NEW YORK (RNS) — Leaders of New York-area Muslim organizations gathered at City Hall in downtown Manhattan on Thursday (Feb. 8) for the fourth annual Muslim Day, an event launched in 2021 to raise the Muslim community’s profile and bring its concerns to the attention of the City Council.The initiative was launched by Emgage, an 13-year-old organization that works to increase Muslim voters’ mobilization. Emgage was joined this year by two dozen other organizations doing work across the city on behalf of migrants and Muslim business owners, while also empowering Muslim women.
Besides providing Muslims a chance to connect with political representatives, Muslim Day is also an occasion to celebrate the contribution of Muslim New Yorkers, who at an estimated 1 million people represent about 11% of the city’s population.
Heba Khalil, director of Emgage’s New York chapter, began the event by acknowledging how the community’s influence had grown. She noted the stark contrast with the post-9/11 years when Muslim New Yorkers were frequent victims of Islamophobia and marginalized politically.
Heba Khalil. (Photo courtesy Emgage)
“I have seen our voting numbers increase, I have seen major impacts on elections and legislative changes. I have seen our young leaders getting more and more involved in leadership roles. Days like today are a great time to take a moment and celebrate our collective power,” said Khalil.
The event was endorsed by the City Council’s two Muslim members, Shahana Hanif and Yusef Salaam. Salaam, elected this year to represent Harlem on the council, is one of the Central Park Five, a group of Black teenagers wrongfully convicted in the sexual assault of a Central Park jogger in 1989.
“What we are doing here is about really exposing the community, the society, the nation, to the beauty of what it is to be Muslim,” said Salaam.
The focus of the fourth Muslim Day was the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Members of the participating organizations gathered with community leaders and City Council members on the steps of City Hall to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and denounced a surge in Islamophobia in New York City related to the war.
“One of the biggest things that we’re also facing is the fear of retaliation for solidarity with Palestine among Muslim and pro-Palestinian activists since Oct. 7,” said …
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Besides providing Muslims a chance to connect with political representatives, Muslim Day is also an occasion to celebrate the contribution of Muslim New Yorkers, who at an estimated 1 million people represent about 11% of the city’s population.
Heba Khalil, director of Emgage’s New York chapter, began the event by acknowledging how the community’s influence had grown. She noted the stark contrast with the post-9/11 years when Muslim New Yorkers were frequent victims of Islamophobia and marginalized politically.
Heba Khalil. (Photo courtesy Emgage)
“I have seen our voting numbers increase, I have seen major impacts on elections and legislative changes. I have seen our young leaders getting more and more involved in leadership roles. Days like today are a great time to take a moment and celebrate our collective power,” said Khalil.
The event was endorsed by the City Council’s two Muslim members, Shahana Hanif and Yusef Salaam. Salaam, elected this year to represent Harlem on the council, is one of the Central Park Five, a group of Black teenagers wrongfully convicted in the sexual assault of a Central Park jogger in 1989.
“What we are doing here is about really exposing the community, the society, the nation, to the beauty of what it is to be Muslim,” said Salaam.
The focus of the fourth Muslim Day was the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Members of the participating organizations gathered with community leaders and City Council members on the steps of City Hall to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and denounced a surge in Islamophobia in New York City related to the war.
“One of the biggest things that we’re also facing is the fear of retaliation for solidarity with Palestine among Muslim and pro-Palestinian activists since Oct. 7,” said …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]