Ron Paul attending the Arab American Institute Nat'l Leadership Conference

[saahmed]

I was hoping he would reach out to the Muslim community. I think he will find a lot of support there considering his social conservatism, his views against the war, and his efforts to protect liberty for all. Muslims, at least in my community aren't extremely active in politics. They talk about it a lot but I don't think many get out and actually vote. I think Ron Paul could change that. I was excited to hear this event. Its on his campaign website but has not yet shown up on the AAI website. Kucinich, Richardson, and Gravel will be there. Richardson and Kucinich have some support in my community, but I have been trying to tell people about Ron Paul, just haven't been there too much recently.

EDIT: They have scheduled him for 1:30 on Friday. For those of you that don't know, this conflicts with the Muslim ritual of Jumah which is a special prayer and sermon on fridays. This will prevent Muslims from attending the speech and thus missing out on a message that I believe will be very appealing to them. It does not seem like the Arab-American institute is a largely Muslim organization but I think many Muslims will show up to the event given that it is being held in Dearborn, MI which has a large Muslim population. I think we should urge the organizers to re-schedule him if possible. I emailed them at: aai@aaiusa.org. There are several other contacts at: http://www.aaiusa.org/common/55/contact-us. I originally suggested only Muslims or Arabs contact them, but I guess there are not enough on these forums. So if you are going to email them just be polite and courteous. This may not even be a huge deal, but I think in can make a small difference.

[Nefertiti]

Hi, welcome to the forums. Where are you located? Ron Paul is really like a dream come true but so many Muslims are convinced the system here is biased against them that we need to find a way to get people believing they can make a difference. Have you seen this thread?:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=25715

You might want to hand out Hamadeh's ad to your friends. My husband and I have been talking about translating it into Arabic if there is a demand for it. Let me know if you could use it in Arabic and we will work on it.

[DaronWestbrooke]

Salam Saahmed
Good news indeed.

[Dave Wood]

Nefertiti,

I we all SURE that RP is invited AND attending??????????????

He hasnt been added as a speaker on their website............maybe a problem??

We need to get some solid verification from both parties immed. so if something went wrong this dosent come across as a snub.

I believe this made it to hdqtrs today but no-one has verified the event.

We have to stay on this, Michigan is in play and RP has the answer to the woes there.

THIS NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED BY HDQTRS QUICKLY or maybe its the other parties fault, either way, needs to be cleared up.

Nefertiti and Hamadeh, you are awesome! good work. lets just make certain this doesnt turn into something bad because of poor communication.

[OptionsTrader]

I was hoping he would reach out to the Muslim community. I think he will find a lot of support there considering his social conservatism, his views against the war, and his efforts to protect liberty for all. Muslims, at least in my community aren't extremely active in politics. They talk about it a lot but I don't think many get out and actually vote. I think Ron Paul could change that. I was excited to hear this event. Its on his campaign website but has not yet shown up on the AAI website. Kucinich, Richardson, and Gravel will be there. Richardson and Kucinich have some support in my community, but I have been trying to tell people about Ron Paul, just haven't been there too much recently.

A suggestion when posting info like this:
1) Include date, time, and location.
2) Include a link to verify your statement.

[DaronWestbrooke]

Nefertiti,

I we all SURE that RP is invited AND attending??????????????

He hasnt been added as a speaker on their website............maybe a problem??

We need to get some solid verification from both parties immed. so if something went wrong this dosent come across as a snub.

I believe this made it to hdqtrs today but no-one has verified the event.

We have to stay on this, Michigan is in play and RP has the answer to the woes there.

THIS NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED BY HDQTRS QUICKLY or maybe its the other parties fault, either way, needs to be cleared up.

Nefertiti and Hamadeh, you are awesome! good work. lets just make certain this doesnt turn into something bad because of poor communication.


It is listed on the mother site-
Oct 26
Arab-American Institute Nat'l Leadership Conference
Dearborn, Michigan
1:20 PM

[DaronWestbrooke]

A suggestion when posting info like this:
1) Include date, time, and location.
2) Include a link to verify your statement.

Here is a link for our friend.
Front page.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

[OptionsTrader]

http://www.aaiusa.org/

http://www.aaiusa.org/press-room/3331/republican-presidential-candidate-ron-paul-to-address-arab-american-institutes-national-leadership-conference

Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul to Address Arab American Institute's National Leadership Conference

Exerpt
"...
Texas Congressman is First Republican Candidate to Confirm Participation in the Dearborn, MI Conference

Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has confirmed that he will address the Arab American Institute’s National Leadership Conference (NLC), Our Voice, Our Future: Yalla Vote ‘08. The NLC will be held from October 26-28 in Dearborn, MI, and Paul is scheduled to speak on Friday at 1:20 p.m. ..."

http://i20.tinypic.com/30lkmdi.jpg (http://www.aaiusa.org)

[OptionsTrader]

Something tells me the other Republican candidates will have scheduling conflicts on October 26...

[Dave Wood]

http://www.aaiusa.org/

http://www.aaiusa.org/press-room/3331/republican-presidential-candidate-ron-paul-to-address-arab-american-institutes-national-leadership-conference

Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul to Address Arab American Institute's National Leadership Conference

Exerpt

http://i20.tinypic.com/30lkmdi.jpg (http://www.aaiusa.org)



"...
Texas Congressman is First Republican Candidate to Confirm Participation in the Dearborn, MI Conference

Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has confirmed that he will address the Arab American Institute’s National Leadership Conference (NLC), Our Voice, Our Future: Yalla Vote ‘08. The NLC will be held from October 26-28 in Dearborn, MI, and Paul is scheduled to speak on Friday at 1:20 p.m. ..."





YEAH! That`s what I`m Talking about!!!

Folks, just remember, no scheduling errors on our side............we cant afford the blowback!:)

[Nefertiti]

Something tells me the other Republican candidates will have scheduling conflicts on October 26...

Something tells me they weren't even invited...

[NOLA]

Did any of the other Muslims notice the Dr. Paul was scheduled to speak at Jumaa time...unless their praying there...I doubt many Muslims will be there...although there will be many Christian Arabs who make up a significant amount of the Arab-American Community in America.

[Nefertiti]

Yes, you are right. According to my prayer software it will be at 1:17 in Dearborn that day. I'm wondering whether we should say something to the organizers or the campaign? Looking at their board of directors it seems to me this is a Christian-run organization though and they might not have very many Muslim attendees.

We need to be hitting ISNA and MSA and the like I think if we want to reach out to Muslims.

[steph3n]

Yes, you are right. I'm wondering whether we should say something to the organizers or the campaign? Looking at their board of directors it seems to me this is a Christian-run organization.

even if thy are christian run, many of the same concerns apply to them in a general context, the same can be said for the sikhs who are neither muslim or christian but fall into the same wrongly placed generalizations.

[Nefertiti]

even if thy are christian run, many of the same concerns apply to them in a general context, the same can be said for the sikhs who are neither muslim or christian but fall into the same wrongly placed generalizations.

That's not the point. The Muslims will all be praying when he is scheduled to speak. It's Friday, the Muslim holy day, and the Friday prayer is at exactly the same time he is speaking. So if there are Muslims there they will miss hearing him.

[bbachtung]

Forgive my ignorance, but how long does each prayer time last? The "noon" prayer time in Dearborn on October 26 is at 1:17 p.m. according to one of the prayer time websites that I checked.

Does the prayer time last five, ten, fifteen, etc. minutes?

[Paulestinian]

Forgive my ignorance, but how long does each prayer time last? The "noon" prayer time in Dearborn on October 26 is at 1:17 p.m. according to one of the prayer time websites that I checked.

Does the prayer time last five, ten, fifteen, etc. minutes?

It all depends on the mosque and the length of the sermon. The prayer itself lasts no more than 10 minustes, but the whole thing could last up to an hour plus the time to get to the mosque and back.

[Nefertiti]

I'd presume they would have a space to pray there but the bottom line is they will miss his speech or at least part of it.

[Corydoras]

A word to the Christians might be in order.

[saahmed]

Did any of the other Muslims notice the Dr. Paul was scheduled to speak at Jumaa time...unless their praying there...I doubt many Muslims will be there...although there will be many Christian Arabs who make up a significant amount of the Arab-American Community in America.

Yes. I just saw the announcement on the AAI website and I was kind of confused. Don't they have a timeout for Jumah? Virtually no one will show up. I emailed them and urged them to move it. I don't think we need to flood them with emails, but this is what I sent them at aai@aaiusa.org. Maybe just have the Muslims here send an email so it does not look like the whole support base is flooding them.

Copy of my email:

I believe Ron Paul has a message that many Arab Americans and Muslims will find appealing and I thank you for inviting him. But, I think you will be depriving many Muslims of hearing this message because he has been scheduled to speak around the time of Jumah prayer. I urge you to move the schedule around in order to allow for a larger audience to attend and learn about Ron Paul.

Thank you.

[steph3n]

I agree other muslims (or Arabs in general since it is an Arab American group) should send the mail, they know the audience better. handled properly it will only take a few mails :)

[saahmed]

Hi, welcome to the forums. Where are you located? Ron Paul is really like a dream come true but so many Muslims are convinced the system here is biased against them that we need to find a way to get people believing they can make a difference. Have you seen this thread?:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=25715

You might want to hand out Hamadeh's ad to your friends. My husband and I have been talking about translating it into Arabic if there is a demand for it. Let me know if you could use it in Arabic and we will work on it.

I am in Iowa. We have a pretty diverse community and pretty much everyone speaks english, so I don't think an Arabic flier will be necessary, but I do need to start handing out some flyers. Are there any fliers targeted towards Muslims? Does Hamadeh have his ad posted online somewhere?

[Bradley in DC]

Yes, you are right. According to my prayer software it will be at 1:17 in Dearborn that day. I'm wondering whether we should say something to the organizers or the campaign? Looking at their board of directors it seems to me this is a Christian-run organization though and they might not have very many Muslim attendees.

Please direct concerns to the organizers, not the campaign. ;)

[Nefertiti]

I agree other muslims (or Arabs in general since it is an Arab American group) should send the mail, they know the audience better. handled properly it will only take a few mails :)

I don't know their audience at all. For all I know this could be a 95 percent Christian organization and they just don't get Muslims coming to their events. I'm not quite sure who they represent actually, because I have found there is some controversy between them and Maronite and Assyrian Christians who resent being counted as "Arab" by the group because they don't consider themselves to be Arabs. Is there anyone more familiar with them who can discern what to do?

[Falseflagop]

AIPAC is evil imho Go RON PAUL the first candidiate that did not take a junket to Israel to get approval to run for US Pres. as all the rest have.

[Nefertiti]

So do you think we should raise the prayer issue with them or not?

[saahmed]

So do you think we should raise the prayer issue with them or not?

I think we should raise the issue. I think Muslims do play at least some sort of role in the organization. The organization has been to my small Muslim community on several occasions. James Zogby, the president, was here during Ramadan. The organization may not be largely Muslim, but they definitely have some Muslim members, especially in a place like Dearborn, MI.

[saahmed]

Has anybody else emailed them?

[Nefertiti]

You should email them since you are most familiar with them and can probably convey to them the message best.

[saahmed]

You should email them since you are most familiar with them and can probably convey to them the message best.

I did, but I don't think it will make an impact unless other do as well. This is what I emailed:

I believe Ron Paul has a message that many Arab Americans and Muslims will find appealing and I thank you for inviting him. But, I think you will be depriving many Muslims of hearing this message because he has been scheduled to speak around the time of Jumah prayer. I urge you to move the schedule around in order to allow for a larger audience to attend and learn about Ron Paul.

Thank you.