ADVOCATING FOR THE VULNERABLE

This summer is action-packed for us as we're moving and shaking things around calling for social justice and advocating for the needs of vulnerable New Yorkers. 

It first began with the convening of our Muslim Stakeholders Roundtable Discussion, which is quarterly meetings of Muslim CBOs, public officers, and others to discuss the needs of the Muslim community. In this session, we invited the new Muslim Liaison to the Mayor's Office, Mr. Mohammed Bahe, who gave us an overview of his role and vision. We also had CM Shahana Hanif's representatives offer resources as well as from the Commission on Human Rights. 





MCN was proud to participate in the campaign to end the violence and close Rikers Island. An infamous prison system in New York City in which 8 inmates have died recently. Our Community Education Coordinator, Reda Taleb, stood in solidarity with interfaith groups and called for an end to the violence. 



Our staff were not the only ones who were showing their civic leadership. Our Muslim Women's Civic Empowerment Program participants held a back-to-school event at their local mosque where they invited families to get supplies for their children while also PHONE BANKING! MCN, as part of the APA Coalition, has already enlisted 73 community members to register to vote!

MCN was also grateful to receive donations from our wonderful donors who bought toys for our community this past Eid-ul-Adha. We specifically gave the toys out at the Islamic Cultural Center in the Bronx and Masjid Saqafi where many of the families of the Bronx fire victims still reside. We are proud to partner with our local mosques for such distributions. A big THANK YOU to all of our volunteers for coming out and packing the gifts in all MCN traditions!

Our most important action this summer so far has been the issuance of our Hate Crimes Prevention Report. This report documents over 200 surveys that took 2 years to gather from various mosques, schools, and community centers. The survey detailed a huge fact, which is that 49% of the Muslims surveyed express that they have experienced some form of hate in our city. 73% of surveyed Muslims expressed that they have seen or witnessed another fellow Muslim experience a hate crime.
These are huge numbers, but are reflective of the day and age we live in today! MCN held a press conference to bring attention to this matter, and we called on a specific advocacy policy to be adopted, which is Resolution 1257, which will help bring more resources to public schools on educating our children about religious minorities! 

View the footage of the full press conference here. 

Take action today, and call on your local Councilmember to sponsor Res. 1257 today!



MCN is a trusted organization in our community as detailed by Charity Navigator and Guidestar. 

   

Therefore, please give with confidence to MCN. It is with your support that we can build a Muslim civil-society-based institution advancing the narrative for Muslim Americans.  Please consider a donation of $50, $100, $250, $500 to help us continue building a Muslim institution that empowers our community!

With Gratitude, 


Aniqa Nawabi
Executive Director