Salaam, and welcome to our July newsletter! See below for what we were up to this month as well as our upcoming events:
Young Leaders Institute Workshop
We partnered up with Young Leaders Institute to offer a Congressional Advocacy 101 training to middle school, high school, and college students. Participants completed the training with a greater understanding about the lobbying process and were prepared to effectively advocate before their Hill day the next week on Immigration and Education issues.
Want a training in your area? Email us: info@poligonnational.org
Want a training in your area? Email us: info@poligonnational.org
#Emgageonthehill
The Poligon team had a successful Hill day partnering with Emgage to speak with members of Congress and their staff about a hate crimes resolution, Muslim ban, healthcare, and anti-Muslim amendment in the NDAA. There were over 70 meetings scheduled and many participants that attended and voiced their concerns on Capitol Hill. At Poligon we strive to empower our community to participate in such advocacy every single day of the year in order to make an impact.
Survey on American Muslims
Muslims Continue to Believe in the American Dream, Despite Growing Concern.
Muslims Continue to Believe in the American Dream, Despite Growing Concern.
Our team attended Pew Research Center’s event to share the findings of their new survey concerning American Muslim religious belief and practices, social values, views about extremism, political preferences and reactions to the early days of President Donald Trump's administration, and their experiences with discrimination. Key findings include:
- 48% of Muslims say they have experienced at least one incident of discrimination in the past 12 months
- Only 44% of U.S. Muslims say they voted in the 2016 election
- One-in-four Muslims are citizens but are not registered to vote (25%). 13% of Muslim registered voters stayed home on Election Day.
Poligon attends a problematic hearing regarding ‘Combating Homegrown Terrorism’
The House subcommittee on National Security held a hearing examining the U.S. government’s policy for “countering violent extremism (CVE)” within domestic communities. CVE is controversial because of its traditional focus on the Muslim community through a law enforcement lens. At the hearing, one witness, Ms. Raheel Raza, who previously spoke about “radical Islam” at the anti-Muslim group ACT for America’s conference, made unsubstantiated statements such as declaring the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization would decrease radicalization rates. Such claims increase fear and Islamophobia by the American public and lawmakers and threaten to take away our right to civically engage and politically participate in the U.S.
Source: NBC News
#NRA2DOJ
Poligon partnered up with the Women's March against the hate evoked from the NRA ad alongside the Women's March on July 14th and 15th to declare that we are stronger than fear.
StoryCorps in Washington D.C!
Board member Wardah Khaild attended a StoryCorps event where Muslim Americans archived their stories share their journeys at the Library of Congress.
(Panelists: Mustafa Santiago Ali, Emily Chatterjee, Laura Dunn, Ian Thompson, and Maya Berry)
Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts: Civil Rights Protections at Risk
Our team attended The Arab American Institute briefing for congressional staff on how proposed budget cuts will impact civil rights protections for marginalized communities. Many experts highlighted the importance of the office of civil rights within agencies and what Congress can do to ensure their work continues to protect impacted communities.
In the News
Board member Nadia Mozaffar appeared on Between The Lines with Fatima Salman to discuss the anti-Islam amendment 200+ members of Congress voted for in the military spending bill. You can listen/ watch the segment at 32 minutes: buff.ly/2tFXQt6
Weekly Hill Happenings
We've been keeping you up-to-date on the latest on Capitol Hill with our Hill Happenings going straight to your inboxes every Friday.
Hill Happenings - July 14, 2017: Hill Headlines: New Health Care Bill, Strategic Assessment on the Muslim faith rejected, Expanding Social Security Act, No Sanctuary for Criminals Act & Kate's Law, Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act of 2017, The Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017.
Hill Happenings - July 21, 2017: Hill Headlines: Voter Empowerment Act of 2017, Dream Act, Restoring the Right to Vote, The LGBT Conclusion Act.
Hill Happenings - July 28, 2017: Hill Headlines: African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017, Prison Reform and Redemption Act, Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act, Dream Act.
Hill Happenings - July 14, 2017: Hill Headlines: New Health Care Bill, Strategic Assessment on the Muslim faith rejected, Expanding Social Security Act, No Sanctuary for Criminals Act & Kate's Law, Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act of 2017, The Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017.
Hill Happenings - July 21, 2017: Hill Headlines: Voter Empowerment Act of 2017, Dream Act, Restoring the Right to Vote, The LGBT Conclusion Act.
Hill Happenings - July 28, 2017: Hill Headlines: African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017, Prison Reform and Redemption Act, Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act, Dream Act.
Action Alerts
ACTION ALERT: Save Our Health Care
ACTION ALERT: NDAA Anti-Islam Amendment
Don't forget to visit our website to view our policy briefs and the latest updates. Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter to stay up-to-date on news affecting American Muslims and our allies on Capitol Hill. Feel free to forward this newsletter to others.
Stay active,
Afif, Nadia, and Wardah
ACTION ALERT: NDAA Anti-Islam Amendment
Don't forget to visit our website to view our policy briefs and the latest updates. Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter to stay up-to-date on news affecting American Muslims and our allies on Capitol Hill. Feel free to forward this newsletter to others.
Stay active,
Afif, Nadia, and Wardah
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