(Palm Beach, FL 07/24/2019) – The South Florida Muslim Federation and its members met with the Editorial Board of The Palm Beach Post to discuss media coverage of the South Florida Muslim community. During the meeting, both The Palm Beach Post and the South Florida Muslim community opened lines of communication that did not exist before and discussed ways to work together to make sure South Florida Muslims are given an equal voice on stories that are reported on.
Members of the Federation shard their concerns about their voice being absent in many issues that effect the Muslim community to include the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, negative terms such as Islamic Terrorism, laws that equate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism and social service contributions from the Muslim community to the greater community. During the meeting, The Palm Beach Post expressed their desire to open lines of communication and start sharing our stories with their readers.
“I appreciated the editor’s willingness to take the time and listen to our perspectives and discuss the Muslim community’s concerns when it comes to the media. I was surprised with how little they knew about our local community and organizations. This reinforced the need for us as Muslims to reach out and make connections and say, we are a part of the American fabric and we have a story to tell”, says Leila Shatara, President of The Council of Islamic Schools of South Florida.
Ammer Ahmad the South Florida Director for EMGAGE Florida said, “Emgage wants to express our thanks to the South Florida Muslim Federation for reaching out and facilitating the meeting with The Palm Beach Post. These meetings are very important for the Muslim community to open lines of communication, so we can tell our story!”.
Participants of the meeting included; Rick Christie-Editorial Page Editor, Howard Goodman-Editorial Writer, Nezar Hamze-Executive Director of the South Florida Muslim Federation, Abdul Rauf Khan- Chief Operating Officer of ICNA Relief USA, Junaid Akhtar- President of Baitul Mukarram Mosque of Palm Beach, Leila Shatara- President of The Council of Islamic Schools of South Florida, Ammer Ahmad- South Florida Director for Emgage Florida, Manzoor Khan- General Secretary of Islamic Center of North America (ICNA Relief), Yunus Ismail- Board Member of Friends Of Humanity, Inc.
The South Florida Muslim Federation is meeting with various media outlets throughout South Florida to share our concerns and ask for equal coverage of issues and stories that involve the Muslim community.
Media Contact:
Nezar Hamze, Executive Director, The South Florida Muslim Federation
Phone: 954-673-9459, Email: nhamze@soflomuslims.com
The South Florida Muslim Federation is an umbrella of Muslim Organizations based in South Florida. (see www.soflomuslims.com/about).
Below is a list of organizations:
Al-Amin Center
American Islamic Center of Florida
AMANA
Masjid Baitul Mukarram
Basmah
Council of Muslim Student Associations
CAIR Florida
Council of Islamic Schools of South Florida
Darul Uloom Institute
Dawah Islam
Emgage
Friends of Humanity
Helping Hands Relief
Islamic Center of Broward
Islamic Center of Boca Raton
Islamic Center of Weston
Islamic Circle of North America Relief
Islamic Center of South Florida
Islamic Foundation of South Florida
Islamic Jafferia Association
Islamic Relief USA
Islamic School of Miami
Madinatul Uloom Institute
Masjid Al-Ansar
Masjid Al-Hijrah
Masjid Ihsan
Muslim Communities Association
Masjid Jamaat Al’Mu-mineen
MAS of South Florida
Muslim Women’s Organization of South Florida
Nur Ul Islam
South Florida Young Muslims Professionals
Youth Coalition of South Florida
Young Muslims
