American Muslim Alliance
The American Muslim Alliance (AMA) is a California-based organization which promotes Muslim civic participation in the United States of America.
The AMA mission statement describes its goal as to "transform our pent-up frustration, anger, and pain into creative and meaningful steps towards political empowerment of the American Muslim community ... to methodically gain influence in the American political system commensurate with the sum total of our skills and creativity ... to organize the American Muslim community in the mainstream public affairs, civic discourse, and party politics all across the United States." [1]
Contents
People
- Dr. Agha Saeed - Founder and Chairman
- Dr. Shabbir Safdar - National Vice Chair
- Dr. Abdul Kunbargi - Director
- Dr. M.A.Q. Siddiqui - Director
- Eric Efran Vickers - Director
- Dr. Riaz Ahmed - Treasurer
- Dr. Bashir Hussain - Secretary
This list is current as of 29 May 2010. [2]
Political positions
The AMA takes a non-partisan stance to American politics, endorsing participation in both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Affiliations
The AMA is a member of the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT) and is affiliated with the California Civil Rights Alliance (CCRA). As of May 2010, the AMA website shared the same IP address as the websites of the AMT and CCRA, all of which listed Dr. Saeed as their primary contact.
The American Muslim Council of California is listed in the 2008 Arab American Media Directory as having the same physical and e-mail address as the AMA. [3]
The AMA is listed by Project SALAM as one of the participants in the May 6, 2010 rally in support of Aafia Siddiqui. [4]
During the 1990s, the AMA co-hosted a series of conferences with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Association for Palestine, the American Muslim Council, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.[5]
Controversies
In 2000, AMA founder Dr. Saeed endorsed war against Israel. This led Democratic Senate candidate Hillary Clinton to refund $50,000 in donations received from an AMA fundraiser. [5] [6]
In 1999 the AMA co-sponsored the "United for al-Quds" conference in Santa Clara where, according to Steven Emerson, "speakers accused Israel and the U.S. of carrying out a conspiracy to kill Muslims" and "one speaker called for the death of Jews." [5] [7]
In 1998, the AMA co-hosted the conference "Palestine: 50 Years of Occupation" at a Brooklyn college. [5] [8]
Contact information
AMA National Office
39675 Cedar Blvd. Suite 220E
Newark, California
Tel: 510-252-9858
Fax: 510-252-9863
Web: http://www.amaweb.org/
E-mail: civilrightsforall@sbcglobal.net
References
- ↑ AMA Mission Statement, PDF creation date 10 May 2006, accessed 29 May 2010
- ↑ AMA Board of Directors, accessed 29 May 2010
- ↑ Ray Hanania, "Arab American Media Directory", Page 40, accessed through Google Books on 29 May 2010
- ↑ Press release, "A Human Rights Rally For Dr. Aafia Siddiqui", Project SALAM, accessed May 2010.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Steven Emerson, "Hillary and Hamas", Wall Street Journal, 3 November 2000
- ↑ Dean E. Murphy, "Mrs. Clinton Says She Will Return Money Raised by a Muslim Group", New York Times, 26 October 2000
- ↑ "Second 'United for Al-Quds Conference'", Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July/August 1999, pages 104-115
- ↑ Joe Kaufman, "Florida's Jihad Conference", Front Page Magazine, 17 December 2003
