Muslim-Americans form Umbrella Group

The leaders of 8 Muslim-American organizations on Wednesday announced the launch of an umbrella group to better voice the concerns of the country’s Muslim community .

"This is an announcement which has been long-awaited by the Muslim-American community," said Oussama Jammal, secretary general of the newly formed U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) .

"We’re delighted that these major organizations have gotten together in response to the aspirations and hopes of the American Muslim community to have a voice and an umbrella organization ."

The council includes: the American Muslims for Palestine; the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); the Islamic Circle of North America; the Muslim American Society; the Muslim Legal Fund of America; the Muslim Alliance in North America; the Muslim Ummah of North America; and The Mosque Cares .

Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR, said that the formation of the group, which took more than two years, will help Muslim-Americans to better communicate with one another, and with the American public .

According to Jammal, the USCMO’s first objective will be to conduct a census of Muslim-Americans to “enhance political participation in upcoming elections .”