On August 20, 2006 a group of Muslim community leaders met with Mr. John Walsh the Campaign Manager for gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick. Notes from this meeting have been provided here.
Attending on behalf of the community:
Imam Talal Eid
Kamal Pasa
Hanif Butt
Mushtaque Mirza
Farooq Mirza
Parwez Wahid
The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and the discussion was productive and useful.
Parwez introduced each of the delegation members and then talked about the first talking point on the subject of how Islam and Muslims are depicted in the public school curriculum. The school textbooks do not give a fair portrayal of Islam and Muslims, particularly when Islamic Civilization was at its peak. Muslim contributions to science, math and also towards the Renaissance should be included.
John Walsh asked what, if any, efforts had been made previously towards this.
Parwez replied that in the early 1990s this matter was brought to Governor Weld who stated that a person in the education department (a person named Ms. Roberston) could be contacted. Parwez acknowledged that a new Administration would likely give a similar referral, however he stated that the Administration should show some greater interest. For a Governor to come forward and state that this is a problem that needs to be corrected would be of great help.
While such an effort would involve revising school textbooks, Parwez pointed out that a recent discussion among scientists and astronomers could change the number of planets in the solar system from 9 to 12. This would require changes to many school textbooks as well.
Talal Eid expressed his appreciation on how Deval Patrick had shown his willingness to meet with the Muslim community. (Referring to Patrick joining the Muslim events at the last two state conventions and visiting Masjid Al-Quran.) Imam Eid stated that he would encourage the Muslim community to support Patrick in the elections.
The Imam also hoped that a new Administration would encourage the news media to be more open towards the Muslim community. He stated that Muslims are approached when there is a pressing issue such as giving comment on a crisis overseas. Imam Eid felt that Muslims should be sought for their view on other subjects as well.
Hanif Butt suggested the idea of having a Muslim Day at the State House. (He referred to a similar program for dental professionals who visit the State House once a year.) Parwez made mention to Iftar gatherings that former First Lady Hillary Clinton hosted at the White House and this could be a possible program as well.
Another item discussed was the appointment of a Muslim by the Administration. Parwez stated that while the community understands there are pros and cons to such an appointment, he expressed that it would be helpful to first know the mechanism on how to even begin pursuing such a goal. John Walsh replied that unless Patrick is elected, any such appointment process is not even a consideration. He did offer that a priority for Deval Patrick is inclusiveness and he would look to recruit from as wide a pool of candidates as possible. As such the Muslim community would be given the opportunity to join the appointment process.
In addition to an appointment Kemal Pasa suggested having a person act as liaison between the Administration and the Muslim community. Possibly a person receiving appointment by the Administration could serve this role as well. Kemal made mention to a similar function created by New York City Mayor Bloomberg.
Farooq Mirza added that the subject of harassment experienced by Muslims in the work place and incidents where Muslims are passed over for promotions could be addressed by the liaison.
Parwez talked about how in his discussions with community members regarding the Patrick campaign the subject of race would emerge. Parwez stated that while some people express interest in Deval Patrick's candidacy they question how much race can be an issue. John Walsh replied that it is expected such questions will always come from time to time, but over time these becomes less of an issue. John added that what Deval has been saying is "Don't take a chance on me, take a chance on your own aspirations."
On this, Mushtaque stated that it becomes important to "break the ice" and elect a minority. Such an outcome becomes helpful to all minority groups.
The last remark from Kemal Pasa was on the subject of the TV ads. Kemal felt that future ads might include showing families from diverse community groups that support Deval Patrick. (He mentioned his own experience in such areas preparing TV material in Turkey.)
The delegation expressed its willingness to become more involved with the Patrick campaign. The discussions then proceeded on how the Muslim community could be of help to the Deval Patrick Committee.
Mushtaque Mirza has a list of some 85000 Muslim voters in Massachusetts. This could be used as a base to conduct phone banking.
John Walsh also mentioned the Community Tools webpage for the Deval Patrick website. This can be used to build contact lists and also to do small levels of fund raising. (Parwez has used this tool to build a list of supporters pledged to Deval Patrick.)
Another easy way to help the campaign is posting of lawn signs (for those who live in homes where signs can be posted). John mentioned that signs would become available later in the week. Hanif offered to pickup and post signs. Parwez stated that sign locations in the community should be identified and then signs can be distributed accordingly. Identifying lawn sign locations is the first step towards this task.
All campaigns require financial support and John mentioned the next major fundraiser on September 12th in Boston at 60 State Street. Fund raising for the Patrick campaign has been at a grass-roots level with over half the donors giving less than $100. The Patrick campaign has raised more than the two competing primary candidates have during the past year, however both opposing candidates have much more to spend in their campaign funds.
Following the meeting Hanif and Parwez approached Imam Talal Eid to become a sponsor for the September 12th fundraiser. They would need to identify about 30 donors in the community who would be willing to contribute a minimum $50 for at $1500 sponsorship. This way there would be Muslim representation at the September 12th fundraiser.
The delegation offered to conduct a phone bank at the Deval Patrick campaign HQ. At the conclusion of the meeting with John Walsh, the delegation briefly met with a campaign staffer, Sam Shusterman. This was for the purpose of setting up a phone bank. Sam stated that the campaign is set up to conduct a phone bank for up to 15 people. She also added that a field office was set up in Springfield for people on the western part of the state; phone calling could be arranged for people living around the Springfield area.
Parwez suggested the date of August 31st, the Thursday before Labor Day for conducting the phone bank at the Patrick HQ. To conduct this phone bank some 10 to 15 volunteers from the Muslim community will be needed. The phone bank can work from the list of 85000 Muslim voters that Mushtaque Mirza has obtained. He stated he would send a copy of this list to Sam so she can cross-reference it with the data the Patrick campaign has in its records.
Meeting concluded at 12:30pm.