• American Muslims for Palestine DROPPED Emgage
• US Council of Muslim Organizations DROPPED Emgage
• And see more on our resource page

An open letter to Muslim leaders to drop Emgage due to alliances with anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim organizations

(To become a signatory of this open letter, please fill out the form at the bottom of the page)

Leaders at Emgage have repeatedly disregarded the legitimate interests of Muslim communities in the United States to the detriment of the constituencies they claim to represent.

According to recent reporting, many high-ranking members of Emgage, including board members, chairs, founders, and the CEO, as well as the organization itself, have worked in lockstep with AIPAC, the Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP).

One need not list how AIPAC engages in deep Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian activity.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) was founded by AIPAC leaders and has consistently defended Israeli policies.

The ADL boasts that it “has always been a strong voice for Israel,” denouncing BDS as anti-Semitic and justifying Israeli crimes. Its long history of suppression of movements for social justice and attacking communities of color extends beyond Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian smear campaigns to engaging in deadly exchange programs between American police forces and Israel. These ADL-sponsored programs promote expanded surveillance, racial profiling, and the suppression of public protests through the use of force. Dozens of progressive groups, representing Palestinians, Jews, and African Americans, have urged all peoples to sever ties with the ADL.

MLI is a propaganda-laden trip to Israel sponsored by the Jerusalem-based Shalom Hartman Institute, which works closely with the Israeli military and is funded by the Russell Berrie Foundation, a funder of notorious Islamophobes Steve Emerson and Daniel Pipes.

The AJC brags that it “advocates for Israel at the highest levels.” It also denounces the BDS movement, dedicating an entire section of its website to these efforts.

Notable Emgage Involvement with Zionist Orgtanizations:

• Board Member Farooq Mitha, who also serves as Joe Biden’s Muslim Engagement Advisor, has boasted to former employees that he is or was a member of AIPAC and has attended AIPAC events. He also worked at the Pentagon during the Obama administration, helping to normalize ties between Israel and Arab nations under the banner of “Track II diplomacy.”
• Emgage CEO Wael Alzayat served as an “expert” at WINEP. He also currently serves on the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, a project of the AJC and ISNA (Islamic Society of North America). He also partnered with the ADL on a joint letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Finally, even after Emgage’s recent claims of an alleged policy from 2018 to no longer attend MLI, Alzayat, in December 2019, partnered with the Shalom Hartman Institute and the ADL to launch yet another faithwashing initiative.
• Emgage Co-Chair Khurrum Wahid attended MLI in 2015. He sits on the Civil Rights Committee of the ADL in Miami, where he has served for at least ten years. Along with Mitha, he also hosted a fundraiser in 2010 for former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami-area Republican and one of the most far-right supporters of Israel in Congress.
• Emgage Texas Executive Director Nabila Mansoor attended MLI and has partnered with the ADL in Texas. Mansoor also gave a talk at South by Southwest (SXSW) with a panel including the Alumni Director for MLI, Maital Friedman, where they talk about the benefits of MLI.
• In 2018, Emgage National Co-Chair AJ Durrani was given an award by the ADL in Houston. Durrani and Emgage Texas Board Member Farrukh Shamsi attended MLI together as well.

As an illustration of Emgage’s harmful political activity, after the Joe Biden campaign issued a public disavowal of Palestinian-Muslim-American DNC National Delegate Linda Sarsour, Wahid and Mitha sought to obtain concessions in the form of more appointments in the Biden campaign and/or transition team in lieu of a public apology. Such an apology was the specific demand of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American leaders and activists.

Palestinians have been nearly unanimous in their calls urging all people to reject interacting with any of the above groups, as such activity serves to normalize Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people.

Despite a recent statement by Emgage expressing support for BDS and the Palestinian right of return, we have witnessed no accountability or public apology from the organization for the above-cited litany of harmful actions.

Therefore, we call on Emgage to formally end its current normalization activities, coupled with a pledge to refrain from such future activities in accordance with BDS principles.  Additionally, we call on Emgage to issue a statement denouncing Zionism as a racist ideology.

In light of all of the above, we call on all organizations and individuals to drop any affiliations with Emgage in the absence of such assurances and statements.

Accordingly, we further assert that Farooq Mitha, Joe Biden’s “Muslim Engagement Advisor,” does not represent the views or will of our communities.

We urge all people of conscience to no longer tolerate unprincipled leadership threatening our community and undermining the voices of grassroots Muslim and Palestinian activists.

Signed,
*Organizational affiliations listed for identification purposes only
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261 signatures on this open letter to date.

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