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Upholding the City of Philadelphia's support for and protection of Muslim communities, condemning violence and hate speech targeted towards Muslims, affirming the religious pluralism of the United States, and urging Philadelphia residents to stand in solidarity with our American Muslim communities - and all other communities - for peace and justice.
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WHEREAS, American Muslims are a central part of the history of our City and nation, whose faith and dedication to American ideals have contributed to the social, economic, cultural and political success of the United States and the City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Our nation's founding documents emphasize the freedom of religion and establish a society that embraces religious pluralism; Philadelphia, as the birthplace of our nation and the City within which these founding beliefs were conceived, has a unique responsibility to uphold those beliefs as a model for the entire nation; and
WHEREAS, The Muslim community of Philadelphia, both native born and immigrant, has grown substantially and is among the American metropolitan areas with the highest proportion of Muslim residents, estimated to be in the range of 200,000; and
WHEREAS, The history of Islam in the United States began even before the country's founding, when African Muslims were enslaved and brought to the Americas; in the years since they have helped in numerous ways to build this country, including sacrificing their lives in every major war from the Revolutionary War onwards; and
WHEREAS, Despite these manifold contributions, American Muslims have long faced exclusion and suspicion, and following 9/11 have been subjected to a severe backlash in the form of hate crimes and employment discrimination toward Arab and American Muslims and those perceived as Muslims; and
WHEREAS, Government-sanctioned surveillance practices by law enforcement have frequently targeted Muslims, Arabs, and those perceived to be Muslim in places of w...
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