MPAC Joins Faith Leaders for the #UnitedWeStand Summit at the White House

This past Thursday, President Biden hosted the United We Stand Summit at the White House. The goal was to address hate-induced violence in the United States by bringing together members of the administration, elected officials and leaders in the faith-based community and civil society.

President and Co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Salam Al-Marayati, along with 20 other American Muslim leaders, attended and shared the experiences of American Muslims and provided advice and strategy on how to counter this scourge on our Democracy.

This issue is not specific to American Muslims, nor those who prescribe to a specific faith. Rather, it’s an attack on the essence and the foundation of our nation, and we must come together to eradicate it from our society.

As recent events have shown, hate-based ideologies have resulted in attacks on countless communities throughout the country and at times have had a deadly and demoralizing impact. They promote civil unrest and erode our collective faith in our rightful place in society. Left unchecked, hate-induced ideals can manifest in policies that suppress our voices and stall effective legislation from implementation. Our efforts seek to counter that by empowering American Muslims and instilling the importance of civic engagement.

Included in those efforts is our Democracy Forums we have hosted throughout the nation. Featuring a distinguished panel of elected officials, scholars, and activists, the forums highlight the importance of our constitutional rights and ensure our voices are not silenced.

In Washington DC, MPAC will continue to build upon our efforts and work towards our goals as we continue to engage the Biden Administration. Moreover, we will continue to work on Capitol Hill, specifically with the Department of Homeland Security, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the House Homeland Security Committee. However, our role is not just to provide policy recommendations, it is also to share your experiences so that as laws are passed and then implemented, it is done keeping in mind how they will impact our community.

We are heartened by President Biden’s acknowledgment, by hosting this summit, of the importance of this issue. Moreover, our community was well represented at the summit, specifically highlighting the work and providing a voice to Rais Bhuyan of A World Without Hate, Dr LaVonne Ansari of Community Health Center in Buffalo, Masood Akhtar of We Are Many United Against Hate, Dr Suzanne Barakat, University of California, San Francisco, and close MPAC partner, Imam Mohamed Magid.

It is through your support of the MPAC’s Policy Bureau and our longstanding commitment and effort on this issue that we have a seat at the table as we strive to make progress. – MPAC