A
Grassroots Organization
By Kaleem Kawaja
Washington DC
Following the American
Muslim
Taskforce's (AMT) qualified
endorsement for John Kerry for President in
the recent election, some people have enquired
if AMT is a representative organization of the
5 million Muslim-Americans.
The following facts establish that AMT indeed
is a grassroots organization of the US Muslim
community.
a. TOWNHALL CITIZENS MEETINGS
In the last one year AMT and its affiliate organizations
held about 50 town-hall type meetings of ordinary
Muslim citizens in many cities throughout the
US to elicit their opinion and to provide information
to them on the US political/electoral issues.
These town hall meeting were publicized in advance
in several community newspapers. AMT placed
a full-page advertisement in the August 2004
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention
brochure. This advertisement contained the names
of the cities where AMT had held these meetings,
or was going to hold them.
The American Muslim Alliance (AMA) - an AMT
member organization - town hall meetings (arranged
by AMA but held under the AMT banner), were
held in the following cities: four in New York,
three in New Jersey, three in Chicago, two in
Fremont, CA, one each in, Milwaukee (Wisconsin),
Appleton (Wisconsin), Detroit (Michigan), Santa
Clara (California), Boston (Massachussetts),
Tampa (Florida), and Dallas (Texas). Council
on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim
American Society (MAS), members/affiliates of
AMT held at least as many town hall meetings
as AMA. Other AMT members/affiliates also held
a few town hall meetings.
Several non-AMT groups also held town hall meetings
in keeping with AMT's agenda and plan of action.
For example, UMAT organized a town hall meeting
in Toledo (Ohio), on September 26.
These town hall meetings were also held in 2004
during the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
Convention, Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA) Convention, American Muslim Alliance
(AMA) Convention, and Council on American Islamic
Relations (CAIR) Convention. These town hall
meetings were listed in the convention programs
of ICNA, ISNA, and AMA as AMT Town Hall
Meetings.
The full report of the AMA/AMT Town Hall Meeting
during the AMA Convention in Orlando, Florida,
has been published in the last issue of the
Washington Report, a respected US magazine.
b. AN UMBRELLA OF A DOZEN MAJOR MUSLIM
ORGANIZATIONS
AMT was formed in December 2003 by about a dozen
largest organizations of American Muslims, who
are either members of AMT or are affiliated
to it. Together these organizations represent
American Muslims of various backgrounds, e.g.
Arab-Americans, African-Americans, South Asian-Americans.
AMT draws its resources from these organizations,
and representatives of these organizations define
AMT policies. These organizations are: Council
on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic
Society of North America (ISNA), Islamic Circle
of North America (ICNA), Muslim Students Association
(MSA), American Muslim Alliance (AMA), Muslim
Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Muslim American
Society (MSA), Muslim Ummah of North America
(MUNA), Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA),
United Muslims of America (UMA), Project Islamic
Hope (PIH).
c. ETHNIC, GENDER, GENERATION DIVERSITY
The AMT Board members are Muslims of all shades,
African-Americans, Arab-Americans, South Asian-Americans,
men and women, youth and elder folks.
(The writer is the head of the Washington DC
Chapter of the United Muslims of America)
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