we must do better in preventing these atrocities and protecting the public. We seek justice to the fullest extent of the law for this and all mass shootings. Americans deserve to live free from fear, hate, and violence, whoever commits it. We call upon our government to take action to stop these tragic events that have become a norm in our nation.

GOOD TO KNOW
* 10 People Dead in Mass Shooting ([link removed]) at Colorado Supermarket
* 9 Muslim Women Who Made ([link removed]) Major Impacts On History
* Rep. Andy Kim On ([link removed]) State Department Racism: 'My Own Government Questioned My Loyalty'
* Gov. Newsom Appoints ([link removed]) Rob Bonta as California's Attorney General
* Iowa City School Board Votes ([link removed]) to Recognize Eid al-Fitr as a Holiday on the School Calendar Beginning in 2022
* Pfizer begins ([link removed]) COVID Vaccine Trial on Infants and Young Kids


UP-AND-COMING:
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Every week seems to bring news of Americans being devastated by violent attacks, many of which are charged by anti-other animus that has for too long gone unchecked. There's a new term on Capitol Hill - TVTP (DVTP). Join us for our next edition of 'The Forums at MPAC' in discussing America's approach to tackling domestic terrorism and giving it a name.
NOTIFY ME → ([link removed])

ICYMI:
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Last week we held our 29th Annual MPAC Media Awards. We celebrated Muslims and Muslim Allies in entertainment committed to narratives of courage and conscience. In case you missed it or would like to watch again, you can stream the full show in the link below.
STREAM MPAC'S 29th ANNUAL MEDIA AWARDS → ([link removed])

— THIS WEEK IN HISTORY —

March 21, 1968 - Israeli forces cross Jordan River to attack PLO bases; March 21, 1979 - Egyptian Parliament unanimously approve peace treaty with Israel; March 22, 1945 - Arab League forms with adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt; March 23, 1889 - The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community established by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, India; March 23, 1940 - The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League; March 23, 1956 - Pakistan proclaimed an Islamic republic in Commonwealth (National Day); March 23, 1980 - Deposed Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi arrives in Egypt; March 23, 2003 - In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom; March 24, 1986 - U.S. and Libya clash in Gulf of Sidra; March 24, 2003 - The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the
immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq; March 25, 1821 - The Greek revolution against the Ottoman Turks is officially declared, with hostilities having started two months earlier; March 25, 1969 - Pakistan General Agha Mohammed Jagja Khan succeeds Ayub Chan as president; March 26, 1909 - In support of Mohammed Ali Shah's coup d'etat against the constitutional government in Persia, a Russian military force invades northern Persia to relieve the siege of Tabriz; March 26, 1799 - Napoleon captures Jaffa, Palestine; March 26, 1917 - British win a battle against Turks at Gaza; March 26, 1979 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat sign the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.; March 26, 1971 - Bangladesh (East Pakistan) under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declares its independence from Pakistan; March 27, 1961 - Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen.

March 21, 1788 - Olaudah Equiano (aka Gustavus Vassa), a freed slave, petitions King George III and Queen Charlotte, to free enslaved Africans; March 21, 1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. begins march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama; March 22, 1794 - Congress bans U.S. vessels from supplying slaves to other countries; March 22, 1972 - U.S. Congress approves the Equal Rights Amendment (still not ratified); March 22, 1988 - U.S. Congress overrides President Reagan's veto of sweeping civil rights bill; March 22, 1989 - U.S. Supreme Court upholds 1 person 1 vote rule of NYC Board of Estimate; March 23, 1867 - Congress passes 2nd Reconstruction Act over President Andrew Johnson's veto; March 23, 1945 - Battle of Okinawa: U.S. Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion; it would become the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II; March 24, 1853 - Anti-slavery newspaper "The Provincial Freeman" first published in Windsor, Ontario (Canada), edited
by Samuel Ringgold Ward and Mary Ann Shadd Cary, first black woman publisher in North America; March 24, 1942 - U.S. government begins moving native-born citizens with Japanese ancestry into detention centers under Executive Order 9066, with intention of preventing home-grown espionage; March 24, 1947 - Congress proposes 2-term limitation on the presidency; March 24, 1998 - Jonesboro massacre: Two students, ages 11 and 13, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Five people are dead and ten are wounded; March 25, 1807 - British Parliament abolishes slave trade throughout the British Empire; penalty of £120 per enslaved individual introduced for ship captains; March 25, 1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. leads 25,000 to state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama; March 26, 1790 - U.S. Congress passes Naturalization Act; March 26, 1804 - Congress orders removal of Native Americans east of Mississippi to Louisiana; March 26, 1910 - U.S. forbids immigration to
criminals, anarchists, paupers and the sick; March 26, 1937 - William H. Hastie becomes first black federal judge (Virgin Islands); March 26, 1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk announces that he has successfully tested a vaccine to prevent Polio, clinical trials began the next year; March 27, 1997 - Martin Luther King's son meets James Earl Ray, his father's killer.

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