Muslims from Kent, rest of state to meet with state lawmakers

For the Reporter

Nearly 600 Washington state Muslims from more than 35 state legislative districts, including the Kent area, are scheduled to meet with about 100 state lawmakers in Olympia as part of the sixth annual Washington State Muslim Lobby Day on Monday, Jan. 19.

The event is organized by the state’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA), the nation’s leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

Those taking part in the lobby day will seek to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by advocating passage of legislation that helps the most vulnerable in the state by urging legislators to invest $100 million in the Housing Trust Fund for funding of low income housing as part of the biennial budget, according to a CAIR media release.

Participants will also lobby their lawmakers to pass the Washington Voting Rights Act which is designed to ensure that city and county councils in Washington represent all the neighborhoods and communities they serve.

Groups from Spokane, West Richland, Yakima, Kent, Mountlake Terrace, Redmond, SeaTac, Seattle (Rainier Valley & High Point), and Vancouver will attend the event.

Muslim voters attending the event will represent more than 35 of the 49 state’s legislative districts. Voters will provide information about recent anti-Muslim incidents and will urge their legislators to speak out against Islamophobic hate rhetoric and hate crimes when they happen in their districts.

“This event will provide an opportunity for Muslims from the majority of our state’s legislative districts to benefit society by urging lawmakers to champion issues that affect millions of our state’s residents of all faiths,” said CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari. “This year’s attendees will likely represent more districts than were covered last year, so elected representatives will learn that their local Muslim communities are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about state politics, better organized, well-connected with other allied groups in their regions, and Muslim communities are utilizing these assets to give back to society and promoting the common good.”

Those meeting their elected representatives represent one of the largest groups to have a lobby day at the Washington state capitol. This event is also the second largest Muslim lobby day in the country (Illinois Muslims have held lobby days in Springfield that have brought more than 1,000 Muslims from across their state).

CAIR-WA’s annual lobbying day has been held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year since 2010 and is designed to honor the legacy of King and his defense of civil rights through bold and successful  advocacy on issues that impact the most vulnerable in society.

The 2013 WA Muslim Lobby Day helped achieve two legislative victories. State lawmakers expanded Medicaid coverage to cover a quarter million (250,000) more low-income adults in Washington state and the state’s Republican-majority senate became the first in the nation to pass the religious freedom resolution proposed by local Muslims. (Senate resolution 8652). The 2014 WA Muslim Lobby Day supported the passage of the WA Dream Act/Real Hope Act.

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.