Statement: From Thoughts and Prayers to Real Leadership; Democracy Forums: Defining Pluralism in the 21st Century

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Issue 79: Friday, 27 May 2022

THIS WEEK IN DC— Senate Republicans Block Domestic Terrorism Prevention Bill In Key Vote; US Preparing To Approve Advanced Long-Range Rocket System For Ukraine; Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration To Continue Counting The Costs Of Planet-Warming Emissions, For Now; Biden, First Lady Will Travel To Uvalde On Sunday; Justice Dept. Won’t Charge FBI Agents Accused Of Botching Nassar Case; 9 Senators Kick Off Bipartisan Gun Safety Talks After Texas Shooting; White House Makes Kirby's New Role Official; John Kirby Will Leave The Pentagon To Serve As The National Security Council Coordinator For Strategic Communications; Cheney Officially Launches Reelection Bid; McConnell Taps Cornyn To Negotiate With Democrats On Gun Legislation; Sen. Angus King Says He Will Support Biden ATF Nominee In Win For White House.


** IN THIS ISSUE:
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* Statement: From Thoughts and Prayers to Real Leadership
* ICYMI: Democracy Forums: Defining Pluralism in the
* 21st Century
* Join us for the inaugural National American Muslim Policy Conference
* Join us for the 30th Annual MPAC Media Awards


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** Statement: From Thoughts and Prayers to Real Leadership
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To God we Belong and to God we Shall Return.

Today, 18 children and one teacher in Uvalde, Texas did not go home to their families after school. And with each passing hour, we learn of more victims of this tragedy who have perished.

Instead, they returned to their Creator, and their families will grieve a grief no one can fathom.

An armed man walked into Robb Elementary School where children were only beginning their lives as students, and he gunned them down along with a teacher.

The numbness of the thoughts and prayers response has become a morally deficient answer to this kind of horror.

The President declared that flags be flown half staff. The Vice President called for sensible public policy. The fact that our political leadership is impotent in addressing gun violence and unable to even mention gun control in their statements is part of the problem.

Some say taking action on addressing access to guns would be an infringement upon the Second Amendment. Let’s at least have that discourse in Congress without allowing extremists and psychotics to take it out on school children.

Whether it is what happened today or in Buffalo just last week, our response and reaction must be more targeted than those behind these assaults on the soul of our nation and the heart of our humanity.

As a nation, we have fought some of the most difficult battles abroad. We must ask ourselves, as a nation, can we unite to fight this war at home? Our answer must be yes, or our democracy will be in peril.


ICYMI


** Democracy Forums: Defining Pluralism in the 21st Century
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Last week we held our first nationwide non-partisan Democracy Forum in Washington D.C.: Defining Pluralism in the 21st Century, which was a demonstration of the critical discourse needed in America today. We are grateful to have been joined by Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) and Congresswoman Marie Newman (IL-3), in conversation with MPAC Policy Director, Mohammad H. Ali, and MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati, respectively.

We are especially grateful to all who attended from all branches of government and civil society for contributing to the discussions, stepping out of their comfort zones, and engaging with opinions they may not align with.

Watch the highlights ([link removed]) → ([link removed])



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UPCOMING


** Join us for the Inaugural National American Muslim Policy Conference
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Join us as we co-host the inaugural National American Muslim Policy Conference on Tuesday, June 7, which will bring together elected officials, experts, and leaders from across the nation to discuss our community's policy priorities and needs. We are proud to be working alongside American Muslim Health Professionals, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition, and Emgage Action.

Our hope with this conference is to underscore the power of our collective impact to uplift the American Muslim voice and provide meaningful solutions to the complex issues our communities face.

Register for virtual event → ([link removed])



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** Join us for the 30th Annual MPAC Media Awards

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Join us Sunday, June 26th at the 30th annual #MPACMediaAwards as we recognize Americanish ([link removed]) , I’ll Meet You There ([link removed]) , Mira, Royal Detective ([link removed]) , United States of Al ([link removed]) , We are Lady Parts ([link removed]) , PBS NewsHour’s Chief Correspondent, Amna Nawaz ([link removed]) and actor/activist, Hisham Tawfiq ([link removed]) .

For 30 years, we have honored people and projects in the entertainment industry who use their craft to create authentic portrayals of Muslims, promote social justice, and inspire action.

Due to COVID precautions, this year’s Media Awards will be livestreamed. Register now. ([link removed])



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GOOD TO KNOW
* Remembering ([link removed]) the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde
* Palestinian inquiry accuses ([link removed]) Israel of intentionally killing Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh
* Xinjiang leak reveals ([link removed]) extent of Chinese abuses in Uighur camps
* Russia is depopulating ([link removed]) parts of eastern Ukraine, forcibly removing thousands into remote parts of Russia
* Fort Bend poised ([link removed]) to elect first Muslim state lawmaker in Texas


- THIS WEEK IN HISTORY -

May 22, 1176 - Murder attempt on Saladin near Aleppo; May 22, 1941 - British troops attack Baghdad; May 23, 1926 - Lebanese constitution forms under French mandate; May 23, 1939 - British parliament plans to make Palestine independent by 1949; May 25, 1085 - Alfonso VI of León and Castile captures the Muslim taifa of Toledo; May 25, 1923 - Britain recognizes Transjordan with Abdullah as its leader; May 25, 1979 - Israel begins to return Sinai to Egypt; May 25, 1991 - Israel evacuates 14,000 Ethiopian Jews; May 25, 2000 - Liberation Day of Lebanon. Israel withdraws its army from most of the Lebanese territory after 22 years of its first invasion in 1978; May 26, 1908 - At Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, rights acquired by the United Kingdom; May 26, 1984 - US President Ronald Reagan rules out US military intervention in Iran-Iraq war; May 27, 1921 - After 84 years of British control, Afghanistan achieves sovereignty; May
27, 1960 - Military coup overthrows democratic government of Turkey; May 28, 1964 - Palestine National Congress forms the PLO in Jerusalem; May 28, 2004 - The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, to become Prime Minister of Iraq's interim government.

May 22, 1973 - President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up; May 23, 1854 - Escaped slave Anthony Burns is arrested by US Deputy marshals in Boston under the Fugitive Slave Act; May 23, 1900 - William Harvey Carney becomes the first African-American soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Civil War at the Battle of Fort Wagner; May 24, 1983 - Supreme Court rules government can deny tax breaks to schools that racially discriminated against students; May 25, 1964 - US Supreme Court rules closing schools to avoid desegregation is unconstitutional; May 26, 1637 - Mystic Massacre: in first battle of Pequot War in Connecticut about 500 Pequot Native Americans are killed by Colonial forces; May 26, 1857 - US slave Dred Scott and family freed by owner Henry Taylor Blow, only 3 months after US courts ruled against them in Dred Scott v. Sandford; May 26, 1868 - US President Andrew Johnson is acquitted by the Senate by one vote during his impeachment trial; May 26, 1943 -
Edwin Barclay of Liberia becomes first president of a black country to visit US; May 26, 2004 - The New York Times publishes admission of journalistic failings, claims its flawed reporting and lack of skepticism during buildup to 2003 Iraq War helped promote belief that Iraq possessed large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.


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