What Do We Stand For
The Muslim Peace Coalition believes that war, terrorism, and
Islamophobia form a dangerous nexus that is dragging our nation backward. It is
not only our economy and constitution that are under attack because of this set,
but our very spirit and morale, thus diminishing our standing as the world’s
leading nation. Here are some harrowing statistics that make this clear:
Standing up for our
Democracy:
- Every person under U.S. jurisdiction or control
is entitled to Bill of Rights protections. However, PATRIOT ACT is undermining
our constitution and our justice system.
- Latinos and other immigrants are routinely
subject to unconstitutional searches
- 700,000 Muslims have been interviewed by FBI
- People are being asked to defend themselves
while they are told their evidence is secret. How can one defend himself or
herself while his evidence is secret.
- The country cannot be made safer by sacrificing
some rights for all or part of its population.
Saving America from War-Economy
Disaster:
- The cost to NY State this year for war will be
$15 billion according to the Government Accountability Project.
- This is while NY State has around a $10 Billion
deficit causing layoff of state workers, wage freezes and cut to social
services, education, etc.
- We are competing with China for trade,
investment and natural resources. China is welcomed everywhere despite its
totalitarian system while we are hated despite our democracy.
- London has replaced New York as the financial
capitol of the world since we have become an unwelcoming nation
Fighting hate in
America:
- The number of armed militias has doubled (Time
magazine)
- President Obama is receiving 400% more death
threats than President Bush did (Secret Service)
- The number of active hate groups in the U.S.
topped 1,000 for the first time. (Southern Poverty Law Center “2010 – The Year
in Hate & Extremism”)
Standing up for our
rights:
- 13 states are considering anti-Muslim laws
- 30,000+ Muslims have been detained; mosques
across the country have been checked for nuclear bombs
- 28% of Muslim students in New York Public
Schools report being stopped by police as a result of profiling in New York (Columbia)
- 7% Muslim students say they have been physically
assaulted (Columbia)
Muslim Peace Coalition invites Muslims to work with millions
of our neighbors who are fighting for peace and justice against wars and
Islamophobia.
Muslim Peace
Coalition’s Positions
- We actively oppose war
- We repeatedly condemn terrorism
- We fight Islamophobia
- And to do that we stand with those who stand
with us
- In
coalitions with peace movement, labor & interfaith
- In
peaceful struggle for civil & human rights for all
Over 130 Imams have
already joined our call
Spearheaded by the Muslim Peace Coalition, 100 New York Imams in the
spring of 2011 stood together to issue a historic statement which established
the link between wars at home and wars abroad. Here is the text and the names.
Our invitation to
you:
- Volunteer to work for protecting our rights by
offering your skills and time
- You can invite us to your campus to speak about
Muslim perspectives on issues connected to war, terrorism, and Islamophobia.
- We can organize training for peace and justice
activism in your community.
- Please sign up for our newsletter, Facebook and
Twitter pages.
- Send a donation to support this important work,
which thus far, no other organization has taken up.
