MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL of WESTERN NEW YORK 6343 Transit Road, Depew, NY 14043 (www.mpacwny.org) ***** MPAC-WNY PROUDLY ANNOUNCES   THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL  “THE TENT OF ABRAHAM”   Thursday, June, 16, 2016 at 7:30 PM Muslim Community Center (Islamic Center) 745 Heim Road, Amherst ***** An evening of friendship and conversation of our shared values as we “break the fast’ together. Enjoy an ethnic dinner with your friends and neighbors. In keeping with MPAC tradition, non-perishable food items and cash donations (matched by MPAC) will be collected for distribution to the needy in our community ***** You can make your tax deductible contributions to MPAC Foundation and indicate for “Tent of Abraham” ***** And the Eighth Annual “The Walk of Abraham” ***** As an extension of “The Tent of Abraham”   Co-Sponsored with:  Congregation Havurah, Islamic Society of Niagara Frontier; Network of Religious Communities, North Presbyterian Church  And Westminster Presbyterian Church  “The Tent of Abraham”   MPAC-WNY initiated the “The Tent of Abraham” in 2006 to share the spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadan (Month of Fasting) with our WNY community. We “break the fast” with friends and neighbors with traditional ethnic dinner, provided by MPAC-WNY, as a token of our appreciation and friendship to the WNY religious and faith communities. We share the spirit and the objectives of the event by collecting non-perishable food items and cash donations for distribution to the needy in our community. Tax deductible donations may be made to MPAC Foundation and indicated for “Tent of Abraham”.    MPAC-WNY is also pleased to announce the eighth annual “Walk of Abraham” (started in 2009) as a part of “The Tent of Abraham” event, hoping the ‘Walk ‘can inspire us to experience the spirit Abraham’s traditions of the values of faith, hospitality and mutual respect. And a reminder to us all that what unites us is far greater than that divides us.   The “Tent and Walk of Abraham” MPAC-WNY in partnership with the Congregation Havurah, Islamic Society of Niagara Frontier, Network of Religious Communities, North Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church is sponsoring a 4.5 and 1 mile solidarity walk that will take place in conjunction with its Eleventh Annual Tent of Abraham event. The 4.5 mile walk will start at North Presbyterian Church located at 300 N. Forest Rd. in Williamsville and include a stop at Heim Middle School where a shorter 1 mile walk will begin. The walk will finish at the Muslim Community Center (Islamic Center), 745 Heim Road, Amherst where walkers will join “The Tent of Abraham” event participants for dinner. (Please note ample water will be available during the walk)   Transportation will be available, free of charge, after the Tent of Abraham dinner for participants to pick up their cars from Heim Middle School and North Presbyterian Church. Transportation will also be available at the beginning of the Walk at the Church and Heim Middle School for pick-up of non-perishable food items for distribution to the needy. Please do not forget to bring some non-perishable food for distribution. The schedule for the evening is as follows:   5: 30-5: 45 PM  Forming for 4.5 mile walk at North Presbyterian Church; 5: 45 PM The walk begins  7: 00-7: 15 PM Forming for 1 mile walk from the Heim Middle School; 7: 15PM The walk begins 7: 30 PM Tent of Abraham activities begin at the Islamic Center; 8: 58 PM Iftar (breaking the fast) and dinner For reservations and for any question, please contact any one of the following: Congregation Havurah:        Rich Kellman               richkellman@gmail.com     or call (716) 983-4794 Islamic Society of Niagara Frontier:   Husam Ghanim                husam.ghanim@gmail.com       or call (716) 568-1013 Muslim Public Affairs Council-WNY:    Khalid J. Qazi            kqazi@buffalo.edu      or call (716) 213-7227 Network of Religious Communities      G. Stanford Bratton ...

Saturday May 21, 2016 Hyatt Regency Hotel Reception: 6: 00 PM  Keynote Speaker: Khurram Dara Khurram Dara is an American Muslim attorney from New York. He is the author of The Crescent Directive: An essay on improving the image of Islam in America (Tensile 2011) and Contracting Fear: Islamic Law in the Middle East and Middle America (Cascade Books 2014). He ...

I am really excited about the banquet this year set for May 21st at Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo. I am sure you will be equally excited about it. The Theme for the Twelfth Annual MPAC-WNY Banquet this year is “The American Muslim Millennial: Leading the Way”.  Based on this theme, representative American Muslim Millennials from Western New York will ...

The successful negotiation of the nuclear deal between Iran and the international community has brought to light the vast potential of diplomacy as a primary tool to achieve our interests abroad. The biggest lesson we learned is that diplomacy works. Long seen as the option of the weak in the days of the Bush administration, diplomacy is now seen as a viable ...

With the announcement from Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) publicly supporting the Iran nuclear agreement, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) commends and thanks her and the 33 other Senators who have decided that diplomacy works and is a far better alternative than America getting entangled in yet another manufactured war in the Middle East. Securing the Iran deal means that Iran will ...

The past week has been big for Islamophobia. Franklin Graham recently came out against a proposed Muslim prayer space in Orlando’s airport. Governor Scott Walker claimed that there are, in fact, a “handful of reasonable” Muslims. A US District Court in New York convicted a man for attempting to obtain a radioactive device to target Muslims. So, yes, Islamophobia is ...

Last week the country lost a giant from the Civil Rights Movement. Julian Bond died in Florida at the age of 75. Those striving for equality will find in Bond’s life a wealth of knowledge on the values of patience and standing for principle. Bond founded some of the most important organizations that have affected the march towards equality in ...

The first Republican Primary debate was a frustrating experience for many American Muslims as there seemed to be silence on issues surrounding our community. The words “Muslims” or “Islam” were only mentioned when candidates discussed acts of terrorism, thereby demonstrating the close-minded perceptions of certain candidates towards our community. There were also a host of xenophobic and targeted remarks made ...

In the past week, at least two African American individuals were killed by police officers for basic traffic violations and four Confederate flags were placed on the grounds of a historical African American church. While a number of spokesmen from the African-American community have openly condemned these acts, including some Muslims within that community, other non-African American minority groups have ...

The recent raid of the Al-Aqsa mosque demonstrates the daily reality of Muslim and Christian Palestinians as they are unsafe and restricted in the practicing of their faiths. The right-wing Israeli government and settler movement have actively taken measures to ensure that Palestinians are unable to engage with their religious community and, as a result, are made to feel isolated ...