An Unsettling Reminder By: Zain Khan, MPAC Policy Fellow | MPAC Award Honoree, Indian American Activist Ajit Sahi Receives Pluralist Award

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Issue 85: Friday, 8 July 2022

Eid Mubarak! We pray that all people making the pilgrimage have a safe and blessed Hajj. We hope to reflect on the lessons of commitment and sacrifice from the life of Prophet Abraham (PBUH).

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THIS WEEK IN DC – US On ‘Cusp’ Of Falling Gas Prices; Biden Administration Unveils Sweeping Changes To Federal Student Loan System; Appeals Court Hears Arguments Over GOP-leaning States' Suit To End DACA; Pentagon Allows Networks To Access Abortion-Related Websites; Treasury Announces Sanctions Targeting Cheap Iranian Oil Heading For China; President Biden Announces Historic American Rescue Plan Pension Relief For Millions Of Union Workers And Retirees; White House’s Bedingfield To Step Down As Communications Director; Democrats Offer Plan To Cut Drug Costs, Seeking Climate And Tax Deal; Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone To Testify Before Jan. 6 Committee This Week; Biden nominates Denver airport executive as FAA head.


** An Unsettling Reminder
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By: Zain Khan, MPAC Policy Fellow
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Last month provided a harsh reminder of the diminished status of women in our communities. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was just the tip of the iceberg, as further restrictions of rights and acts of violence have brought gender-based conflict into the forefront of debate.

Many recent headlines would have been shocking decades ago, let alone today. For example, in late June, 21-year-old Nayera Ashraf ([link removed]) was killed by her classmate whose advances she had rejected.

These acts of violence are not random occurrences, nor are they endemic to a certain faith or country. They represent an erosion of rights and worsening bloodshed, both of which are occurring in America and abroad. Many have been trying to place blame on individuals or systems of government; however, here at MPAC, we would like to offer insight into what our values tell us on how to approach this worsening situation...

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IN THE KNOW
* Former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, Assassinated ([link removed])
* MPAC Award Honoree, Indian American Activist Ajit Sahi Receives Pluralist Award ([link removed])
* Biden To Sign Executive Order ([link removed]) Protecting Access To Reproductive Health Care Services
* Biden To Rescind ([link removed]) Afghanistan’s Designation As Major Non-NATO Ally
* The Muslim Public Affairs Council Of Western New York Will Be Hosting An Eid Celebration Saturday ([link removed])
* A Sense Of Belonging: Dearborn Makes History By Adding Arabic ([link removed]) To Election Materials
* Muslim Nonprofit Shelter ([link removed]) Serves Needs Of Neglected Elderly Women In Texas
* China Destroyed Muslim Culture In This Ancient ([link removed]) City — Then Turned It Into Disneyland
* India Ruling Party Has No Muslim MP For The First Time In History ([link removed])

- THIS WEEK IN HISTORY -


July 3, 1187 - Battle of Horns of Hattin: Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, destroys Jerusalem's crusader army; July 4, 1887 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, begins his studies at Sindh Madressatul Islam University in Karachi; July 5, 1966 - Algeria gains independence after 132 years of French rule; July 6, 1917 - T.E. Lawrence captures port at Aqaba from Turks; July 7, 1941 - World War II: Beirut is occupied by Free France and British troops; July 8, 1099 - First Crusade: 15,000 Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on; July 9, 2011 - South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.

July 3, 1863 - Battle of Gettysburg, largest battle ever fought on the American continent, ends in a major victory for the Union during the US Civil War; July 4, 1776 - US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Great Britain; July 4, 1796 - 1st Independence Day celebration is held; July 4, 1826 - Past presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President John Quincy Adams calls "visible and palpable remarks of Divine Favor"; July 4, 1875 - White Democrats kill several blacks in terrorist attacks in Vicksburg; July 4, 1884 - Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris; July 5, 1852 - Frederick Douglass, fugitive slave, delivers his 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' speech to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, condemns the celebration as hypocritical sham; July 6, 1853 - William Wells Brown publishes "Clotel", first novel by an African American; July 7, 1981 - US President
Ronald Reagan nominates Sandra Day O’Connor to become first female member of the Supreme Court; July 8, 1776 - The fist public reading of the Declaration of Independence; July 9, 1868 - First African American cabinet member in South Carolina, Francis L. Cardozo, as Secretary of State; July 9, 1955 - E. Frederic Morrow is the first African American executive on US White House staff.

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