MUSLIM CONSULTATIVE NETWORK
Dear Friend:
Assalamu alaikum! Here we are in Ramadan 2008. And yes, we are a Muslim nonprofit writing to request your help and tax-deductible support. Who are we?
We are the Muslim Consultative Network (MCN)-- a New York-based network of diverse Muslim men and women active in civil liberties, social services and education.
Why should you support us? Our diverse Muslim communities are underdeveloped and disunited. We cannot deny this fact. But together we can face the challenge of the future-- MCN network members are strengthening weak and fragmented community institutions though community training, leadership development and capacity building, serving mosque-based services as well as independent community-based organizations. Since early July MCN has been hosting a full-time VISTA volunteer who will spend the next year with us doing community surveys and free trainings to strengthen our neighborhood services.
Uniquely in New York, MCN promotes development across ethnic, racial, sectarian and class divides. Active as social justice advocates and community bridge builders, MCN members are already at the table as regular and reliable partners with other communities in New York:
* This Ramadan, MCN members have organized very well attended iftars with three Borough Presidents, publicly honoring a total of over 20 NYC Muslims providing service to the community (see our website [Muslim Consultative Network](http://www.mcnny.org)).
* MCN is also a steering committee member of the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition that has written several reports rebutting the faulty NYPD Radicalization Report analysis (see http://maclc1. wordpress. com/) and of Communities in Support for the Khalil Gibran International Academy (www.kgia.wordpress. com) a committee group which opposes attempts to marginalize Arabs and Muslims in the public sphere, especially in public education.
* We are currently active board members of New York Disaster Interfaith Services ([New York Disaster Interfaith Services](http://www.nydis.org)), Metro New York Religious Campaign against Torture ([nyrcat - Home](http://www.nyrcat.org)) and also regularly partner with the Interfaith Center of New York on event planning and a range of community education projects (most recent event http://www.columbia spectator. com/node/ 55688).
MCN members are deeply involved in good neighbor and civic engagement issues. Perhaps you would like to join us! However in order to grow –or even maintain services-- we lack the basic level of financial support to promote and develop our services professionally. Your generous donation would help us:
* Promote coordination & publish a directory of diverse Muslim services in NYC;
* pay stipends for speakers at community education events and conferences;
* pay the current costs of our full time VISTA Volunteer;
* pay staff at least part-time instead of rely on volunteer time;
* hire and share a grant writer in common with several local Muslim programs
Jewish, Catholic and Protestant resources are enormous and we are grateful that they have been assisting so many Muslims in need. However, it is also important for us Muslims to develop our own culturally sensitive services and systems of referral and cooperation. MCN can help this development be accountable and fair. With more resources, our members can develop and direct appropriate services to families & youth.
* In 2006 MCN gave $12,000 in funding to such important Muslim projects as the Muslim Mental health Institute, The South Asian Health Network, The Arab Heritage Week, Radio Tahrir, Muslim Women’s Institute, the House of Peace, as well as to several interfaith dialogues and youth projects. In 2007 we sponsored workshops on a variety of subjects from family health to access to city services to racial and ethnic oppression.
* Our VISTA Volunteer Elyse Peters Arnold is currently collecting data and community surveys to document Muslim needs in several New York City communities with significant Arab, South Asian, African and African American Muslim populations. Elyse is also promoting Muslim participation in Red Cross Disaster preparedness and Fire prevention workshops.
* With the assistance of Lawyers Alliance for New York MCN recently received our non-profit status. We are also incorporated in New York and licensed by the Department of Education. In Summer 2008 we also opened two shared offices spaces in Manhattan at very low cost.
Though MCN is extremely cost-effective, we do have costs. While we are writing grant proposals, foundations and community partners have told us that they will not provide unless we can also demonstrate community support. Therefore we hope you will show your support for our important community strengthening and allow us to grow.
The future of our city—and of our nation—may depend on such initiatives. Safety of our multicultural society cannot be guaranteed by law enforcement alone. We seek a balanced, tolerant and inclusive Muslim community that encourages civic engagement and is not controlled by one interest or another. We can learn to work together to build a more effective community, one that is not narrow or divided by ethnic difference!
MCN can help create conditions for a safer, saner community. Help us build Muslim civil society in New York. Help us train and educate our fellow Muslims and challenge the politics of fear and exclusion. As members of wider American society, our communities must be seen as part of the solution and not part of “the problem.”
Our future depends on our ability to work together peacefully and effectively—for the sake of His Compassion and Mercy to creation.
Please make checks payable to Muslim Consultative Network, and send to: P. O. Box 1719 Bronx, New York 10451.
Sincerely,
Adem Carroll, MCN Board Chair
Sarah Sayeed, MCN Board Secretary
PS: Please also give a moment of your time to fill out the very short version survey along with your check or cash donation!
http://www.surveymo nkey.com/ s.aspx?sm= 2oZNrKa_2f0fxjFT w4Kqw43Q_ 3d_3d