YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

David Ramadan and Helen Samhan at the RNC

AAI caught up with David-Imad Ramadan at the Republican National Convention. David is Vice-Chair of Outreach to Arab & Muslim Americans for the Republican Party of Virginia, and is a great representative for our community. Al Jazeera English interviewed him, and here’s what he has to say about his role in his party:

“It is a two-way role that means educating the public about the Republican party and also educating the Republican party on the Arab-American and Muslim community on what we need from candidates in order to support them.”

Read the entire article here on the Al Jazeera English site.

Yalla Vote field interns visit the DNC…

…and the RNC…

… and our nation’s Capital.

To see more photos of their Washington adventure, please visit our Flickr photostream.

“Nobody wants to laugh with the enemy. People want to look for an excuse to hate you.” –Ahmed Ahmed, STAND UP: Muslim American Comics Come of Age

It’s a hard truth: you can only fear what you do not know. A few comics are trying, one laugh at a time, to change the way Americans think about Muslims, and Arabs, in America. On Sunday, May 11, you can laugh along with Muslim American comics Ahmed Ahmed, Tissa Hami, Dean Obeidallah, Azhar Usman and Maysoon Zayid on PBS’s extraordinary show, America at a Crossroads.

Visit PBS’s website to learn more about the show, watch clips, and stay tuned to Yalla Vote next week to win a copy of this DVD!

Here’s the coolest part: two of these comics will be performing at AAI’s tributes during the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions.

Watch Dean Obeidallah and Tissa Hami on the View:

Oh, yeah.