Muslim Public Affairs Council
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- This article is about the US organisation headquartered in Los Angeles. For the US organization headquartered in Raleigh, see Muslim American Public Affairs Council.
- For the British organisation of a similar name, see Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is a national American Muslim advocacy and public policy organization headquartered in Los Angeles and with offices in Washington D.C. MPAC was founded in 1986.
MPAC has participated in a number of coalitions and networks, and recently worked with Japanese American organizations.
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[edit] History
MPAC was founded in 1986 as the "Political Action Committee of the Islamic Center of Southern California". It was later renamed in 1988 to the "Muslim Public Affairs Council."[1]
In its history, it has condemned the death fatwa against Salman Rushdie and the attacks on the World Trade Center, and denounced the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.[2]
[edit] Response to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
On August 10, 2006 the London Metropolitan Police announced that it had arrested key suspects in a terrorist plot to detonate bombs on a number of flights from the UK to cities in the U.S. and that the plot had been disrupted [3] as it was "getting close to the execution phase"[4], with a dry run planned within two days of the arrests according to U.S. intelligence officials.[5] High security measures were put in place at all UK airports, including a banning of all non-essential hand luggage. Security was also increased at many airports around the world, with a large number of flights into the UK being cancelled.
A few hours later U.S. President George W. Bush said the plot was "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."
Both the MPAC and the Council on American Islamic Relations criticized the use of the term 'Islamic fascism.' Edina Lekovic, spokeswoman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said, "The problem with the phrase is it attaches the religion of Islam to tyranny and fascism, rather than isolating the threat to a specific group of individuals."[6]
[edit] Senior National Staff
- Salam Al-Marayati - Executive Director
- Safiya Ghori - Government Relations Director
- Edina Lekovic - Communications Director
- Suhad Obeidi - Director of Operations
[edit] Criticism
Daniel Pipes accuses MPAC of promoting Islamism, which MPAC denies. MPAC responded by saying that its philosophy and work contradicts what Islamist ideologues stand for, and accused pro-Israel interest groups of a smear campaign.[1]
MPAC states opposition to religious extremism, criticizing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and supporting gender equality. During the 2005 ISNA convention they presented anti-terrorism information.
[edit] References
- ^ MPAC Timeline
- ^ MPAC Timeline
- ^ BBC News. Ministers' statements in full. BBC News. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.
- ^ CNN.com. Security chief: Airline terror plot 'close to execution'. CNN. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.
- ^ Lare Jakes Jordan. U.S. posts code-red alert; bans liquids. AP. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.
- ^ Amanda Beck. US Muslims bristle at Bush term "Islamic fascists". Red Orbit. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.
