Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition Assesses President Biden’s First 100 Days, Calls for Closure of Guantanamo Bay Military Prison and Lifting of Economic Sanctions
Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition applauds President Biden on his commitments for pandemic economic recovery in the stimulus plan, the rapid deployment of vaccine distribution in the United States, embrace of the Paris Climate Agreement and extension of the START arms control treaty with Russia. Muslim Delegates and Allies also welcomes the withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, and the appointment of Special Envoy Robert Malley, an experienced negotiator, on Iran.
President Biden falls miserably short, though, on his commitments to the American Muslim community at the 100-day mark. President Biden worked with alacrity and speed on sweeping executive orders but leaves much to be desired with respect to engagement of American Muslims and the issues of concern to the American Muslim community.
Muslim Delegates and Allies urges President Biden to issue an executive order for the rapid closure of Guantanamo Bay Military Prison and has provided the White House a petition with over 1,000 signatories on its closure. President Biden needs to appoint a special envoy for release, resettlement and in some cases civil trial for the 40 remaining prisoners, many of whom were cleared for release long ago. He can make that announcement during the State of the Union Address.
Although we applaud the announcement of the troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, we are disheartened to learn the Pentagon still plans to launch killer drone strikes and establish military bases nearby.
While the pandemic has limited the ability for in person meetings, the White House has failed to meet publicly with American Muslim leaders. Joe Biden promised to reinstitute the White House Eid Celebration and appoint a Muslim-American Liaison in the White House Office of Public Engagement. He has also yet to appoint a Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
What is most alarming is President Biden’s refusal to lift sanctions impeding the importation of food, medicine and medical supplies during a global pandemic. Even George W. Bush lifted sanctions on Iran following a devastating earthquake in 2003. Instead, Biden has continued harsh sanctions against Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Sudan and a myriad of other countries struggling to access medicine and medical supplies to ease the heartache of COVID-19.
Despite Biden’s campaign promises to end U.S. complicity in the Saudi-led war on Yemen, the United States continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their military assaults on Yemen.
The Biden administration submitted a $753 billion military budget, a 1.6% increase over Trump’s, with billions budgeted for new nuclear weapons, expected to cost $1.7 trillion over the next decades. This is unacceptable and we urge all progressives in Congress to publicly oppose any budget resolution that fails to cut military spending by at least 10–30%.
Aisha Jumaan, Board Member of Muslim Delegates and Allies and President of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation: “Commentating and remembering atrocities against humanity should serve to stop current and future atrocities. President Biden is given a rare chance to save lives in Yemen, and right the wrong his previous administration committed against the Yemeni people by supporting the Saudi-led war and blockade.”
Hanieh Jodat Barnes, President of Muslim Delegates and Allies: “100 days have passed since the Biden administration took over the White House with campaign promises to end wars, but the blockade on Yemen continues to add to the suffering of Yemeni families. Thousands of people have died globally under unilateral and illegal silent wars called sanctions in the midst of a pandemic, due to lack of medical supplies. We urge President Biden to act swiftly to end his support for the Saudi led war and lift the sanctions on vulnerable populations.”
Nadia Ahmad, Chair of Muslim Delegates and Allies: Our voices as American Muslims can no longer be sidelined and forgotten. Ending the Muslim Ban was a baseline. We cannot be the punching bag for the GOP, and that same time, the stepping stone for the Democratic Party’s political aspirations against our community through anti-immigration rhetoric, surveillance projects, economic sanctions and a bloated military.
Muslim Delegates and Allies is particularly concerned about the lack of commitments in the following campaign pledges made specifically by the Biden campaign to American Muslims:
● Institute a 100-day moratorium on deportations for those already living and working in the United States and put real political capital into passing legislative immigration reform that provides a roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants enriching our communities.
● Reverse Trump administration policies that have effectively gutted our refugee program.
● Set the annual global refugee admissions cap to 125,000 in his first year in office and seek to raise it over time commensurate with our responsibility, our values, and the unprecedented global need.
● Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster and ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.
● Dedicate more resources to keeping families and mosques safe from Islamophobic attacks.
● Speak out against the internment camps in Xinjiang and hold the people and companies complicit in this appalling oppression accountable.
● Denounce systematic discrimination and atrocities against Burma’s Rohingya Muslim minority is abhorrent and undermines peace and stability.
● Call on the Indian government to take all necessary steps to restore rights for all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the Internet, weaken democracy. Joe Biden has been disappointed by the measures that the government of India has taken with the implementation and aftermath of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act into law.
● End Donald Trump’s “blank check” for Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses at home and abroad and use leverage to lift the Saudi blockade on Yemen.
● Champion equal rights for all in Israel and Palestine, regardless of state configuration.
● Condition aid to Israel on its human rights record to demand an end to settlement expansion, home demolitions and child detentions.
