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Once Again, Calls for Police Reform After Killing of Tyre Nichols: Friday, the Memphis Police Department released the body cam footage of the beating of Tyre Nichols to the public. In that video, we witness yet another senseless death resulting from police brutality and unaddressed systemic issues within the culture of law enforcement in our country. #BlackLivesMatter and we urge Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act; without policy change, tragedies like this will continue to be the norm in communities across the country.
The Modi Question: Democracy and Dissent in India: The documentary, “India: The Modi Question,” revealed the previously undisclosed findings of a BBC investigation into the 2002 Anti-Muslim Gujarat Riots. The Indian government banned the documentary from all media platforms and dispatched riot police to prevent students from screening the outlawed documentary. The film seeks to shed light on the role that Modi played in the 2002 riots, showcasing the extremist roots of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Read our full statement here.
Protests Continue Following Burning of Quran in Sweden: Recently, a far-right Swedish politician held a Quran-burning outside the Turkish Embassy. A key policy priority for the politician in question: the banning of Muslim immigration to the country and the deportation of Muslims already living in Sweden. The burning of the Quran is a direct message to the Muslims of Sweden and should be seen as an act of hate meant to intimidate an entire minority group.
Read our full statement here.
6th Anniversary of Trump Administration Muslim Ban: “As American Muslims, having suffered the consequences of the bigoted Muslim Ban, we must work tirelessly to ensure no other religious or ethnic minority has to go through what we experienced.” - Mohammad H. Ali
On January 26th, as MPAC's Director of Policy and Government Relations, I joined members of the House of Representatives and leading civil rights organizations to implore lawmakers to pass the No Ban Act, which would prevent the President from issuing such an order in the future. Additionally, our coalition urged President Biden to provide immediate relief to thousands still harmed by the Muslim Ban.
Watch the press conference here.
Read the press release here.
Conversations on Academic Freedom: Earlier this month, MPAC expressed concern over the effective firing of Hamline University art professor, Dr. Erika López Prater, for showing a fourteenth-century painting of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to her class. Around the same time, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center denied a fellowship to former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth. This denial was due to Mr. Roth’s critical stance towards the government of Israel. Whereas we must condemn and fight against Islamophobia and antisemitism at every turn, we must not weaponize them to silence political rivals or violate core democratic principles.
Read the full statement on Dr. Erika López Prater here.
Read the full statement on Kenneth Roth here.
Watch Khanversations with Prof. Mudeqtar Khan ft. Dr. Prater and Salam Al-Marayati here.
Islamic Declaration Against Religious Police: The distressing events transpiring in the Islamic Republic of Iran impress upon us the need to issue a clear and declarative statement against the institution of religious or morality police. Religious policing results in hatred and animosity of the people towards the government and to the religion, and it breeds hypocrisy and false belief and we call for the complete and total abolition of religious or morality police.
Read the full statement here.
Watch our Fireside Chat ft. Mustafa Akyol and Dr. Javad T. Hashmi here.
The Taliban and Women’s Education: The Taliban recently denied girls and women the right to education in Afghanistan in the name of Islam. However, Islam and access to education go hand in hand; the crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan is diametrically opposed to what the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught us. MPAC stands with the women of Afghanistan in the fight for education and denounces this move from the Taliban.
Read the full statement here.
Calls for Closure of Guantánamo Bay: January 11th marked the 21st anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay and our call to close the prison has not changed. With concern about the extreme human rights violations at the detention center, MPAC joined with other human rights organizations to highlight the abuses at Guantanamo. MPAC has advocated and continues to advocate for our government to close the detention center.
Read our previous statement here.
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