The first-ever national meeting of the Muslim Caucus took place this week in Washington, DC.
The meeting comes days after President Trump verbally attacked four Congresswomen on Twitter, two of whom — Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib — are the first two Muslim women in Congress.
Asima Silva of Holden, Massachusetts, vice president of communications of the Muslim Caucus, said the gathering of nearly 200, titled “Phobia, Real and Present Danger in Our Political Discourse,” was intended to give Muslim Americans around the country a voice in politics.
“Our goal is equality and justice for all, and really giving people the access to democracy at all levels of government,” she said. She added that the conference's goal was to give Muslims a forum to talk about “issues — not just Muslim issues — but American issues that we all share.”
Silva grew up in Rutland, Massachusetts and attended Wachusett Regional High School, where she now serves on the school committee. She holds a graduate degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and worked at IBM for 15 years.
Silva became politically active in 2014, when she won a seat on the school committee and became the first Muslim woman elected in the state. Silva said she is one of five Muslims currently serving in public office statewide.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio attended the two-day conference and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren addressed attendees via livestream Wednesday.
The Caucus invited major primary candidates from the Democratic Party to attend, but none attended in person. Silva said she was pleased to see Warren address the Caucus, which she hopes will help advance Muslim Americans' concerns.
“This was an amazing conference,” Silva said. “We all have to think of ourselves as Americans and as equals, and once we start thinking of that, we can actually progress more towards an equitable democracy.”
