Iftaar with democracts

An Iftar with Democrats

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Please mark your calendar! join Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus at our annual Event "An iftar with Democrats" on September 25th, 2008. This forum has traditionally served as an opportunity for Muslim community to meet with the Democratic leadership of this area to interact and exchange views.Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus (TMDC) is an accredited Caucus within the Texas Democratic Party. We seek to increase cooperation and coalition building with other Democrats and the Muslim community.Stakes are very high for our country and for us this year, forces of intolerance are busy taking the country to further extremism this election year. 2008 will be a defining election for us and for our coming generations, issues of war and peace will be settled this year. Neo-Cons are back in their game, who knows how many more thousands or millions of innocent lives they plan to play with. Big corporations war profiteers and their lobbyists are not content with the plunders of our economy since last eight years, they are still conspiring to add more billions. We still see our brothers and sisters harassed and intimidated at airports, schools and by law enforcement agencies.

However, this can be changed with your participation in political process. So let's organize, lets discuss how we can help our Democratic candidates to bring peace to this country and the world. Lets put the country back on track of prosperity, justice and common sense. Like our presidential candidate Barak Obama said in an interview "We need to change the mindset of war". So come join us at the iftar dinner and explore how we can support our democrats win election this November

The iftar dinner in 2006 and 2007 went really successful with the Muslim community as it built the enthusiasm in voters. A number of 2006 statewide and local candidates, party officials and friends came to acknowledge and encourage Muslims participation in Texas electoral process. Our efforts, undoubtedly, contributed to the Democratic victory in all Dallas county races in 2006.Muslims participation in electoral process is producing favorable results for Democratic Party in North Texas . We are witnessing an upsurge of Muslim political power throughout the state of Texas . TMDC goal for 2008 includes, statewide voter registration campaign, precinct chairs appointments, and maximum numbers of district, state and national convention delegates, and elections to state executive committees.

We are encouraging Democratic candidates for various offices to bring their campaign materials for distribution among attendees.

When?: Thursday September 25, 2008 @ 6:30 p.m.Where?: Bar B Que Tonite, 2540 Old Denton Rd. #173 . Carrollton Texas 75006(Phone: 972 466 0786)Thank You
Please RSVP:

Syed Hassan,
President ElectTexas Muslim Democratic Caucus
RSVP: Syed Hassan 682 429 9954
Aftab Siddiqui 817 706 7495
Inayat Lalani 817 504 0636

Muslim presence at DNC Denver

Dear Brothers and sisters ASA,

Alhamd o Lillah, the first ever Democratic Muslim Caucus at Democratic party national convention in Denver Colorado got excellent media coverage (see for yourself). So if you missed the first ever Muslim Caucus at a major party national convention, then see below for some of the media reports. The news is out from India to Taiwan to UK that Muslims seek fair share in US political system. We are out we are enthusiastic and we have numbers. Muslims are destined to be enfranchised, we are a part and parcel of American society, we will overcome all our difficulties.

So my congratulations to all my brothers and sisters in Islam and all my fellow Americans on the success of a great event and thank America for winning our hearts and minds
Thank You
Syed Hassan
President Elect
Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus
Member steering Committee AMDC

1. http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ StoryPage/ StoryPage. aspx?sectionName =&id=a97c3aa0- c1ce-4e0b- 9e25-2847fc75e1c 2&&Headline=US+ Muslims%2c+ Arabs+becoming+ political+ faithful&strParent=strParent ID
2. http://worldmuslimc ongress.blogspot .com/2008/ 06/inshallah- texas-muslims- organize. html
   
3. http://news. yahoo.com/ s/thenation/ 20080826/ cm_thenation/ 917348561
   
4. http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ibd/20080825/ bs_ibd_ibd/ 20080825general
   
5. http://biz.yahoo. com/ibd/080825/ general.html? .v=1
   
6. http://www.thenatio n.com/blogs/ jstreet/348561
   
7. http://muslimmedian etwork.com/ mmn/?p=1812
   
8. http://worldmuslimc ongress.blogspot .com/2008/ 06/inshallah- texas-muslims- organize. html
   
9. http://ztruth. typepad.com/ ztruth/2008/ 08/the-texas- muslim-democrati c-caucus- --a-first. html
   
10. http://dawudwalid. wordpress. com/2008/ 08/26/historic- muslim-meeting- at-dnc/
    
11. http://www.texasobs erver.org/ blog/index. php/2008/ 06/06/inshallah- texas-muslims- organize/
    
12. http://www.flickr. com/photos/ pritheworld/ sets/72157606950 498012/
    
13. http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2008/aug/ 26/uselections20 08.democrats2008 5?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews
    
14. http://blogs. reuters.com/ from-reuterscom/ 2008/08/26/ inside-the- tent-muslim- caucus-a- first/
    
15. http://www.taiwanne ws.com.tw/ etn/news_ content.php? id=723119&lang=eng_news&cate_img=83. jpg&cate_rss=news_ Politics&pg=4
    
16. http://www.denverpo st.com/headlines /ci_10277774
    
17. http://uspolitics. einnews.com/ news/democratic- caucus
    
18. http://theworld. org/taxonomy_ by_date/1/ 20080826
    
19. http://www.investor s.com/editorial/ IBDArticles. asp?artsec= 16&issue=20080825
    
20. http://www.xanga. com/worldstechpo d/pulse/875021/ item.html
    
21. http://www.indystar .com/apps/ pbcs.dll/ article?AID= /20080824/ LIVING09/ 808240362
    
22. http://www.minnpost .com/stories/ 2008/08/26/ 3113/ellison_ gets_star_ treatment_ at_dems_first- ever_muslim_ caucus
    
23. http://www.theworld .org/

Inshallah, Texas Muslims Organize

Inshallah, Texas Muslims Organize
June 6th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/index.php/2008/06/06/inshallah-texas-muslims-organize/

Today, a variety of caucuses met at the Democratic state convention in Austin to discuss issues, strategy, and hear a little politicking from candidates up and down the ballot. You’ve got your Gun Owners Caucus and your Progressive Populist Caucus, Texas Stonewall Caucus and Motorcycle Caucus, Native American Caucus and Tejano Democrats Caucus. That’s the Democratic Party in all its messy glory - diverse interests trying to fit under a Big Tent.

One of the more interesting active Dem organizations here is the Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus, the first of its kind in the nation, according to one of the organizers. The caucus started about four years ago and represents Muslim Ds across the state. It has at least 70 delegates attending the convention - 60 from Dallas alone as well as folks from Beaumont, San Antonio, Houston, and even unlikely locales like Marshall and East Bernard.

Caucus president Sarwat Husain said the caucus is important in encouraging Muslims, still reeling from the post-9/11 backlash, to come out of the shadows and become politically engaged. Muslim women, in particular, are fearful of speaking out. “I cannot tell you what courage wearing this [hijab] takes in the United States after 9/11,” Husain said. “The stares that go right through you.”

Husain rattled off the statistics: 7-10.5 million Muslims in the U.S. with close to two million registered voters, 83 percent of which are Democrats. There are some half-a-million Muslims in Texas. That’s not an insignificant cache of potential voters but Democrats need to do more to reach out, she said.

“This is one market you’re losing,” Husain said, addressing the gathered pols. “They are waiting for you out there.” The caucus heard from about ten candidates for offices ranging from the State Board of Education to Congress. In courting votes, the candidates pledged to support freedom of religion, tolerance, and to push back against the zealotry of the religious right in Texas.

State Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) asked the caucus members to come educate the not-terribly enlightened members of the Texas Legislature. “The way we are approaching things is very exclusive, not inclusive,” Howard said, referring to the Bible class bill passed in the Texas Legislature this year.

Board of Education candidate Laura Ewing, a former Friendswood City Council member, discussed the urgency of electing moderates to the board in light of an upcoming overhaul of social studies curriculum standards. Texas students urgently need to learn about the Muslim world as part of their education, Ewing said. “Otherwise we’ll only study dead white men… and that’s not our world, is it?,” she asked.

Someone in the audience brought up the recent kerfuffle in Friendswood during which a junior high school principal was reassigned for inviting two Muslim women to speak to students following an attack on a Muslim student. That prompted Cindy Steffens, a Muslim delegate from Houston, to tell a story about how her young son’s teacher asked the boy to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Interviewed later, Steffens said she and the school handled the incident quietly. Confrontation is not what American Muslims seek, Steffens said, but rather acceptance.

“The Muslim community in America almost has to do what Barack Obama did,” said Yusuf Mohammed, Steffens’ husband. “He’s black but he transcended race.”