10 Reasons To Recognize Muslim Appreciation And Awareness Month

On August 1st, 2016, California Assemblymembers proclaimed August to be Muslim Awareness and Appreciation Month! Introduced by Assemblyman Bill Quirk with 61 co-authors, HR 59 would make California the first state to recognize this month. To commemorate this occasion, we’d like to highlight 10 ways that Muslim Americans Rock!

1. Muslim Americans Got Game

Reuters/Toru Hanai / Via theundefeated.com

Dalilah Muhammad and Ibtihaj Muhammad who flourished on the Olympics’ stage winning gold and bronze medals (respectively) for Team USA! Hundreds of Muslim Americans have played in college and professional sports, such as Husain and Hamza Abdullah, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Muhammed Ali.

2. Muslim Americans Tackle Community Homelessness

Via humanitarianday.com

Numerous Muslim American organizations work to tackle the issue of hunger in homelessness in America. One of the organizations out of Los Angeles County, the Coalition to Preserve Human Dignity (CPHD), has served well over 60,000 people in over 20 domestic urban sites. A network of volunteers, organizations, and institutions form this interfaith coalition. One of its events, Humanitarian Day, has been a part of the Los Angeles Muslim community for the past 10 years.

3. Muslims are superheroes...literally!

cbsnews.com / Via cbsnews.com

Kamala Khan is a Pakistani Muslim American teenager from Jersey City - who also has shape-shifting abilities. Ms. Marvel, among other Muslim superheroes, is part of Marvel Entertainment’s efforts to embrace diversity among its readers. "We went in to try to tell a unique story," series editor Sana Amanat says. "But I think with that comes the realization of the impact that Ms. Marvel can have -- relaying to the rest of the world of who Muslims are and who Muslims can be, but really about who a good person is."

4. Muslims are providers of free high quality healthcare for those in need

Via ummaclinic.org

Muslim American students at UCLA and Charles Drew University established the University Muslim Medical Association, UMMA in 1992. Averaging 170 patients weekly, with 20,000 patients logging over 30,000 visits, UMMA clinic serves in the area of South Los Angeles that is federally classified as a “Medically Underserved Area”.

“Our services, activities and governance reflect the Islamic values and moral principles which inspired our founders. These include the core values which are universally shared and revered by society at large: Service, Compassion, Human Dignity, Social Justice, and Ethical Conduct.”

5. Muslim Americans influence policy - AB 2845 - The Safe Place to Learn Act

Illustration by Dongyun Lee / Via ca.cair.com

AB 2845 - The Safe Place to Learn Act provides students, teachers, and parents with resources to combat bullying based on religious or perceived religious affiliation. This is the first time California legislation will impact Islamophobia, which is on the rise in schools. According to the California Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA), 55% of Muslim students have reported being bullied - twice the national average. Over 600 Muslim Americans flocked to Sacramento to push for the bill on Muslim Day at the Capitol in April. Members of CAIR-CA, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-California, and the Sikh Coalition advocated for the bill, which is awaiting the Governor's signature.

6. They are media titans, who happen to be outspoken Muslim women

Inspirer.life / Via muslimgirl.com

Amani Al Khatabeh is the founder of Muslim Girl magazine and has a team of 40 writers and 10 editors, turning a blog into an influential base for Muslim women.

“We at MuslimGirl are taking back the narrative. We use our own voices to speak up for ourselves. We are raising the place of Muslim women in mainstream society…We are paving the way towards a world in which every woman can raise her head without fear of being attacked for her gender or beliefs.”

7. Muslim civic activism influences election results, including propositions like California's Prop 47

mpowerchange.org / Via mpowerchange.org

California's Proposition 47 passed with the help of efforts from the Muslim American community and several Muslim organizations such as the California Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Los Angeles-based Latino Muslim Association of America (LALMA), LA Voice, numerous Muslim Student Associations, and ILM (Intellect, Love Mercy) Foundation. The 2014 ballot initiative reduced certain drug possession felonies to misdemeanors.

"We have had a dream that African-American and Latino Muslims should work together, especially in South L.A. And we want to build bridges with non-Muslims," said Felicitas Galedary, President of LALMA. "Our main objective is to show our Latino brothers and sisters that just by being human, we care."

8. Muslims are Generous!

launchgood.com / Via launchgood.com

One example of Muslim philanthropy is when Muslims in South Carolina and around the country raised over $100,000 to help rebuild black churches and support victims of arson. In the span of 10 days, 8 black churches were burned down since the shooting of 9 congregants at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC on June 17th, 2015. Attacks on Black churches are a historic form of intimidation in the South.

The Muslim American community raised over $100,000 to assist with the rebuilding of these churches, stating “ALL houses of worship are sanctuaries, a place where all should feel safe, a place we can seek refuge when the world is too much to bear.”

9. Muslims are prominent social justice activists, including civil rights leaders, academics, and more

Via ummahwide.com

“You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both.” (Qur’an 4:135)

MPower has compiled a list of 100 Muslim American activists who are tirelessly working to promote social justice and mutual understanding.

10. American Muslim artists use their talent to change the world!

Ethan Miller / Getty Images for Undrcrwn / Via cbsnews.com

From music to art to drama to comedy to writing, American Muslims use their talents to impact social change.

“Streets to loud to ever hear freedom sing, Say evacuate your sleep, it’s too dangerous to dream.” Rapper/actor Yasiin Bey, AKA Mos Def, "Mathematics"

“If man's capacity for the fantastic took up as much of his imagination as his capacity for cruelty, the worlds, seen and unseen, might be very different.” G. Willow Wilson, Alif the Unseen