Congresswoman Grace Meng, D-N.Y., has invited a Muslim NYPD officer to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Capitol Hill Jan. 12. Her invitation takes added significance in light of growing Islamophobia around the country and in the tri-state area, as well as in the backdrop of the New York Police Department’s settlement last week, of a slew of lawsuits over the issue of profiling and surveillance of Muslims for several years.
Lieutenant Adeel Rana, president of the NYPD Muslim Officers Society, who has his finger on the pulse of the South Asian community in the city, was to be Meng’s guest in what she characterized as “an effort to combat rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States.” Rana joins two other South Asians who are First Lady Michelle Obama’s invited guests to the last SOTU by President Obama. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was recognized by the White House for the radical change in maternal leave and other employee benefits he introduced at the blue-chip multinational in 2015, and U.S. Army veteran Naveed Shah, a Pakistani-American who served four years in the armed forces and was deployed in Iraq.
Meng was allotted one extra ticket for the State of the Union. The ticket will allow Rana to sit in the House gallery for the President’s speech. Rana is a naturalized American citizen who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan in the 1980’s, is a U.S. Army veteran and served at Ground Zero after the September 11th attacks as a member of the New York Army National Guard. He is presently the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Community Affairs Immigrant Outreach Unit.
Meng called it an honor to have Rana at the President’s address. “His attendance will be a tremendous show of solidarity against the increased Islamophobia that has disgracefully spread across our country, and hopefully his presence can help combat it,” she is quoted saying in a press release. “I thank him for accepting my invitation, and for his commitment to standing against hate and fear. I will make sure the White House and Congressional leadership are aware of his attendance.”
Rana said he was honored and proud to be invited to the event. “As an American Muslim who has always been dedicated to serving my country and my fellow Americans, I see this as a wonderful opportunity to represent all the great Muslim Americans,” Rana is quoted saying in the release. “There are many patriotic Muslim Americans – from all walks of life – who love and serve the United States of America including nurses and doctors who save the lives of Americans; teachers who educate America’s next generation; and last but not least, the men and women of our armed forces and law enforcement who protect this great country.”
The post Congresswoman Invites Muslim NYPD Officer To The State Of The Union Address appeared first on News India Times.