MPAC Pledge to Fight Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Animus

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) calls on all workplaces to stay true to their DEI efforts and commit to protecting any and all of their employees in the workplace. In recent weeks there has been a surge of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim animus, harassment, and hate crimes across the country. Many of our community members have been subjected to surveillance, harassment, and doxing for mourning and advocating against the deaths of over 18,000 Palestinians in the last few weeks. Between Oct 7 to Dec 2nd, there were 2,171 reports of anti-Muslim bias and hate-based incidents including hate crimes. 

Companies and Human Resources (HR) Departments have an ethical and professional responsibility to protect all of their employees. They are capable, without taking a firm political stance, of protecting Jewish, and Muslim employees, without compromising their DEI efforts. We ask that workplaces sign on to these pledges:

1. We pledge to address Islamophobic rhetoric as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. We will integrate combating Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian/anti-Arab discourse into our DEI efforts. 

2. We pledge to acknowledge and protect our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim employees. We will offer an affinity group and programming for our Muslim employees. We will evaluate our policies to make improvements to accommodate the religious needs of all employees, such as dietary restrictions and prayer spaces. 

3. We pledge to accommodate Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim employees during this difficult time for their communities. We will respect and support employees affected by current events. 

4. We pledge to publicly affirm the safety of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim employees and denounce any Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian/anti-Arab rhetoric that exists in the workplace. Whether it be in a press release or mass communication to employees, we pledge to disavow this behavior against our employees. We will create a system for employees to report any Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian, and/or anti-Arab hate that they may face in the workplace. 

We pledge to respect our employees’ freedom of expression and speech. We affirm their protection from potential retaliation regarding their independent activities. All employees have the right to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal.

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