The leaders of 8 Muslim-American organizations on Wednesday announced the launch of an umbrella group to better voice the concerns of the country’s Muslim community.
“This is an announcement which has been long-awaited by the Muslim-American community,” said Oussama Jammal, secretary general of the newly formed U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO).
“We’re delighted that these major organizations have gotten together in response to the aspirations and hopes of the American Muslim community to have a voice and an umbrella organization.”
The council includes: the American Muslims for Palestine; the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); the Islamic Circle of North America; the Muslim American Society; the Muslim Legal Fund of America; the Muslim Alliance in North America; the Muslim Ummah of North America; and The Mosque Cares.
Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR, said that the formation of the group, which took more than two years, will help Muslim-Americans to better communicate with one another, and with the American public.
According to Jammal, the USCMO’s first objective will be to conduct a census of Muslim-Americans to “enhance political participation in upcoming elections.”