Did you see how politicians threw Muslims under the bus yet again?
Yesterday, Democrats staged a dramatic 16-hour sit-in on the House floor, following last week’s Senate 15-hour filibuster to force Republicans to vote on gun control. In the wake of the Orlando shooting which claimed 49 lives, it is refreshing to see lawmakers finally addressing the gun violence epidemic in the U.S. If only that were the case!
Unfortunately, the Democratic proposal fails to address the realities of gun violence and instead expands Islamophobic “War on Terror” policies that disproportionately target Arab and Muslim Americans. After four gun control bills died on the Senate floor last week—which called for sensible measures such as requiring individual background checks on all gun sales —the current bill House Democrats are fighting for bans assault weapon sales to individuals placed on the No Fly List which is almost exclusively Muslim.1
Rather than admitting they’re too weak to take on the NRA, politicians have once again scapegoated Muslims to score political points because they think they are too weak to push back. At United Voices, we’re working to change that.
This Ramadan, CAN WE COUNT ON YOU to make a Zakat-eligible donation to HELP US PUSH-BACK AGAINST anti-Muslim legislation and other efforts to marginalize our communities? CLICK TO DONATE.
Despite our knowledge of Omar Mateen’s background, elements of the media and government continue to focus on his Muslim identity and alleged ISIS affiliation—for which there has been no proven link.Politicians are now throwing around vague terms such as “potential terrorists,” a euphemism for Muslims, to whom gun sales must be blocked — despite that majority of mass shootings are carried out by White perpetrators.
According to the ACLU2, the danger of the “No Fly, No Buy” proposal lies in the unconstitutionality of the No Fly List—a complete civil rights disaster. This policy allows the government to place Americans “who have never been charged let alone convicted of a crime” on a no-fly blacklist based on an unidentified threat “which may or may not occur.” Currently, close to 800,000 people have been placed on this error-prone list–most of whom are Muslim–which lacks due process and/or recourse to challenge one’s designation.3
Once again, lawmakers are throwing Muslim Americans under the bus because they know our communities are vulnerable and think we won’t fight back.
This blessed month, will you donate $500, $250, $100 or any other amount to help us stand up for ourselves and push-back against political scapegoating? Every dollar helps and donations are zakat-eligible.
To donate visit: http://unitedvoices.com/ramadan
Donations are tax-deductible, our tax id is 26-3167994
If you prefer to mail a check, please make it payable to “United Voices and send it to 1775 Eye Street NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20006.
Let’s work together to demand that our elected officials actually fight for the victims, take on the gun lobby, and advocate for genuine reform instead of fueling the further backlash against Muslims.
Thanks so much for your continued support.
