Dear Friends,

As-salaamu alaikum. Peace and blessings of God be upon you.

I want to take a moment to thank you for believing in the work that we do and for investing in our mission to make America a more just and equitable place.

Over 30 years ago Dr. Maher Hathout set his focus of improving understanding and policies that affect the American Muslim community. To do this he and I started The Muslim Public Affairs Council. For nearly eight years, it was just the two of us, until our volunteer board of directors was able to raise funding to start hiring staff, one at a time. Our challenge in those years as an organization was keeping up with the momentum of events happening here and around the world. From the beginning, MPAC has only accepted donations from U.S. donors, like you, and not from any foreign governments or groups.

The past few years have come with a set of challenges for our community as we were thrown into battles for the protection of our community against white supremacy, harmful immigration policies, and many other harmful policies. These challenges don’t show any sign of slowing down under the Trump administration, but we need to remember that coming together as a community will see us through the toughest times. The Qur’an reminds us that, “God has promised those among you who believe and perform righteous deeds that He will surely make them stewards upon the earth, as He caused those before them to be stewards, and that He will establish for them their religion, which He has approved for them, and that He will surely change them from a state of fear to one of security.” (24:55)

I’m reminded of a scientific technique I learned back as a biochemistry major at UCLA. In a process called electrophoresis, the application of a negative charge causes proteins to rise up toward a positive charge. To overcome the situation we find ourselves in today, we have to make the choice to actively rise up, together, and constantly focus on moving toward the positive charges of unity, solidarity, and support. With your help, we will rise up.

I am grateful for your ongoing partnership and for your commitment to building a better future one day at a time.

Sincerely,

Salam Al-Marayati

President & Co-Founder