Encyclopedia of Islam

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Abu al-Husayn

---

ati, is a practicing physician and founder of the 

Muslim Women’s League. Both are active MPAC 

leaders, American citizens, and spokespersons 

on Muslim affairs in the United States. They 

have each testified before Congress and, in 1998, 

at the request of Hillary Rodham Clinton, they 

organized a White House celebration of i

d

 

al

-

F

itr

 (the Fast-Breaking Feast).

Citing the q

Uran

, MPAC identifies its vision 

in terms of what it considers to be the Islamic 

values of mercy, justice, peace, human dignity, 

freedom, and equality. Its mission is to work 

in cooperation with public institutions in the 

United States and to prepare American Muslims 

for leadership in the public sphere. In addition 

to promoting the interests of American Muslims 

and involvement in civil liberties education and 

advocacy, MPAC has also been engaged in com-

bating anti-Islamic sentiments (Islamophobia) in 

the United States, working with public officials 

and the law in helping to secure the country from 

terrorism

, and strengthening ties to Muslims in 

other parts of the world. It has offices in Wash-

ington, D.C., and Los Angeles, as well as chapters 

in New York, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and Arizona. 

Its organization includes departments assigned 

to build relations with Congress, the media, the 

community, and to combat hate crimes. MPAC 

has issued several books and policy papers deal-

ing with human rights, Muslim identity, ter-

rorism, and counterterrorism. Every year since 

2001 it has convened a national conference for 

discussion of these and related issues, and it has 

welcomed nationally recognized politicians and 

media commentators as guest speakers. MPAC 

issues press releases regularly that address cur-

rent events, including condemnations of acts of 

Islamic terrorism as well as calls for an equitable 

solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for 

interfaith harmony. The organization has been 

attacked by some groups and individuals because 

of its promotion of Muslim issues in the Ameri-

can public sphere, but these attacks have been 

offset by the organization’s interfaith activities 

and by the bridges it has built to a wide variety 

of community agencies and minority groups, 

including African Americans, Japanese Ameri-

cans, and Korean Americans.

See also  c

oUncil

 

on

  a

merican

-i

slamic

r

elations

.