Workers School Organized by Southern Workers Assembly

Muslims for Social Justice members participated in Workers School that was organized by Southern Workers Assembly. Workers and Union Representatives from different states participated in this school. Some of the organizations represented included UE Local 150, Raise Up, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), Boston School Bus Drivers Union, United Auto Workers and many other organizaitons.

Here are pictures from the school on March 6, 2016.

Muslims for Social Justice Condemns Transphobic, Anti-Worker House Bill 2

Muslims for Social Justice condemns trans-phobic, anti-worker House Bill 2 passed by North Carolina General Assembly and signed into law by Governor McCrory on Mach 23, 2016. We stand with our allies to fight transphobia, attack on workers, racism and other oppressions. Here are pictures of protest against HB2 on March 24th, that was led by Black Lives Matter QTPOC (Queer Trans People of Color Coalition).

Here is a statement from Black Lives Matter QTPOC delivered during the protest.

On the anniversary of the passing of Blake Brockington, a Black trans teen from Charlotte, North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly moved to attack working people and create dangerous conditions for women, LGBTQ people, black and brown people, and any workers who experience discrimination or who struggle to make ends meet.

The General Assembly and Governor McCrory chose to criminalize trans and gender nonconforming children and youth, and to scapegoat trans women and other trans people for rape by passing NC HB 2. House Bill 2 bars city and county governments from raising their municipal minimum wage, as well as prohibits anti-discrimination policies that account for gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation. Lawmakers were given only 5 minutes to review the bill and it passed within a 12 hour period without a single trans person of color being allowed to speak. 

This bill reinforces the school to prison pipeline that trans and gender non-conforming students of color already face by making their choice of toilet grounds for suspension or arrest.

This bill rolls back decades of hard-won progress, and will harm our whole state. It undermines municipal democratic control, advancements in anti-discrimination policy, and further prohibits wage increases. This is a direct assault on working families and particularly working women of color who are most likely to be paid poverty wages. LGBTQ folks of color are workers, and we are worth more!

This bill uses trans panic and the scapegoating of trans women to derail real conversations about safety and consent. Trans and queer people are survivors of sexual assault, too. Our safety matters and we don’t make our community safer by threatening others with the brute force of the murderous police or incarceration. If our state is truly concerned for survivors of sexual assault, it will make comprehensive consent and sex education mandatory. This law does nothing to prevent indecent exposure and sexual assault, which are already illegal, but instead prevents local governments from protecting the safety and livelihoods of queer and trans people.

We honor and fight for Blake by affirming that our lives matter. Anti-transgender bias and legislation and persistent structural racism directly impact the devastating rates of suicidality, unemployment, physical and sexual violence, poverty, incarceration and homelessness experienced by transgender people of color.

Trans and Queer people of color demand a living wage and freedom from criminalization and discrimination, in the workplace and in the bathroom.

Tonight, we are calling for a Special Session of the People outside of the Governor’s mansion. For Blake Brockington, for Angel Elisha Walker, for all Black and Brown trans and queer people in North Carolina who have been murdered, disappeared, or incarcerated, it is our duty to speak. It is our duty to demand freedom, to demand a living wage, to demand education, to demand comprehensive health care that is accessible and free of charge.

Signatories:

QPOCC, The Tribe, #BlackLivesMatter North Carolina, Sister Song, Ignite NC, Southern Vision Alliance, Youth Organizing Institute, #BlackLivesMatter Gate City, Workers World Party, SONG NC, Greensboro Mural Project, GenderBenders, Fight for $15, QORDS, Trans Pride in Action, Queer Youth Circus, House daLorde, Movement to End Racism and Islamophobia (MERI-NC), SAFE Coalition NC, LGBTQ Center of Durham, Center for Family and Maternal Wellness

Vigil and March for #OurThreeBrothers

A Vigil for Three Black Muslims murdered execution-style in Indiana

On Feb 24th, Taha Omar, Adam Mekki, and Muhammad Tairab, Sudanese-Americans from a predominately Muslim community, were murdered “execution style” in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There was little media coverage or outcry of community support for the horrible crime committed against these young black men. The media quickly painted a “black thug” narrative and there was a relative silence within non-Black Muslim community.

As a response, a vigil and march was organized in the memory of “Our Three Brothers” by Black, People of Color and Muslim organizers in Durham, NC on March 8, 2016. The march started at Ibad Ar-Rahman Masjid on Fayetteville Rd and marched to North Carolina Central University. Participants held banners and chanted slogans in protest of anti-black racism and islamophobia. The march was supported by residents, passers-by and students, mostly Black and People of Color.

Learn more about this tragedy here:

#OurThreeBrothers – Mourning the Loss of Three Innocent Lives

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/muslimahnextdoor/2016/02/ourthreebrothers-mourning-the-loss-of-three-innocent-lives/

““There is definitely a reason why my cousins and friend are not getting as much media coverage, and it is because they were black,” Dahab says, in an exclusive interview. “There is discrimination in the Islamic community on who is really a legitimate Muslim and there is a belief that if you are not from the Middle East, you are not as Islamic as someone from Saudi Arabia for example,” he continues.”

http://www.okayafrica.com/news/our-three-brothers/

#OurThreeBrothers – Do You See Us Black Muslims Now

http://muslimgirl.net/20618/ourthreebrothers-see-us-black-muslims-now/

Statement of Solidarity with the Family of Matthew McCain

The death of Matthew McCain—a young Black man killed in state custody at the Durham County Jail as a result of medical neglect—is sounding an alarm bell for us as Muslims. The Black and Brown folks living and dying in U.S. prisons, Muslim or not, are our family. Muslims for Social Justice believes that it is imperative that our communities stand with the McCain family to demand immediate answers about exact circumstances of his death. Reports about continuous denial of medication to Matthew in the past are a matter of grave concern. The circumstances surrounding his death, and medical abuse by detention staff in particular, must be investigated immediately in a transparent and community-accountable manner. Matthew McCain’s mother has been cruelly denied the right to see her son’s body, and we stand behind her demand to be granted this right immediately. We demand the immediate public release of the autopsy report and all relevant video footage that the family requests.

Muslims account for over 18 times the percentage of the U.S prison population as they do of the general population. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world—it constitutes five percent of the world population but accounts for 25% of world’s prisoners. Black and Brown people make 30% of the U.S. population but make 60% of the prison population (source). Medical neglect and abuse has become a growing practice of subjugation faced by Black, Brown, and Muslim prisoners across the US. It is part of the intensifying state repression that produces and sustains the school-to-prison pipeline, the police killings, and other forms of domination that confront our people. For many of us in the Muslim community, the violence and inhumanity of the prison system is a looming part of our daily lives. We are not strangers to entrapment by law enforcement, to violence in ICE detention centers and the threat of deportation, or to daily harassment and assault by police. If we haven’t experienced these things first hand, few of us are unable to name someone we know and love who has.

The news of Matthew McCain’s death will not be ignored in our community the way it has been ignored by local media. We refuse to let our family die silently at the bloody hands of the same state forces that drop bombs in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, and so many other countries that are coded as Muslim. 

Muslims for Social Justice believes in social justice and human rights for all. We believe in abolishing white supremacy in its many forms. We are fighting for our survival and the survival of our loved ones, and we do not believe in the bloodthirsty “peace” that demands the death of Black and Brown people in order to be sustained. We are in solidarity with Matthew’s family members, and we, along with other community members, join them in demanding justice for Matthew McCain! 

Rest in Power.

#NoJusticeNoPeace

 Picture courtesy of AmplifyVoices.com

Muslims for Social Justice Statement in the Wake of Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice Verdicts #BlackBrownUnity

As Muslims, as people of color, and as human beings, we cannot afford to be silent in the face of the state violence being levied against Black and Brown people in the United States and abroad. As we mourn Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice, a Black woman and child murdered by police and declared guilty for their own deaths by virtue of the non-indictments of the officers who killed them, it is clear that we are not safe. Black children are shot dead while playing in the park and sleeping on the couch in their own homes. Black women, trans and cis, are murdered, violated, beaten, and disappeared- their names erased from reports in the news. Muslim women survive unspeakable violence at the hands of white supremacists daily. Black and Brown people in the United States are living under siege of a terror state; and yet mass media calls us terrorists.

The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said “Whomsoever of you witnesses an injustice,  let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”

Muslims for Social Justice believes that not only is it our duty as Muslims to seek leadership from the women in our community, to raise our voices with and for Black and Brown women, it is imperative to our survival. The United States claims to bomb countries in the Muslim world to liberate the women in our communities. U.S. state agents in Abu Ghraib sexually assaulted Muslim women and men alike. The U.S. military has some of the most heinous records of sexual assault. Police and correctional officers in the U.S. sexually assault Black and Brown women in the streets and in detention facilities every day. Both in the U.S. and abroad, systemic racial and gender assault on Black and Brown people, including (and especially) those who are women, femmes, transgender and gender non-conforming, constitute a regime of state-sanctioned violence that reproduces a culture of policing and repression.

Muslims for Social Justice calls on Muslim communities to support demonstrations for Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Betty Jones, and Laquan McDonald; to speak out against racism and Islamophobia; to uplift the voices and struggles of Black and Brown women; and to organize in our communities against state violence domestically and abroad. Most importantly, it is time for Muslims to take real steps towards building authentic Black and Brown unity and feminist practices within and beyond our communities. It is time to stop giving lip service to Bilal and listing how many Black friends the Prophet (PBUH) had; and it is time to address anti-Blackness and misogyny and show up for each other across nationalities and gender as a daily practice. 

The following are pictures from Tamir Rice/Sandra Bland rally in Durham on January 1st, 2016.

MSJ Activities in 2015

Check key activities by Muslims for Social Justice members in 2015. Learn about our principles and values here. Contact us if you wish to join us or support us by emailing us at Muslims4SocialJustice@gmail.com.

Organizing Against Racism:

Manzoor spoke at 50th anniversary of Malcolm X assassination on February 21, 2015 at Haytai Heritage Center. This event was organized by Workers World Party and also featured Ajamu Dillahunt Jr., Desmera Gatewood, Larry Hales (Workers World Party, NJ) among others. 

MSJ members participated in BlackLivesMatter rally in Durham on 5/2/15 in response to the murder of Freddie Gray. Ahmad Jitan spoke on behalf of MSJ. (May 2, 2015)

http://muslimsforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2015/05/muslims-for-social-justice-statement-on.html

MSJ members attended Black Lives Matter rally in Durham on June 2nd, 2015 in response to Charleston Massacre. Sister Q spoke on behalf of MSJ and Sister Shafeah represented BWFJ. 

http://muslimsforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2015/06/protest-against-charleston-massacre.html

Manzoor Cheema attended North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN) Summit on Oct 16, 17. NCEJN is a grassroots organization led by Black community and fighting against environmental racism. Brother Saladin spoke on a panel on environmental justice and state repression. Other panelists included D'atra Jackson from IgniteNC and Adam Bledsoe, UNC PhD student. The panel was moderated by Loan Tran from Youth Organizing Institute. I was fortunate to make a video of this talk and other panel discussion. Check the video of his panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHVfKpXRefM

Prison Justice/Political Prisoner Rights Work:

Sister Shafeah organized screenings of an important movie - The Newburgh Sting at Raleigh (9/08/15) and Greenville (9/11/15), NC. This movie depicts the phenomenon of entrapment of Muslims. Sister Shafeah organized these screenings on behalf of The Communiversity, BWFJ and Imam Jamil Action Network. Muslims for Social Justice was one of the co-sponsors.

In August 2015, MSJ was invited to join the newly formed coalition of concerned Durham residents who have come together to form the Durham County Jail Investigation Team and conduct an independent, community-based investigation of inhumane conditions inside the jail. Over the years, inmates have revealed that they systematically face abuses inside, including medical neglect, poor nutrition, unsatisfactory sanitation, routine physical violence, sexual abuse, and religious discrimination. After months of organizing, students, researchers, сommunity organizers, health care workers, formerly incarcerated people and their family members held a press-conference in front of the jail on December 10, 2015 [1, 2, 3]. They demanded access to the jail to investigate the human rights abuses inside the facility. The coalition announced its five demands to the officials (view the video from the press-conference here), which include in-person visits with at least 100 inmates, full inspection of the facilities, release of all data related to grievances, monthly revenue summary reports, and documented evidence of when all cells are closed and open on a daily basis. On December 14, 2015, members interrupted County Commissioners Meeting to demand an independent investigation of the facility [view video of the direct action here]. 

Sister Anastasia Kārkliņa has served as a liaison between the JIT and MSJ. Muslims for Social Justice recognizes that the prison industrial complex constitutes a white supremacist system of domination built on and perpetuated by anti-Black/Brown racism. The struggle for prisoner rights and, ultimately, prison abolition is intimately tied to racist police harassment, profiling, and violence inflicted upon Black and Brown folks, including Muslims and those who are perceived as Muslim, in our communities. Firm in our dedication to justice for all, we support and join the fight for the rights of prisoners in Durham, the United States, across and beyond the borders.

To follow the conversation on social media, see #WeBelievePrisoners and #JailInvestigationNow. 

Organizing Against Islamophobia:

Muslims for Social Justice has understood Islamophobia as an imperialist and fascist weapon. These forces have also used anti-Black racism, sexism, attacks on workers, homophobia and other oppressions in order to rise to power. MSJ realizes that it is essential to connect these liberation movements. Fight against Islamophobia cannot be waged by Muslims alone. We especially believe that any work against Islamophobia should be connected to anti-racism work, which has a much uglier and longer history in the USA. Black Muslims make the largest ethnic group within the American Muslim population and victims of racism, Islamophobia and other oppressions.

MSJ played an active role in responding to the rise in Islamophobia by launching a network called MERI (Movement to End Racism and Islamophobia) in early 2015. Partner organizations include MSJ, Black Workers for Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace - Triangle, NC Justice Center, Abrahamic Initiative on the Middle East, Methodist Federation for Social Action NC Chapter and seven other organizations. Here are some actions taken by MSJ (as member of MERI network):

- Muslims for Social Justice spoke up against Islamophobia in the wake of Chapel Hill murder of three students. Our interview was quoted in Reuters and posted in media organizations across the world - Indonesia, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey, Germany, among other countries. Here is a list of news links that carried our interview.

- We issued petition in defense of Imam Griggs. We also participated in a forum against  Islamophobia at Wake Forest University on 3/02/15.

- MSJ wrote a letter-to-the-editor to condemn David Horowtiz's visit to UNC. We joined a rally against racism and Islamophobia at UNC Chapel Hill (People of Color Take Over of the Quad) that was organized by The Real Silent Sam Coalition at UNC Chapel Hill on 4/24/15.

http://muslimsforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2015/04/fighting-racism-and-islamophobia-at-unc.html

- MSJ and partners organized a forum against Islamophobia and racism at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church on 6/15/15.

- MSJ participated in a counter-confederacy rally at UNC-Chapel Hill on 10/25/15 that opposed racism as well as Islamophobia by "Alamance County Taking Back Alamance County".

- MSJ participated in anti-racism/anti-Islamophobia forum in Fayetteville on 11/16/15. 

- MSJ joined rally against Trump's speech in Raleigh on 12/04/15.

- MSJ participated in anti-Islamophobia and anti-racism action by Jewish Voice for Peace - Triangle on 12/11/15.

You can learn many of these events at merinc.org website.

Participation in other talks and events:

HKonJ 2015: MSJ members participated in HKonJ rally on 2/14/15. Imam Salahuddin, Imam Oliver, Farris Barakat, Sister Khalilah Sabra and Manzoor Cheema were Muslim speakers. Rev. Barber spoke against rising Islamophobia and connected it to anti-Black racism and other forms of oppression. A youth contingent for Black Lives Matter also participated to raise issues of police brutality. HKonJ started as a process of people's assembly and developed 14-points that came out of that process. In 2013, HKonJ movement led to Moral Monday Movement. Check a brief report for HKonJ rally in 2015.
http://muslimsforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2015/02/hkonjmoral-march-2015.html

Talk in Solidarity with Oppressed People's Movement in Pakistan: Manzoor and Ahsan Kamal (Awami Workers Party) spoke about oppression against Christians and the working class in Pakistan at UNC-Chapel Hill on April 7, 2015. Majority of the Christian community in Pakistan is working class and discriminated against. Working people mostly live in slums/informal housing. Awami Workers Party is organizing working people from all backgrounds to change the balance of power.

32nd Annual BWFJ Banquet: MSJ members participated in and sponsored 32nd Annual BWFJ (Black Workers for Justice) Banquet on April 11, 2015. Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza spoke at the event. The event was very well attended. Members of In the Name of Humanity (Br. Moussa, Sister Fatimeh) from Greenville, NC, also participated in the banquet. This is the annual event by Black Workers for Justice that features a prominent leader in Black Liberation/anti-racism movement. In the past, I have the privilege to listen to the late Chokwe Lumumba (Black Liberation leader and the mayor of Jackson, MS), Larry Hamm (People Organizing for Power - New Jersey), Clarence Thomas (former president of ILWU), Sister Margaret Rose Murray (Black Muslim leader in Raleigh) among other power speakers. See videos from the 2015 banquet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltdx9mxRmaQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADzEq460yZM

2015 UNAC Conference: Sister Shafeah and Manzoor participated in United National Anti-War Coalition conference in Seacaucus, NJ, on May 8-10, 2015. This conference brought together anti-racism, worker rights, anti-Islamophobia, anti-imperialism activists. along with people from other movements. Sister Shafeah presented on anti-racism, political prisoners and worker rights. Manzoor presented on work against Islamophobia. You can learn more here:
http://www.unacconference2015.org/ 

Palestine rally on 10/30/15: Members of Muslims for Social Justice co-organized an anti-racism and pro-Palestine rally, along with Workers World Party, Jewish Voice for Peace - Triangle, Green Party NC and other allies. Ahmad Jitan spoke on behalf of Muslims for Social Justice. See a brief report here.
http://muslimsforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2015/11/muslims-for-social-justice-statement-on.html

Social Events/Potlucks:

MSJ organized multiple social gatherings for Muslim community members. These gatherings featured poetry, spoken word and theater on social justice. Here are some pictures.