Assalamu Alaikum

As Trump refused to follow the 20-year-old White House tradition of Iftar or Eid celebrations, the Supreme Court gave us their own “Eid gift”: The Muslim Ban 3.

The decision by the Supreme Court can be used to deny entry to refugees running away from wars for 120 days. The decision is bound to create more confusion and lawsuits.

These threatened or actualized policies-- the Muslim Ban, the threat to ban Muslim organizations like CAIR, the threat of a Muslim Registry-- all have a real impact in emboldening attacks on Muslims, whether they come from scheming Islamophobes, the White House’s Islamophobic policies, the thugs on the streets who attack hijabis, or the bullies who torment our children in schools.

And then there are the stealth attacks being used to target American Muslim citizens. These attacks, unpublicized, come through memos being sent by the Islamophobes in the White House to different government departments. It is these stealth attacks that deny legitimate Muslim charities their Paypal funds, disrupt Muslim-owned businesses, and cause severe trouble for traveling Muslims, such as the son of the great Muhammad Ali.

The FBI has always routinely visited Muslims. But now with the Trump administration in power and with his fellow racist Attorney General Jeff Sessions overseeing the FBI and the entire Department of Justice, these visits have intensified.

Talking Points

• Don’t be silent.
• Ask your local media to invite a Muslim spokesperson to talk about the Muslim Ban. Ask them why American Muslims are not given opportunities to talk about a “Muslim” Ban. It is only logical to have Muslims talk about an issue impacting Muslims.
• Use the term “Muslim Ban 3” as you talk about it.
• Criticize the ban, noting its Islamophobic origin.
• The President claims that the ban is to protect the U.S. from terrorists. However, the research by Cato Institute asserts that no one from the 6 countries banned has killed anyone in a terror attack on the U.S. soil since 1975.
• Barring anyone on the basis of religion or nationality without evidence is un-American.
• Thank them on-the-record and off-air for inviting a Muslim to talk about the Muslim Ban.

Thinking Points

• Now we see the effects of the Republicans not letting President Obama appoint a Supreme Court Justice. Changing the direction of the judiciary might be the lasting legacy of the Trump administration.
• This makes 2018 Congressional elections very critical.
• It’s a long term fight. Scholars believe what America is going through (or what Muslims are facing here) is going to last 20 or so years. So we’re in a long term fight to liberate our country from fear, hate, and anger.

Action Items

Short Term

• We need to hold events to get the media to cover the Muslim Ban 3. Otherwise it will disappear from the headlines. Even a small vigil outside a mosque, a church, or a temple would be good.
• Keep some iconic images of women's march, showing diversity in posters ready as a background to make sure people don’t forget the connection.
• Send out a media advisory of the event. If you don’t have the means, just let us know and we will develop one for you.
• Write to each local media outlet asking why they have not invited a Muslim spokesperson to talk about this issue, because it impacts us most directly.
• If there is a July 4th Parade, have a diverse group march in support of diversity, immigration, and refugee rights.
• Ask the government agencies how they plan to implement Muslim Ban 3. Many of the government agencies regularly stay in contact with Muslims. For example, ask the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to provide any information concerning the process of dealing with passengers arriving from the six banned countires. Agencies are legally obligated to respond to such requests in a timely fashion.
• Report: Reporting is extremely important. Please report each incident regarding this travel ban to Muslim Advocate here, and any hate crime to HuffingtonPost here.

Long Term

• Masjid: If you don’t have a civic engagement committee or a coalition building committee this is the time to form one. If you need a job description for it, we can provide you one.
• Muslim Youth: Since it is a long term fight to liberate our country from fear, hate and anger, it is critically important that we invest now in strengthening our youth programs, adopting MSAs, and funding them so that they can build coalitions amongst youth on campus.

We must achieve a balance of Dua and action. And then trust God. He runs the world, we don’t.

Isn't it amazing that several hundred million people fasted for a whole month, some for as long as 18 hours a day, and some under 120 degrees temperature without air-conditioning. If they sip a little water, no one would even notice. But they fasted day after day without water or a bite just to please their God, Lord of the Universe. God is the greatest.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illallahu Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, wa lillahil hamd.

Peace and Eid Mubarak
Abdul Malik Mujahid

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