MCN Activities
Post 9/11 Community Empowerment: Planning and Participation, Dialogue and Direct Services
After the disaster of the terror attack, thousands of NYC Muslims have been suffering from backlash as well as fear and financial crisis. Members of MCN have been significantly and consistently involved in post 9/11 response, providing counseling, emergency social services and financial assistance. Members have also served to improve community access to services. Thanks to the Red Cross Liberty Fund, in 2006, with funding from Council of Churches, MCN began to move forward on its capacity building mission to support an array of post 9/11 mental health, community resiliency, and community building trainings and activities through small grants (between $50-$1500). The Council of Churches of New York also reimbursed MCN for some of its own post 9/11 programs to serve our community, including interfaith dialogue, panels addressing stigma surrounding mental health, domestic violence and HIV/AIDS as well a media capacity building training. Most of these funds were distributed in 2006 and some remaining funds in 2007. The organizations and projects that we supported with mini-grants included:
2007
2006
We have continued our interfaith events into 2007, including the Children of Abraham Peace Walk and iftar programs during Ramadan. See an article about one such iftar, written by Matthew Wiener, Interfaith Center of NY: "Iftar and American Islam" . MCN has also supported annual events and conferences of community organizations, through small donations to Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and the Network of Arab American Professionals.
March- May 2006 Report
Planning
Dialogue for Healing
Participation for Resiliency
Direct Services and Education
March- May 2006 Report
The ripple effects of 9/11 continue to be worsened by the fear created by anti-Muslim backlash, hate crimes and national security policies. In addition, service providers and educators face the challenge of a fragmented and insular community with a stigma against discussing mental health in public. However, MCN board members are very active in developing civic engagement, empowering men and women and promoting a variety of self help strategies, and providing referrals directly when needed.
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Planning
In mid-April, MCN board members and guests from the community received training in Strategic Planning for prioritizing health, recovery and other programs, with training supplied by Federation for Protestant Welfare Agencies. This assisted the group to further develop their vision and objectives for 2006.Back
Dialogue for Healing
On March 28, Adem Carroll attended the Church World Service retreat as a representative of MCN. He participated in workshops on Asset-Based Organizing; Katrina related recovery work; Farmers & Fishers: Meeting the Needs of Those Who Feed Us; Plenary: Key Reflections on Forum and Recommendations on Capacity Issues. For a second year, he brought Muslim representation and input into what was essentially a Christian, ecumenical event.During this period he also attended the Marshall Meyers Retreat organized by the Interfaith Center and helped planners obtain a speaker on mental health services in the Muslim community. To further promote interfaith dialogue and trust, he met with Jews for Social and Economic Justice; Dialogue Project; and the Jerusalem.
In April, MCN representatives discussed backlash mitigation models and culturally sensitive approaches to recovery with New York Disaster Interfaith Services and invited guests such as Dr. Siddhartha Shah. Members were able to research studies from Detroit, a longer-settled Muslim and Arab community, as possible models for preparedness and developing access to services.
Also in April, board members assisted in an FBI Town Hall meeting for 200 community members in Jackson Heights; this allowed diverse Muslims to offer feedback to officials about post 9/11 backlash and restrictive policies.
MCN Board member Debbie Almontaser helped plan the meeting with Police Commissioner on May 12, at the Muslim Youth Center. As a board member of Yemeni American Association and a cultural diversity consultant, she also helped plan Arab Heritage Week to raise morale in the Muslim American community in New York.
Board member Wissam Nasr, also affiliated with CAIR, helped plan the CAIR Dinner to recognize the important work of community strengthening and to give hope to community feeling under pressure from negative media. CAIR also worked for civic inclusion, linking with several MCN Board members to meet with Mayor Bloomberg, to encourage the Board of Education to recognize Muslim holidays, or at least not give city-wide tests on those days.
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Civic Engagement and Participation for Resiliency
In mid-April MCN met with representatives of the American Red Cross Outreach Department to discuss setting up several trainings throughout the city. Several imams and community leaders have agreed to participate and host trainings.On April 19, three board members were featured speakers at a Queens event to encourage ACS and other social services to recognize the stress that Muslim families are under since 9/11, with an increase in family violence. Board Member Robina Niaz, founder of Turning Point for Women and Families, helped plan the event. The Borough President spoke and attended the event. MCN was a co-sponsor of the program. On April 29, MCN Board Members Hasan Chugtai and Sarah Sayeed introduced MCN some 150 Muslims attending the American Muslim Health Professionals networking session, and signed up a number of volunteers to help plan a conference on post 9/11 recovery. Board Member Hasan Chugtai, who is affiliated with AMHP, helped plan this successful event.
Sarah Sayeed also presented to the youth sisters’ group of ICNA Young Muslims in April, focusing on moral development and spiritual strengthening.
MCN Board Member Moushumi Khan also organized three dinners during this period for community members as well as for Muslim lawyers to network professionally, and hosted book club meetings, to promote a sense of identity and participation in the community.
Thanks to previous funding, MCN member organization Women in Islam, Inc. printed their brochure promoting women’s access to mosques.
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Direct Services and Education
MCN Treasurer, Nurah Amatullah and her organization Muslim Women’s Institute for Women and Families, hosted a health fair in April. MCN distributed brochures and articles promoting health awareness and information about MCN. MCN co-sponsored the health fair. MCN members attended another two health fairs in April promoting self-help and stress release.
MCN is also in the process of finalizing a brochure that addresses stigmatized issues such as mental health, domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. It has been working to review a mental health curriculum to help individuals work on personal change in a number of areas.
On May 10, Board Chair Adem Carroll visited Connecticut College for a series of presentations to students, including the Muslim Students Association, which was impacted by a recent lecture by Islamophobic writer and hate speech, as well as by no-fly light/US Visits program restrictions on travel for young Muslims. One student was regularly held 10 hours at a time when traveling internationally and feels deeply alienated and sad. The speaker offered support for individuals and for the small Muslim community as well as resources for further support.
Adem also assisted 25 post 9/11 detainee families during this period, primarily with legal referrals and regular emotional support.
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Summer
Several MCN members began planning for presentations at ICNA's National Convention in early July (with seveal workshops reaching several thousand Muslims). MCN Secretary Sarah Sayeed presented group communication strategies at the ISNA summer leadership session for Muslim community leaders, imams and activists in Indianapolis and in the leadership track session in the ISNA Houston regional conference. In addition, as of this writing, members were preparing for a possible arrival of Lebanese refugees and assisting many of the Muslim businesses in Astoria, after a week-long black out resulted in significant economic losses.
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