MDAC Washington 2023: Building an Inclusive Community
This year's Muslim Day at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington was the first in-person MDAC to take place since 2020. As Washington state becomes a more diverse community, events such as MDAC are important to have in order to honor and recognize those differences. MDAC gives an opportunity for us to actively engage with local politicians and play our role in advocating for the rights and interests of our Muslim community.
The day began with a talk from Washington's very own state Governor: Jay Inslee. He spoke to us on current bills and reforms he and his team are working on such as the housing crisis, etc. He also took questions from the audience and addressed concerns on bills concerning funding for special education.
Following the Governor, Nabrath Sheriff talked about her journey from a political campaign volunteer to present day being a Legislative Aide to a Washington Senator. Samir Junejo talked about his role as a State Relations Director for the City of Seattle and did a Q&A session with the MDAC audience on how they can become active members of their local legislations.
After creating posters on current Muslim political campaigns and events, the MDAC crowd headed to the steps of the Capitol building to hold a peaceful rally. Even though this was very quickly followed by rainy weather, the crowd was in good spirits. A surprise visit by Senator Yasmin Trudeau, Washington State’s first Muslim woman senator, about her recent advocating for mothers in the political environment, just giving birth to her second child during her campaign in the summer of 2022.
Hadia Ahmed is a Spring 2023 Media Intern at CAIR-WA.
