Islamic Perspectives On Worker Justice Explored

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

“We continue to be humbled and inspired by the support the Islamic community in this area has given to workers’ struggles,” said Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams last Sunday as more than 50 students, scholars, and activists gathered at George Washington University to explore the connections between Islam and the labor movement. Welcoming the group over coffee and pastries in the morning, Williams recognized the role Muslim leaders in the area played in helping Dulles taxi drivers organize as well as their support for the hotel workers’ recent contract fight. Co-sponsored by ten organizations, including Interfaith Worker Justice, D.C. Jobs with Justice, the Islamic Society of North America, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim American Society, the Virginia Muslim Coalition and the Muslim Student Association, the event began with a panel discussion on Islamic understandings of work and workers’ rights, featuring Dr. Ingrid Matteson of Hartford Seminary, Imam Mahdi Bray of the MAS Freedom Foundation, and Imam Ali Siddiqui of the Los Angeles area Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. Workshops in the afternoon addressed immigration and the labor force, broadening the scope of social action in Islam, and Muslims in organizing and activism. Speakers included Dr. Sulayman Nyang of Howard University, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth UCC, and Rami el-Amine of Left Turn.
- reported by Mackenzie Baris