The last
day of the 2005 Indiana
House and Senate legislative
session was a historic day.
In addition to ushering in
daylight savings time,
passing the biennial budget,
authorizing funding for a
new state of the art Colts
stadium and Indianapolis
Convention Center, this was
also the first time Muslim
Hoosiers made themselves
known as a group at the
first ever “Muslim Day at
the Statehouse.” On Friday,
April 29, 2005, 15 Muslim
representatives attended a
day long event at the
Indiana statehouse organized
by the Muslim Alliance of
Indiana. “We are a fabric of
Indiana society and wanted
to not only know who the
representatives are, but
wanted them to know that
there are over 280,000
Muslim Hoosiers in the state
that want to move Indiana
forward,” stated Dr Ibad
Ansari, MAI President.
The
meeting started at 9:30 am
with a meeting with Governor
Daniels in his office. The
meeting was an opportunity
for the Governor to learn
more about Muslims in the
state as well as to allow
him to share his vision for
Indiana. Governor Daniels
stated that this was what he
hoped the first of many
meetings during his
administration. He stated
that the values that Islam
teaches are the values that
are needed to make Indiana
stronger. Governor Daniels,
noted that due to his
Syrian-Lebanese ancestry, he
was aware of the positive
contributions Muslims can
make to the state. The
following agreements came
forth from this meeting:
- Governor Daniels
will host an annual
Iftar during Ramadan
- Governor Daniels
will assist in more
access for Muslims to
state government
- Governor Daniels
asked for the name of a
Muslim Hoosier
businessman who could
assist his Economic
Development Council to
attract more Muslim
businesses to the state
- Governor Daniels
agreed to meet on a
regular basis with
Muslim Hoosiers
Next the MAI delegation
met with Lt. Governor
Skillman. Lt. Governor
Skillman took time away from
her duties as the Senate
Chair to make time for the
MAI delegation. Lt. Governor
Skillman discussed her
responsibilities in state
government as well as
briefing the delegation
about the new Department of
Agriculture she established
through legislative action.
The MAI delegation also
briefed the Lt. Governor
about the Muslim community
in Indiana.
The delegation then
viewed Lt. Governor Skillman
initiate the next Senate
session. This meeting
followed a meeting with
House Speaker Brian Bosma.
Speaker Bosma briefed the
delegation about the
activities of the House as
well as promising to visit
the Muslim community in
their Islamic centers. The
MAI delegation briefed the
Speaker about the Muslim
community in Indiana and the
need for more access.
Speaker Bosma then led the
delegation on to the House
floor where he brought the
House into session. He
announced to the session
that that day was “Muslim
Day at the Statehouse” and
that the Muslim Alliance of
Indiana was represented by
the delegation, led by Dr.
Ibad Ansari. The House gave
a standing ovation to the
MAI delegation.
The MAI delegation then
went to the Indiana Supreme
Court Chamber, where they
met with Supreme Court
Justice Boehm. Justice Boehm
was briefed about the
delegation and the Muslim
community in Indiana.
Justice Boehm discussed the
Supreme Court and its role
in state government.
The MAI delegation met
with the Director, Judge
Scott, and Chief of Staff,
Jackie Cissell, of the
Indiana Civil Rights
Commission. The MAI
delegation briefed them
about the concerns of
Muslims regarding civil
rights and hate crimes.
Judge Scott discussed the
nature of the Commissions
work and how he hoped to
make things better in this
area with the State of
Indiana. Judge Scott agreed
to work more closely with
the Muslim Alliance of
Indiana and requested MAI to
assist in the public
education and outreach
activities of the
Commission.
The MAI delegation then
offered their Jumaah prayer
at the Government center. Dr
Sayyid M. Syeed, Secretary
General of ISNA, delivered
the khutbah to the
delegation. Jumaah prayer
was followed by a meeting
with Paula Parker-Sawyers,
Director of the Office of
Faith Based Initiatives, and
David Liebel, Faith Based
Officer. MAI briefed them
about the Muslim community
as well as discussed ways in
which the Muslim community
could be a part of the faith
based initiative. MAI stated
that Muslims were already
active in various social
service and nonprofit
initiatives across the state
and would benefit by working
more closely with the Office
of Faith Based Initiatives.
Ms. Parker-Sawyers stated
that she was open to working
with the Muslim community
and discussed a number of
ways to further the cause of
Muslim faith based
organizations as well as
informing Muslims about
funding opportunities,
technical assistance,
sharing of information as
well as hosting a statewide
conference. MAI and ISNA
became partners of the RX
for Indiana initiative. The
Initiative makes low income
Hoosiers aware of discount
programs available for
prescription drugs.
The day marked a very
historic moment for the
Muslim community in Indiana
and Muslim Alliance of
Indiana. “This was a very
important day that was well
orchestrated by the Muslim
Alliance of Indiana. While
we should continue to work
in our organizations we
should make sure that when
meeting with the seats of
power we should be united in
Indiana under the banner of
the Muslim Alliance of
Indiana”, state Dr Sayyid M.
Syeed, ISNA Secretary
General.
All the leaders visited
were provided with gifts
including the Cultural Atlas
of Islam, Peace by Dr Louay
Safi, Sayings of Jesus and
Muhammad with a foreward by
Dr Syeed, and an Islamic
calendar. In addition they
were provided a package of
information about the Muslim
community in Indiana as well
as the Muslim Alliance of
Indiana.
This event was put
together by Sr. Khadijah
Muhammad, MAI Liaison to the
Republican Party, and Shariq
Siddiqui, MAI Public Affairs
Chair. This event was
precursor to the upcoming
MAI Annual Conference to be
held on Indianapolis. MAI
Annual Conference has
invited all the people it
met as well as legislators
to meet with the Muslim
community.
The Muslim Alliance of
Indiana delegation consisted
of:
- Dr. Ibad Ansari,
President, Muslim
Alliance of Indiana
(Indianapolis)
- Khadijah Muhammad,
Liaison to the
Republican Party, Muslim
Alliance of Indiana
(Indianapolis)
- Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed,
Secretary General,
Islamic Society of North
America (Plainfield)
- City-Councilman
Patrice M. Abdullah,
Indianapolis City-County
Council (Indianapolis)
- Syed Mohammad Ali,
Secretary, Muslim
Alliance of Indiana
(Martinsville)
- Mukaram Syed,
Spokesperson, Muslim
Alliance of Indiana
(Indianapolis)
- Daud Abdur-Rahman,
Masjid Al-Fajr
(Indianapolis)
- Khadijah Shareef,
Muslim faith based
initiative leader
(Indianapolis)
- Mariyam Khan, Youth
Representative, Muslim
Alliance of Indiana (Plainfield)
- Aisha Mirza, Youth
Representative, Muslim
Alliance of Indiana (Ft.
Wayne)
- Dr. Affan Badar,
Professor, Indiana State
University (Terre Haute)
- Mohammed ElSanousi,
Director of
Communications, Islamic
Society of North America
(Plainfield)
- Dr. Faiz Rahman,
Professor, Ball State
University (Muncie)
- Shariq Ahmed
Siddiqui, Public Affairs
Chair, Muslim Alliance
of Indiana (Plainfield)
The delegation was
diverse and representation
of Muslims in Indiana.
Muslim Alliance of Indiana
highly appreciates the
contribution and efforts of
each participant, as well as
encouragement, guidance and
blessings of those who could
not participate.
Shariq A. Siddiqui
Chair, Public Affairs
