On Monday, April 13th, 2015 The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) hosted the first ever National Muslim advocacy day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Representing more than 20 states, 280 Muslims descended on Capitol Hill in efforts to connect national, regional, and state Muslim organizations, community members and activists with their elected representatives. The aim of the event was to develop influence and goodwill between the Muslim community and congress.
The issues at hand were relevant to all Americans, but it was specifically Muslim Americans that discussed how these issues affect their lives personally and the country as a whole.
Prior to the event a series of online seminars was available to train registered participants in valuable advocacy techniques and prepare them for congressional meetings. The day began at The Rayburn House office building where political experts gave Muslim delegates advice and lobbying tips on how to communicate their advocacy issues effectively.
The delegates were then split into groups according to their state of origin and each group convened with offices of their state senators and with representatives from their congressional district. In total, 200 congressional offices were visited amounting to approximately a third of The House of Representatives and nearly half of the Senate.
The focus of the discussions was to address issues that are of increasing concern to Muslims, such as government surveillance and racial profiling. The delegates urged representatives to support the following issues of concern:
- Convincing congress to urge the U.S Department of Justice to amend its racial profiling guidance for federal law enforcement through the process of removing loopholes that allow profiling to flourish under the guise of border protection, surveillance, and national security.
- Corroborate Federal legislation that prohibits any federal, state, local or Indian tribal law enforcement agency from profiling based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin or religion, and to endorse and co-sponsor the End Racial Profiling Act of 2015.
- Introduced a bill to congress that was proposed by Congressman Andre Carson (D-IN). It aims to address continual problems with youth-violence through strengthening and endorsing after school programs that allow for college students to take part in them using federal work study hours such as the Students Helping Young Students Act of 2015.
The day’s success can be attributed to the collaborative efforts of a broad coalition of Muslim organizations and demonstrates the strength and influence that can be achieved through unified efforts.
