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Issue 58: Friday, 31 Dec 2021

From all of us at MPAC, we wish you all a Happy New Year!

THIS WEEK IN DC — Capitol Police Officer Says Officers Worry That Jan. 6 Could Become An 'Every Four Year Thing'; CDC Study: Covid-19 Vaccine Rarely Caused Serious Problems In Kids Aged 5 To 11; Jan. 6 Panel Urges Supreme Court To Deny Trump Bid To Shield Records; Rep. Mike Turner To Replace Nunes In Top House Intel Spot; Senate GOP Introduces Resolution To Nix Biden Health Worker Vaccine Mandate; Cook Report Projects GOP As Clear Favorite To Win House Majority; GOP Candidate Keeney Drops Out Of Race For Spanberger Seat After Redistricting; Poll: Nearly Three-quarters Of GOP Doubt Legitimacy Of Biden's Win; Rising Gas Price Projections Complicate Biden's Horizons; Biden Orders Flags At Half-staff For Harry Reid.

IN THIS ISSUE

Featured Issue - Amplify Not Occupy: The Path Forward For Afghanistan
Remembering Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Amplify Not Occupy: The Path Forward For Afghanistan

By: MPAC Policy Bureau

Photo: Mohammad Javadzadeh/Iranian Red Crescent/AFP

On Sunday, August 15th, the Taliban retook Kabul, the same city that our military liberated from their heinous rule just two decades prior. The following two decades proved one thing: our military and diplomatic strategy did not work. In part, it was because we ignored or did not give due importance to the voices who knew the land, the terrain and the people the best. Those people are the Afghan American leaders who we have partnered with to create and host our speaker series.

In response to the crisis created by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, MPAC, on a mission to amplify authentic community narratives, recognized the news cycle and congressional action are at risk of moving past this crisis.

Read full article here →

Remembering Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The Muslim Public Affairs Council commemorates the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Archbishop Tutu was a man of peace, a man of God, and an ally to the oppressed worldwide.

A close friend of the Archbishop, the late Nelson Mandela, described his voice as “the voice of the voiceless,” a beautiful encapsulation of the essence of this anti-apartheid champion. Through Reverend Ed Bacon, a longtime friend and advisor to MPAC, and his direct contact with Archbishop Tutu, we have had the privilege to learn from his example and from those he impacted directly.

Often described as “South Africa’s Martin Luther King,” Desmond Tutu’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning work to advance human rights for all is a pure reflection of our shared Abrahamic values of religious pluralism and equitable justice.

Archbishop Tutu’s life’s work, spirit, and the legacy he leaves behind are best captured with his famous words, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We honor the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and send our deepest condolences to his family and all those he touched.

GOOD TO KNOW

From zero to 500 million: America's vaccination effort in 4 charts
The relentless 2021 news cycle in one chart
NY enacts 'groundbreaking' law to change how Asian American populations are counted
Many Latin American countries now have higher vaccination rates than Europe and North America
What social trends told us about the American economy in 2021

- THIS WEEK IN HISTORY -

Dec 27, 537 - Hagia Sophia inaugurated by the Emperor Justinian I as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral; Dec 27, 1934 - Shah of Persia Mohammad Reza Pahlavi declares Persia now Iran; Dec 27, 1949 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants independence to Indonesia; Dec 27, 1979 - After invading Afghanistan two days earlier Soviet forces pull off a coup in Kabul, killing President Hafizullah Amin; Dec 27, 1982 - Imran Khan 8-60 to bring innings victory v India at Karachi; Dec 27, 2007 - Benazir Bhutto, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan and first female leader of a Muslim nation, assassinated in Rawalpindi by a suicide bomber at 54; Dec 29, 1939 - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Maldivian politician & Islamic scholar, born in Malé, Maldives; Dec 30, 1906 - The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, later laid down the foundations of Pakistan; Dec 31, 1934 - Akram Awan, Islamic scholar & spiritual leader, born in Chakwal, Pakistan (d. 2017); Jan 1, 630 - Prophet Muhammad sets out with an army 10,000 strong to conquer Mecca; Jan 1, 874 - Hasan al-Askari, 11th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam, dies at 27.

Dec 26, 1773 - Expulsion of tea ships from Philadelphia; Dec 26, 1848 - First gold seekers arrive in Panama en route to San Francisco; Dec 27, 1831 - HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin on board departs England for a survey of South America, a voyage Darwin later said "determined my whole career"; Dec 27, 2001 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States; Dec 28, 1860 - Harriet Tubman arrives in Auburn, New York, on her last mission to free slaves, having evaded capture for 8 years on the Underground Railroad; Dec 28, 1945 - Congress officially recognizes "Pledge of Allegiance"; Dec 29, 1782 - First nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston; Dec 29, 1835 - Treaty of New Echota is signed between the US government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction to cede all lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States; Dec 30, 1835 - Georgia gold rush forces the Cherokees to move across the Mississippi River; Dec 30, 1861 - Associated Banks in NYC halt gold payments to government and investors, to disrupt Abraham Lincoln's US bank reform program; Dec 31, 1492 - 100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily; Dec 31, 1700 - Frisia and Groningen adopt Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is 1/12/1701; Jan 1, 1776 - General George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag.

Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council improves public understanding and policies that impact American Muslims by engaging our government, media, and communities. Our policy analysts provide insight from D.C. to the palm of your hand on the most pressing issues impacting American Muslims. Email is an important way for us to communicate with supporters like you. Should you want to stop hearing from us or change your preferences, click here to update your contact info or unsubscribe.

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