YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

The Wall Street Journal published an article this week detailing how its inquiries prompted the resignation of Mazen Asbahi, a Chicago lawyer who had just been appointed volunteer national coordinator for Arab American and Muslim American affairs for Barack Obama’s campaign.

The Journal had inquired about Asbahi’s brief stint eight years ago on the board of an investment fund.  Asbahi served on the board for a “few weeks” and resigned when he became aware of allegations made against another board member. Yet the Wall Street Journal’s article suggests that Asbahi is guilty-but guilty of what?

The Wall Street journal article also states that Asbahi “is a frequent speaker before several groups in the U.S. that scholars have associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.” However, the article fails to name a group or scholars that are assessing them as being associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

It states that questions about Asbahi first arose in a web-based publication called the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report, but gives no information about who publishes it or what their agenda might be.

Surely a newspaper with the standards of the Wall Street Journal can better inform the reading public before making and repeating such specious claims. This is a clear case of unwarranted character assassination, and the Wall Street Journal should be ashamed to lend credibility to such efforts.

The full article can be read here.

Newspapers take letters to the editor seriously and will be less likely to print such stories in the future if readers make clear that they expect a higher standard.

Take action! Write to the Wall Street Journal and tell them:

• The allegations in the Wall Street Journal’s August 6 article “Obama’s Muslim-Outreach Adviser Resigns” are vague and specious. It asserts that Mazen Asbahi is a frequent speaker before groups in the U.S. that “scholars” have deemed questionable.  What are the groups? When were the speeches? Who are the scholars? When you make such a serious charge, don’t you think you owe it to your readers to provide proof?
• The Wall Street Journal acknowledges that the first publication to break this “story” was the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report, an obscure website published by a think tank whose name the Journal does not reveal.  Do your job, Wall Street Journal; verify your sources, support your reporting with hard facts. Stop publishing rumor and innuendo, written by bloggers, as news.
• On his involvement as a board member of an investment fund, Asbahi writes: “I served on that board for only a few weeks before resigning as soon as I became aware of public allegations against another member of the board.” How did this become a story? His explanation speaks for itself, but rather than give up its scoop, the WSJ then goes on to detail the allegations against the board member.  Is guilt by association the standard of the Wall Street Journal?
• Have we come to a point in our history when any allegation of extremism against an Arab or Muslim American-however specious or vaguely-sourced-warrants uncritical news coverage?  This is unacceptable and un-American.  The allegations against Mr. Asbahi are a continuation of a concerted effort by individuals hostile to the Arab and Muslim American communities to exclude them from civic and political life. Far from being proud of the role that it played in Mr. Asbahi’s resignation, the Wall Street Journal should be ashamed.

Please keep your letters short, to the point, and, at all times, respectful.  Try to keep your letter under 150 words.  (You could, for example, use any one of the above points and add a sentence or two of your own.)

Send your letters to the following:

Tim Lemmer, the letters editor, wsj.ltrs@wsj.com.

Gerard Seib, Executive Washington editor, jerry.seib@wsj.com

Reporters Glenn Simpson at glenn.simpson@wsj.com and Amy Chozick at amy.chozick@wsj.com

Please send AAI  your letters, as well: communications@aaiusa.org

Thank you for making your voice heard.

Florida in July is hot, and Yalla Vote is heating it up even more this summer! With so many ways to get involved this July, you may need to sit in front of the fan just to read this!

Platform Plank Events

Remember when we said that this was OUR VOICE, and OUR FUTURE? Well, Obama and the GOP are putting that to the test by letting the people get involved in the platform writing process. Want to host an event in Florida? Contact Community Relations and me! There are directions on the AAI website that make it very easy to get involved! Want to take part in an existing event in your city? E-mail me at aai-florida@yallavote.org for the latest Florida information.

Sign the Declaration

Chances are, if you’re reading this you’ve already signed the Declaration, but if not, click here to sign it now! And of course, forward it along!

Register to Vote

Here in Florida, the last day to register to vote in the primary election on August 26^th is July 28^th. You can find all the information about elections at the Florida Division of Elections’ website.

Attend a local party meeting

So you’re already registered to vote, holding or attending a plank event, and you’ve gotten the Declaration around to everyone you know? Do some research on your local Democrat or Republican club and go to a meeting. Be sure to let AAI know, and take pictures!

Some links to local political parties follow below. For the most part they meet once a month, and have other events throughout the month.

Volunteer

If we want to make our voices heard, we can’t do it alone! Volunteers are so important to getting the Yalla Vote message out to the community! Whether you have an hour a week or twenty, there is something you can help with! E-mail me at aai-florida@yallvote.org for more information about volunteering - or if you’re not in Florida, e-mail your local organizer!

However you choose to make your voice heard this election, remember, YALLA VOTE!

-Mia

Read the rest of this entry »

AAI is hosting a bi-partisan platform plank event next week… the details are coming together even as I type. What AAI wants to know is…

ARE YOU?

Let us know. Drop us a comment here on this post, or send an e-mail to cr@aaiusa.org and let us know the whens and wheres. AAI will be happy to send you Arab American Democrat or Arab American Republican buttons and signs, and Yalla Vote materials, to help you host your event.

We’ve made it so easy for you, with checklists, sign-in sheets, agendas, all branded for your Democrat or Republican event. Visit the Yalla Vote section of the AAI website for the complete low-down on this incredible opportunity to really make a difference.

How do you define Platform? Plank?? PARTY???

Whether you’re a lone thinker or a social butterfly, there’s a way for you to make your hopes for the next administration heard.

AAI knows how to do it. Do you?

What are you doing next week? The Obama Campaign and the Republican Party have offered all Americans the opportunity to contribute to the Party Platforms this year. Arab Americans must make their voices heard in every way possible, and this is an extraordinary opportunity to do just that.

The Arab American Institute has made it easy for you to organize your own Platform Plank events, with forms and guidelines, and all the tools you’ll need to be a success. Don’t forget to use the language of the National Declaration to form your planks, and click here for instructions on how to get this done.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!! If you form a platform plank event, please call AAI at (202) 420-0210, Community Relations, and we’ll send you Arab American Democrat/Republican buttons, signs, and other paraphernalia to make your party a success.

In part One, we brought up the insult delivered to Arab Americans this week when Dunkin Donuts yanked an ad featuring Rachael Ray in a scarf that may or may not have been a keffiyah. This week delivered another incredible dig at the issues that concern Arab Americans… here comes the second part…

2) Injury

Much more seriously, and even less explicably, as The New York Times and AP reported today, eight Palestinians in Gaza have lost their Fulbright scholarships.

Why?

Because the Israeli government would not let them out of Gaza, and the U.S. government never lifted a finger to help resolve the situation - and that is the most shameful aspect of the whole affair. U.S. silence.

Born of the same type of anti-Arab bias that fuels attacks on kaffiyehs in ads, this time it frustrated the purpose of one of the most prestigious U.S. public diplomacy programs, U.S. efforts to promote peace and build Palestinian civil institutions, and shattered the dreams of eight promising young people - people who are exactly what U.S. policy depends on. “I was building my hope on this scholarship,” says one disappointed young woman who, according to the article in the New York Times, voluntarily remained in Gaza even as her family fled.

This outrage should not be allowed to stand.

The Fulbright program provides life-changing opportunities for young men and women all over the world. Palestinians should not be denied the right to participate in this because of Israeli obstructionism, and the U.S. should not be silent in the face of this Israeli behavior.

Let the responsible parties know that you insist that the Fulbright scholarships be reinstated, and that Israel be pressed to allow the awardees to travel:

Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Chair
Ms. Shirley Moore Green
202.453.8189
greenm@state.gov

Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs
Political Affairs Office
Matthew Rosenstock
(202) 647-1481
rosentstockms@state.gov

Deputy Secretary of State for Visa Services
Stephen A. “Tony” Edson
(202) 647-9584
tonye@state.gov

This is not the work we normally do, but we were so upset by these two stories that we felt we had to act.

This week added insult to injury:

1) Insult

Dunkin Donuts ran an ad with Rachael Ray (America’s favorite 30-minute cook)…

Yes, that’s a kaffiyeh!

We take delight in the way the kaffiyeh, a traditional peasant head covering, has become a fashionable part of U.S. pop culture. And here it was in a Dunkin Donuts ad!

But not so fast, said Michelle Malkin - a far right buffoon who often utters anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments. Malkin accused Dunkin Donuts of failing to recognize that the kaffiyeh “symbolizes murderous Palestinian jihad” and is “a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos.”

Instead of weathering the silly dust-up, Dunkin Donuts folded and pulled the ad.

We cannot tolerate a situation where Michelle Malkin defines what is culturally acceptable, in effect becoming the P.C. Czarina of the far right.

Tell Dunkin Donuts to reinstate the online ad, and let them know that they should not be bullied by petty bloggers. Make your voice heard.

The head of marketing at Dunkin Donuts is Frances Allen; her e-mail address is frances.allen@dunkinbrands.com

The Dunkin Donuts Customer Care service line: (800) 859-5339. Be patient calling this number, it takes some time to get through. You can e-mail your concerns to customerservice@dunkinbrands.com or send a letter to:

Dunkin’ Donuts Public Relations Department
130 Royall Street
Canton, MA 02021
Tel: 781.737.5200

Interesting, how a few rabid, hate-filled bloggers can hold an entire corporation hostage, isn’t it?

Or didn’t you hear? Rachael Ray is a terrorist. Or is she a terrorist sympathizer? Or is she simply a holy terror in the kitchen?

Or has the whole nation gone insane?

One thing is for certain, Lady Liberty is ready to pack up her torch and go home.

Let’s get real, people. Rachael Ray was wearing a black and white, silk, scarf in an online ad for Dunkin Donuts. Her stylist says it’s paisley. And we have to ask… what if it IS a keffiyeh?

For generations, kids in America have appropriated the symbols of international culture and worn them as their own. The Chairman Mau cap, Nehru jackets, and guerrilla bandanas never incited Americans to a Communist, Parliamentarian or guerrilla revolution. During the First Gulf War, teens of all shades wore the keffiyah. Street vendors sold out of the large, checkered scarves and suburban kids hung out at the mall in a profusion of black and white and fringes. None of them started a holy jihad in the halls of their junior high because they had wrapped themselves in the symbol of Palestinian nationalism. It’s like wearing a tee shirt with the Statue of Liberty on it while on a vacation in China: a political statement of national pride, and nothing more. The keffiyah is a symbol of a nation lost but not forsaken. It’s not a universal symbol of terrorism.

Huffington Post did a good job covering the story–Dunkin Donuts Pulls Ad Featuring Rachael Ray In A Scarf That Looks Too Arab– and it’s been picked up and flung around the world, with an amazing amount of… silence on the part of the Arab American community. Come on, people, make your voices heard.

Michelle Malkin started this mess with a blog piece. “The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not so ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities and left-wing icons.” She also notes:

It’s refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists. Too many of them bend over backward in the direction of anti-American political correctness. Naturally, liberal commentators on the Internet are now up in arms over Dunkin’ Donuts’ decision to yank the ad and mock anyone who expresses concern over the keffiyeh’s symbolism.

It’s just a scarf, the clueless keffiyeh-wearers scoff. Would they say the same of fashion designers who marketed modified Klan-style hoods in Burberry plaid as the next big thing?

Know that GOPUSA, “The Conservative Voice of America”, has picked up Malkin’s blog, but has published no sane rebuttal to this piece.

It’s also frightening to know that another blogger, the same mudslinging, bigoted BLOGGER who terrorized the McCain staff into dropping an Arab American from a Michigan finance campaign on a mere, unsubstantiated rumor, the whisper of the word Hezbolla, is again one of the driving forces behind this Dunkin Donuts paranoia. The level of hate in this country is rising, the spinelessness of individuals and corporations to stand up for everyone’s human rights is astounding, and and it takes our breath away.

Read Ray Hanania’s article in the Huffington Post. He’s spot on. Comment it, link to it, send it around the blogosphere. Drop a note to Dunkin Donuts and tell them to reinstate the ad and stop being bullied by two-bit bloggers.

Make our voices heard.