February 11, 2011

On Saturday, Jan. 29, MPAC Western New York held its annual meeting at the Center for Tomorrow on the University of Buffalo at Amherst campus.

For seven years, MPAC has been in Western New York. "MPAC represents an embodiment of American Muslims," said Dr. Khalid Qazi, president of the W-NY chapter. "How we want to be, how we want to be perceived, how we want to be projected, and what we actually are."

The jam-packed evening consisted of a presentation of the financial report, the president’s report, a panel discussion about the Park 51 Islamic Center, and a book signing.

The keynote speaker was Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of New York City, who talked about how plans for the Park 51 Islamic community may no longer be at the original location, something that became a controversial issue during the fall elections.

"I don't know whether it'll be on this spot, but the vision we have had is the Muslim version of a YMCA, a center which is open for everyone, a board of trustees made up of people from many faiths," Abdul Rauf said.

The event’s guests included the Rev. John Paul Boyer of the Buffalo Episcopal Diocese, the Rev. Tom Yorty of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Drorah Setel, president of the Board of Rabbis, and Ben Hegeman, a teacher at Houghton College, with some of his students.

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Marium F. Mohiuddin (marium@mpac.org)
Communications Coordinator