Church Sign Condemns Muslims

In election 2010 Muslims can still play a pivotal role in battle ground states. The great challenge is how to leverage this Muslim vote into actual deliverables that will make a difference in the American Muslims community and the general society. Although electoral politics is not a pan of fear for all of the challenges that face our community it is still a vital strategic tool in the empowerment of the American Muslim community.

Imam Mahdi Bray

Quote: “Register, educate, mobilize and on Election Day take your souls to the poles.”

Education, Engagement, and Empowerment:  MAS Freedom Gears Up for the Challenges of Election 2010

Calling the November, 2010 election “one of the most critical times of political decision in recent memory”, MAS Freedom is preparing to engage in a vigorous campaign to educate, engage, and empower the national Muslim community to play a historic role in the shaping of major national policies that will impact not only Muslims in America, but a huge segment of the national population as well.

MAS Freedom, along with other programs of the Muslim American Society, will bring the work of its Center for Civic Empowerment to mosques, community centers, schools, and other institutions within the Muslim community in support of a broad, non-partisan effort to register eligible Muslim voters while educating the community about the critical issues that will be decided in November, 2010.  The organization does not engage in advocacy for specific political parties or candidates, but according to Executive Director Mahdi Bray, the organization strongly supports the idea “when all the policy issues and principles are on the table, Muslim voters will consistently support policies that reflect both the values of Islam and the policies that are consistent with good citizenship and the best interests of the entire nation.”

MAS Freedom, which was active in several congressional citizens hearings on national health care policy issues, points to several recent campaigns to mobilize and register Muslim voters, including the 2006 Senatorial election in Virginia.  In that hotly contested race between a Republican incumbent and a challenger from the Democratic Party, the MAS Center for Electoral Empowerment project encouraged thousands of new Muslim voters in the Commonwealth to go to the polls and vote.

Although neither candidate was endorsed by the organization, the turn-out of the Muslim vote- by all accounts more than 60.000 people-played a decisive role in the outcome of the election, and in changing the partisan balance of power in the United States Senate.

But in 2010, the stakes for Muslims in Virginia and the entire nation may be even bigger.  Ibrahim Ramey, the Human and Civil Rights Program Director for the organization, noted that “the recent anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona, and the conservative backlash against national health care legislation, point to the importance of the 2010 election, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, one third of the U.S. Senate, and thousands of seats in state legislatures will be up for election.  We at MAS Freedom believe that the protection of our collective civil rights and civil liberties as a community will definitely be at stake, and once again, Muslims must mobilize and vote to defend policies that protect our interests as workers, consumers, immigrants, and an integral part of the life of the United States.”

Between May and the November elections, MAS Freedom plans to organize a number of town hall meetings throughout the country that will welcome candidates, from all political parties, to present their voting records and their ideas before the Muslim community.  “The key to MAS Freedom’s work”, concluded Bray, “is to encourage Muslims to claim our rightful place as leaders in the national community while continuing to push for a legislative agenda that delivers more social justice, more security, and more equality for the Muslim community, and for the entire nation.”

Jihadists And “The Narrative” CBS 60 minutes video footage on Muslim youth and extremism – click here to view.

Church Sign Condemns Muslims PRIMROSE, Ga. — People who live near the Faith Baptist Church in Primrose call the pastor’s messages offensive.The marquee in front of the Faith Baptist Church in Primrose reads, ” Islam will take you to Hell.”That message greets residents and people who travel down Highway 41 through Primrose.Billy Ball is the pastor of Faith Baptist Church and the author of the sign that many in his community find offensive.Ball said he doesn’t care about offending people.