March 25, 2017

Op-Eds

“The Zookeeper’s Wife” and Our Call to Provide Sanctuary (Patheos)

Antonina not only gave warm hospitality to those they rescued, but lifted their spirits with music and by creating a feeling of community in her own home. Her daily acts of compassion saved hundreds of lives. So what has happened to our own call to provide sanctuary today? (Co-written by Sue Obeidi)

Muslim Ban Remix: Weakening American National Security (Huffington Post)

Over the last year or so, Trump and his supporters have successfully sold a narrative to the American public that wrongly links our national security to the admission of refugees and immigrants from select Muslim nations. At every stage, the President and his aides have justified the idea of a Muslim ban and its subsequent implementation on some vague insistence that people from those countries are a threat and that we need to prevent them from coming into our country. (Written by Salam Al-Marayati).

Mentions & Quotes

The Denationalization of American Muslims (The Atlantic)

And the more rejected American Muslims feel by their neighbors and their government, the more convincing ISIS’s argument becomes. “The American model of integration, of pluralism, is exactly the counter narrative to ISIS,” argues Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “But with Trump, there’s the risk of following the European model, of a psychological if not physical ghettoization of Muslims.”

Muslim Actors Scoring More Roles in Hollywood (TMZ)

Sue Obeidi, the director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council [Hollywood Bureau], says studios and production companies are reaching out to her group to consult on accurate plots. She adds, "rather than just casting someone who might look Middle Eastern or Arabic, networks are pushing for actual Muslims to play Muslim characters."

Despite Earlier Denials, the White House Now Says an Anti-Muslim Leader had a Meeting There (BuzzFeed)

The Muslim Public Affairs Council said, “[Brigitte] Gabriel has absolutely no formal credentials — academic or otherwise — to be an expert on Islam or Muslims, but what she does have is a long-standing history of making baseless, inflammatory statements about the faith and its adherents. Until the administration is willing to hear from and speak directly to credible experts, they will continue to create policies that are based on fear, not fact, and will continue to further the divide between us in America, and America and the world.”

"More Roles for Muslim Actors Since Trump" (Metro Nieuws, Netherlands)

According to Sue Obeidi, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council [Hollywood Bureau] people are not just being cast who look Arab or Middle Eastern, like Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia, but media productions are searching for actual Muslims to play a Muslim character. (This article was originally published in Dutch and translated by Google).

Hate Crimes Against Muslims Advance in the United States (HuffPost Brasil)

Rabiah Ahmed, communications director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told HuffPost that she considers Trump and his government responsible for increasing hate crimes against Jews, Muslims and other minorities. "Divisional rhetoric encourages many to act upon their prejudices and serves as a justification for such acts," Ahmed wrote in an e-mail. "It is Trump's responsibility to end this rising tide of hatred we are witnessing." (This article was originally published in Portuguese and translated by Google).