Posted on 11/22/2004 4:16:31 PM PST by milestogo
Are We Ready for a Muslim American Parliament?
By Kaleem Kawaja
Washington, DC
In browsing some websites recently I came across some strange postings that implied that some people do not consider the following organizations as credible or representative of the Muslim American community.
1. CAIR: Council on American Islamic Relations; ISNA: Islamic Society of North America; ICNA: Islamic Circle of North America; MSA: Muslim Students Association; AMA: American Muslim Alliance; MAS: Muslim American Society and MPAC: Muslim Public Affairs Council.
At least the first five organizations listed above have chapters in many cities across US, coast to coast. At least the first five organizations have been organizing annual, semi-annual and in some instances quarterly conventions/conferences throughout the US.
Additionally, their chapters in various cities hold good size meetings about once a month. For many years these annual conventions have been attended by from 10,000 to 40,000 Muslims. Most attendees in these conventions pay registration fees. When these groups organize fundraisers, usually they are full house.
The magazines published by these organizations are subscribed by large numbers of Muslim Americans. AMA, MPAC are public advocacy bodies with chapters throughout the US, and they also hold conferences attended by a large number of Muslims, although not as large as the first five in the above list. MAS is a large and popular organization in Eastern US, that has grown in the last 5 years.
All of these organizations have Boards whose members are chosen in a pluralistic method of indirect election/selection. Office bearers, members, followers of these organizations represent Muslims of all ethnicities: African-American, SouthAsian-American, Arab-American etc. These groups are organized in a manner somewhat similar to other major denominational organizations, e.g. Baptists, Methodists, Christian-Scientists, Quakers, Catholics etc.
Thus it is obvious that the above organizations are very credible and very representative of the Muslims who live in the US.
About a year ago the above groups, and four other Muslim groups, namely United Muslims of America (UMA), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), and Project Islamic Hope (PIH), joined hands with the above seven groups to form a national umbrella Political Action Committee with the name American Muslim Taskforce (AMT).
In the short period of 10 months, AMT working closely with its member and affiliate organizations galvanized the 5 million Muslim Americans, who were previously reluctant to get active in the political arena, into unified action. Thus this year a record number of Muslim citizens in many cities throughout US organized fundraisers, worked actively in the campaigns of their favorite candidates, and about 90 percent of them voted on November 2. A feedback from the community indicates that about 81 percent of Muslim voters followed the guidance of AMT for a qualified vote for John Kerry, the Democratic candidate for President.
In some other Western countries, e.g. UK, France, Muslims have organized their “parliaments” that hold elections every few years, where people who are members of various groups run for election. These “Muslim Parliaments” advise the governments in their respective countries on affairs of the Muslim community. The net result is greater empowerment of the Muslim community.
The success of the AMT umbrella and its dozen constituents who have much ethnic, ideological and political diversities among them, in reaching consensus and acting on it in the recent election indicates that the five million strong Muslim community in the US is ready to form an “Muslim American Parliament”.
This “Muslim Parliament” will be of great value in developing minimum common agenda for the community, and in negotiating and influencing favorable responses from the governments, at the federal, state and county levels in the US. More than anything it will provide real empowerment to the Muslim community in the US in the current very unfavorable situation of the community.
Let us hope that the leadership of all major Muslim organizations will now take the initiative to develop this much-needed common community platform for the welfare of us all.
(The writer is a community leader in Washington, DC)
GEEZ
The Saudi $$$$$ must be weaned out otherwise the Wahhabists rule, that's NOT a good thing.
Errmmm OK.
I guess they want to have a high command to both direct and deny being involved in terrorist operations. Ship 'em all back where they came from, and those born here should be given a plane ticket (one way!) to the mohammedan rathole of their choice!
They have a lot to learn, and like the Belgians
we are going to teach them.
We have a representative democratic republic,
no King, no Queen, no Prime Minister and
NO PARLIAMENT!
Exactly. CAIR is the Sean Finn of Islamic Terror - attempting to legitmize baby killing in the name of Islam.
CAIR is more concerned about image than actual reform, one is led to believe that they don't care much about actually FIXING Islam so that it CAN translate to the 9th Century, and someday even the 21st.
Al Haramain Foundation
Alavi Foundation
Benevolence International Foundation (BIF)
Global Relief Foundation (GRF)
Help the Needy
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF)
Human Appeal International
Institute of Islamic and Arabic Science in America (IIASA)
International Islamic Relief Organization
International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) or Internal Relief Organization(IRO)
Islamic African Relief Agency and/or Islamic American Relief Agency
Islamic Assembly of North American
Islamic Association for Palestine
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
Islamic Foundation of America
Islamic Society of North America
Kind Hearts
Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA)
Muslim Student Association
Muslim World League
Rabita Trust
SAAR Foundation and all members and related entities
Solidarity International and/or Solidarity USA
United Association for Studies and Research (USAR)
World Assembly of Muslim Youth
I've been concerned that something like this was going to happen and that at some point, the Muslims would place their politicians in positions of power locally, then States wide, then Federally. Each of those "blue" States first and then gradually as many "red" States as possible.
It's called something like "tolerance" or "inclusion" and what it begets is a THEOCRATIC Country with an IMAM as "President."
And most of us "here" will either accept Islam or become 'headless' -- or maybe form an underground.
At least we won't have to worry about Hilery being placed in a position of power in an Islamic United States.
Over my dead body.....
Amen. Let them go to a muslim enclave. We are Judaeo Christian here. This country should not tolerate them. All this nonsense about diversity will end up destroying us.
Or maybe he meant Sean Penn. Same thing, at bottom.
Regardless of the leftist "tolerant world view" You will be known by the company you keep. You will need "7 times 7" the efforts in both your words and deeds to regain the trust and respect of "the rest of America". If you remain silent on the evil that lurks in your house, the evil will visit itself upon you. If you fail to spread the peace of Allah in the land of your home, the war will be on your doorstep.
That, my friend, is the idea- if you're not Muslim.
One more 9/11 attack and we won't have to worry about Muslims living in America. PERIOD
They'll all have to pack up their bags and baggage and go back to the hellhole from whence they came.
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