In spite of everything this year, MCN has taken it upon themselves to reach the community as best as possible.
** 2020 Moments to Remember
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Taking a look at the ways in which MCN has given back to the community in 2020, despite the many twists and turns this year has brought.
Dear John,
It is time to take a big sigh of relief, for 2020 has finally come to an end. The last couple of months have not been easy, not for us, nor our community, or the entire world. The events of this year have been unprecedented and harsh. This was a year that required us to become more resilient, reflective, and build the infrastructures that would make us stronger than ever. I want to remind you that at the Muslim Community Network, we are with you, we stand up for you, and we care for you.
As most initially did, MCN had extensive plans for 2020, some of which we hope to follow suit in 2021, some of which we had to scrap altogether. When the pandemic struck our city, we only knew one thing for certain. We needed to be responsive to our community's needs, to help connect the community to the resources available to them, and to advocate for them.
Despite the exhaustive challenges 2020 threw at communities everywhere, MCN kept our core goals throughout - to educate and to advocate, to emphasize interfaith allyship, to prioritize community service and altruism, and to empower and foster youth leadership. Below, we have detailed some highlighted moments from this year, from the blissfully vulnerable beginning to the steadfast ending. We are able to do this, only with your continued support!
With Gratitude,
Aniqa Nawabi
Executive Director
** January 2020
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MCN started this year off with the Census in mind. We were able to get 2,000 Muslim New Yorkers to complete the Census this round. Thanks to all of our partners, especially the local mosques, who allowed us to present at the congregations.
** February 2020
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We held our 3rd Muslim Stakeholders meeting - this year having over 20 Muslim non-profits meet with 14 Muslim city government agency officials (pictured)! We also hosted more Diversity Education workshops around the city and delved deeper into our #MuslimsCount2020 census work.
** March 2020
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With life as we once knew it changing, MCN made their switch to the new 2020 remote norm. We hosted an interfaith prayer vigil for the early victims of COVID-19 and healthcare workers, and also held a Zoom webinar with Commissioner Bitta Mostofi from the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs on the city's response to the pandemic. Despite the situation, we still remained committed to sponsoring our monthly soup kitchens in a safe manner.
** April 2020
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With the worst of lockdown hitting NYC, we began serving lunches for doctors and nurses on the frontlines at Bellevue Hospital, something we would continue to do throughout the pandemic. We were also excited to start our quarantined Ramadan challenge and launched our COVID-19 Response Hotline in 7 different languages with the help of volunteers.
** May 2020
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Throughout the month, MCN continued it's good giveaways, in partnership with the Yemeni American Merchants Association and NYC Care volunteers. We hosted multilingual virtual phone banking sessions, workshops, iftars, and of course, a virtual Eid celebration of poetry, performance, and reflection.
** June 2020
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In order to keep our youth engaged, MCN served as a platform for our MYNYC youth to share their thoughts and feelings around the issues impacting their lives. Whether it was on the issue of the Black Lives Matter movement, or the repression of the Uyghur community in China, which reached over six thousand people to this date, we allowed our youth to dictate the topics they felt strongly about.
** July 2020
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MCN launched our Social Justice Book Club with our youth; we also changed gears from the Census work to getting our community registered and informed about the upcoming elections. We helped register over 200 New Yorkers.
** August 2020
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Nearing closer to the election and the census deadlines, MCN continued to host voting workshops, phone banking sessions, and encourage the community to fill out the census. We also continued to provide food assistance at our monthly interfaith soup kitchen at he Church of Holy Trinity.
** September 2020
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Our Muslim Youth NYC leaders Rabia and Zahra brought together the public advocate, the district attorneys, and the state assemblymembers' offices to address the Queens Muslim community in a virtual town hall (pictured). MCN also participated in a national panel with Religions for Peace USA and was also featured on American Islamic Radio to talk about our COVID-19 hotline services.
** October 2020
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With October being Domestic Violence Awareness month, we launched our #MuslimWomenStrong campaign and our student leaders, Mehrun Ahmed and Mahir Azam organized a virtual panel on domestic violence featuring Muslim community leaders.
** November 2020
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In November, we made our final efforts in ensuring the Muslim vote was heard. MCN also held phone banking events and monitored poll sites thanks to the work of amazing volunteers. We also launched our Muslim Youth NYC program and welcomed 15 new passionate students. Our Thanksgiving Pack-a-Thon was a major success, packing 240 boxes of halal thanksgiving meals with Muslims Against Hunger.
** December 2020
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Finally reaching an end to this complex year, we held our first discussion in our Muslim Women's Civic Forum series with the mothers of Amadou Diallo and Mohamed Bah for a conversation on police brutality and reform, reached over one thousand people for a discussion on the Role of Jesus in Islam with scholar and historian Dr. Mathew Schumann, and had a successful giveaway event of free legal services, groceries, masks, and school supplies in The Bronx with MediaForChange, Bethel Hamliri, African Communities Together, and African Immigrants' Commission of NY&CT.
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