Absolutely! If you are a woman, minority, or an ally to minorities, we would love to train you. Apply here if you would like to learn more about joining our Public Service Fellowship.

Allies are simply people who actively advocate for American Muslims and other minorities who are also marginalized by the current political process. Allyship refers those who are working above and beyond for these disenfranchised communities. Issues at the minority and Muslim intersections have already been polarized by hateful rhetoric—we’re looking for people who can work with us against that bigotry, which is already rampant across the US.

Conservative estimates place the Muslim population at 1% of America’s general population. That’s about 3.3 million people.

America has around 511,000 elected officials in this country. Less than 300 of those are Muslim. This is about 0.05% of the elected officials.

Muslims have been treated as the ‘bogeyman’ in American politics for decades. Legislative bodies, the media, and anti-Muslim ‘activist’ groups have capitalized on this to leverage fear in pursuit of their own agendas.

Studies show that an increase in diverse representation can decrease legislative bias—and that is what Jetpac is working to achieve. We want to elevate the altruistic leaders already present in the Muslim community to show the true, peaceful face of American Muslims at the local, state, and federal levels. In many ways, we are also asking candidates to put the “servant” back in “public servant”.

Yes, you should. And we’re focused on training American Muslims who represent the best of the best in terms of dedication to American values, community service, and policy expertise. We’re not going to tell you how to vote, or “force diversity” on your district—we just want to ensure that a grossly underrepresented group has the necessary tools to take part in their own political conversation. Moreover, we need to make sure that when a Muslim candidate is the best person in their race, that they will be prepared for the hateful assumptions and opponents that are a staple of our current political climate.  

The American Muslim community is a diverse group that closely represents the greater American “melting pot”. Because of this diversity, real American issues like immigration, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the right to privacy are dominant parts of policy that affect the American Muslim community; and as a whole American Muslims care about the exact same issues as everyone else in this country, whether it be affordable housing, healthcare, government spending, or income inequality.

We’re not asking American Muslims to run for office just because they’re Muslim. We’re doing it because they’re American and should have the same opportunities as every other American.

Countless organizations already exist to help train other ethnic, religious, gender, and issue groups to run for office, and to amplify their voice in civic spaces. However, organizations helping Muslims to do the same are few.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric is at an all-time high, and a lot of American Muslims are asking what they can do to stop that. Jetpac is making sure that American Muslims have the support they need to represent and serve their communities.

It’s a shame that some of the right-wing interest we get centers around this question and we are glad to see Democrats and Republicans alike begin to understand that our organization—and organizations like ours—are not dangerous simply because they are geared towards serving American Muslims.

Here’s a very direct answer: No. We do not receive funding from the Muslim Brotherhood nor any terrorist groups. Rather, our donations are provided by the generosity of individual donors. Our average donation is $279—small donations mean the world to us and $1000, $5000, and $10,000 donations can make our month! You can donate here.

No. We hold the Constitution in the highest regard and believe strongly in the separation of religion and state.

Sharia is “the way of life” for Muslims, and does not contradict the Constitution, or the concept of separating “Mosque and State”. It’s very similar to how a Christian may think about their relationship with Jesus Christ. American Muslims think of Sharia as “how we pray” or “what to do when signing a prenuptial agreement” and similar aspects of spiritual life or community building. Claims that American Muslims are interested in violence are often perpetuated by groups who literally make their money off of anti-Muslim fundraising or anti-Muslim media appearances. In particular, claims that American Muslims are interested in (or condone in any way) capital punishment, punishment for apostates, violent protest, or any other form of violence are unfounded and discriminatory.

Remember that many Muslims have come to America to get away from regimes who use religious control or police control to sway political participation. Let’s partner in supporting folks who come to this country to be free and to participate freely.

Taqiyya—a concept most often talked about by far-right opponents of Islam—means to “hide one’s faith”. It is not a mainstream practice and is only used in the direst of circumstances, such as when someone’s life has been threatened because of their faith. If someone says: “If you’re Muslim, I’ll kill you,” we can all agree that’s probably a good time for a Muslim to say, “Good thing I’m not Muslim, see ya!”

An example of this is Uighur Muslims in China who have to practice taqiyya because they would be killed if their faith is discovered. This practice is not very well known by most American Muslims, because it is only practiced in these instances of mortal peril. This is not a dispensation to lie to non-Muslims nor anyone else—and most practicing Muslims in the US take honesty as a core tenet of their religious practice, just like any other religion.

No. The revelation of this verse in the Quran came at a time of immense upheaval and war against Muslim nations. It has since been grossly taken out of context to perpetuate the fear narrative aimed at marginalizing Muslims.

The Quran teaches us to follow the laws of our land, and that to kill one person is akin to killing all of humanity.

Islam and the greeting “salaam” share the same root word, meaning “peace” in Arabic. Islam does not preach violence, and while some Quranic verses are taken out of context, similar (if not identical) verses exist in the other Abrahamic faiths.

It is true that terrorists claiming to be Muslim, or with Middle-Eastern and South East Asian names, get a lot of press in American News Media. But this coverage is disproportionate when compared to other perpetrators, and American domestic terrorist acts are most often not committed by Muslims. Conversely, Muslims are more likely to be victims of terrorist attacks, and hate crimes against Muslims have been rapidly increasing since 2015. So—let’s all just be partners against any kind of violence.

The donations we receive are used directly for our Public Service Fellowship, our Youth Civic Education program, and the overhead associated with those programs. We’re a registered 501(c)(3) charity, so all donations are tax-deductible.

Some of the money goes towards the salary of our full-time employees, but that is modest, in line with nonprofit organizer standards, and key to ensuring the success of our education and engagement work.