American Muslim Community (AMC) Engagement John T. Pinna, Panelist - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Faith, Money, Power: Leveraging the Buying Power and Influence of American Muslims American Muslim Community (AMC) Engagement John T. Pinna, Panelist Director of Government & International Relations American Islamic Congress (AIC)

The AMC is at critical mass ¡  The ¡first ¡quan-fiable ¡assessment ¡of ¡the ¡AMC ¡ has ¡just ¡occurred ¡  A ¡number ¡of ¡studies ¡were ¡released ¡over ¡the ¡ last ¡year ¡  The ¡AMC ¡is ¡the ¡new ¡immigrant ¡popula-on ¡

Make up of the AMC ¡

The AMC is not monolithic No two Muslims are the same o “Multifaith” o Multi-ethnic o Multicultural o Not unlike any other religious group American Muslims are not a homogeneous population

Deconstructing Muslim communities ¡ Region History & Language Background Muslim Environment Culture Communities Gender Religion Sect Islam is not homogeneous

What is the unseen common bond? ¡ Religion Sect Sub ¡Sect Gender Race Ethnicity ¡ Origin ¡ Person ¡1 Muslim Sunni Tradi-onal Female South ¡Asian Punjabi Pakistan Person ¡2 Muslim Shia ¡ Ismaili Male Arab ¡(white) Arab Lebanon Person ¡3 Muslim Sunni Hanafi Male Asian Hui China Person ¡4 Muslim ¡ Sunni Maliki Female African-­‑American African USA Person ¡5 Muslim Shia Aga ¡Khani Male Central ¡Asian Indo-­‑Greek Afghan Person ¡6 Muslim Sunni Sufi Male African Yoruba Benin But there are other factors that unify the AMC

Common to all American Muslims - What do they care about? o Jobs o The Economy o Education o Health Care o Civil Rights o Food and housing American Muslims care about the same things everyone else does

Engagement begins with understanding these these factors and access to information o Market analysis o Case studies commissioned by independent third parties support our business case o Forums like this o By implementing a cohesive program that takes into consideration these factors you can target your approach The usual information channels apply

Engagement begins with identifying your access points Individuals Organizations Access Points & Geographic to the Associations AMC Public Communities Forums

The market you want to reach dictates your approach Geography o Different parts of the country have different Muslim populations Seattle o Each population is distinct within Portland Islam Boston Cleveland New York Chicago San Francisco Columbus Edison o AIC has identified out of 250 Denver major metropolitan areas 25 Philadelphia Las Vegas represent the substantial amount Los Angeles Carolinas Phoenix San Diego New Mexico Atlanta of American Muslims Austin Dallas Hawaii Orlando Houston San Tampa o Each location represents different Antonio Miami segments of the AMC o Each location requires some degree of tailoring

The market you want to reach dictates the individuals leveraged Individuals o Personal relationships o Community leaders: o Business o Social o Cultural o Religious o High-profile individuals

The market you want to reach dictates your approach Organisations & Associations • Associations • Sports • Activity • Nonprofits • Chamber of Commerce

The market you want to reach dictates your approach Communities • Business • Social • Cultural • Religious • Ethnic

AIC Engagement AIC Cultural Centers: Interfaith Council: • Collective interactions • Engages the whole community • Alternative space to meet • Structured approach • Events: • Round tables – Multicultural • Discussions – Social • Links with the greater – Business community – Promotional • National approach Dynamic Engagement AIC engages the entire AMC

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