DETROIT — FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters announced on Thursday, April 29, that the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) has received FBI Detroit’s Community Leadership Award for 2020.
The field office said the MMCC is a committed member of FBI Detroit’s multicultural engagement council and in that role has fostered dialogue between the FBI and Michigan’s large Muslim community. During the last year, the MMCC participated in virtual town halls during which leaders from the Muslim community and the FBI’s Detroit office discussed making communities safer by creating trust between law enforcement and the community.
The organization also provided FBI information on COVID-19 schemes, elder fraud and hate crimes to the Muslim community. The MMCC led crucial efforts to bring needed resources to law enforcement, healthcare workers and the southeast Michigan community during the worst peaks of the pandemic. Last year, Ramadan overlapped with the early phases of the pandemic and the MMCC organized to provide delivery of halal meals to health care workers at hospitals in the Metro Detroit area.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi, chairman of the MMCC’s board of directors, told The Arab American News the organization accepted the award with humility and pride over the work of its volunteers.
“This award is a landmark for our community,” Hadidi said. “It is uplifting to the spirit of our many volunteers. Their good work will not go unnoticed. The more active in service we are as a Muslim community, the better our relationship with our fellow Americans. MMCC’s mission is to not only achieve diversity and tolerance, but harmony, which is love and compassion for fellow citizens of all backgrounds.”
Hadidi said the award also opens the door for further dialogue and cooperation between law enforcement agencies like the FBI, the police and the TSA, to address the community’s concerns and to clear up past grievances.
This award is a landmark for our community. It is uplifting to the spirit of our many volunteers — Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi, MMCC
“The commitment the MMCC has demonstrated to fostering open dialogue and encouraging relationships between law enforcement and Michigan’s diverse communities is laudable and worthy of this recognition,” the field office said in a press release. “On behalf of the FBI Detroit Field Office, we are honored to present the Michigan Muslim Community Council with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for 2020.”
Since 1990, the annual award from FBI field office is presented an individual or organization in “recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the education and prevention of crime in their communities.”
“The FBI’s mission is a heavy one: To protect the American people and uphold the Constitution,” Waters said. “And we can’t carry that weight alone. We can’t fully succeed without strong law enforcement, intelligence, business and community partners. The MMCC has helped us learn and understand more about the people we serve and helped the community learn and understand more about the FBI. This is a key step in making our communities stronger and safer.”
The MMCC also led a humanitarian food relief effort spanning six counties and 12 cities in Michigan that provided approximately 500,000 food boxes to more than 100,000 families. Hundreds of volunteers assisted with the no-contact distributions, including truck drivers, truck owners, students, professionals from various fields, elected officials and law enforcement.
“The FBI in Detroit is honored to be able to recognize and thank the MMCC for its service to the community and for helping the FBI better protect the people of Michigan,” Waters said.
The FBI Detroit Field Office says these distribution events provided the an opportunity to connect and engage with, “our diverse communities when it mattered most for our state.”
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