Your Shield, Your Pillar

Our brand is changing.

MLFA has been serving the Muslim community faithfully since 2001. As the world evolves, so do we. In 2022, we are turning over a new leaf. Our brand is changing with us.

Originally, MLFA funded cases one at a time. This case-funding model helped us understand the cases and the issues. However, over time, we looked for ways to conserve time, money, and other resources.

With every step we took in our trailblazing efforts, we learned. We never lost. With each decision or reaction, we gathered valuable information for the next battle. Your investment in us was an investment in the future of our work. Every step was a step forward because we valued the knowledge we were gaining.

Your donations are an Amana, a trust. With Allah’s help, we forge a path as worthy stewards of this sacred trust. When you give to MLFA, you give to a mission – active and engaged, always seeking ways to best protect, defend, and educate our communities. In 2014, we founded the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (CLCMA). Funding our own cases with attorneys who work together across legal disciplines has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. We can approach the big issues from a position of power and stability.

MLFA fills a gap in our community’s legal support system.

What’s unique about MLFA?  
  • We shield the Muslim community from unfair policies and violations of our Constitutional rights.
  • We’re your pillar of strength. We take on tough, complex cases that no one dared to touch. We’re the specialists. Other organizations are the primary care physicians. Ultimately, we work together to ensure the health of the ummah.

“The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” (Bukhari 6011)

One of our strategic priorities is impact litigation.

MLFA is here to serve. We are community- and donor-centric, willing to shift and grow to accommodate the needs of the Muslim community in this country. Our attorneys work as a team on civil, criminal, and immigration cases. Working together, they have the opportunity to think about issues from a bird’s eye view, to put the puzzle pieces together in a meaningful way. Each case is a piece of the puzzle, and no effort is wasted. One of our strategic priorities is impact litigation, which involves a more holistic approach to change laws and policies.

Impact litigation is legal work that focuses on the big picture. Our work at MLFA is not only about defending one individual or one family. In defending that one family, we gather valuable information, and we apply new strategies. As an organization, we impact the future for all Muslim families in this country by working to change the laws and policies that negatively impact them. This way, we’re addressing the root of the problem rather than just the branches. We’re building a solid foundation.

Here are some examples of impact litigation in action:

MLFA created and funded The Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (CLCMA) to gather the expertise and vision of exceptional attorneys in a single place. This groundwork led to precedent-setting cases and recognition by the legal community. Our attorneys are now requested as experts in national security law.

As we move forward, we’re bringing CLCMA back into the fold to strengthen the organization as a whole, to build power and momentum for generations of Muslims to come. We’re operating as a unified force, powerfully aligned behind a shared vision and mission.

We’re leveraging our expertise and experience in national security, civil rights, immigration, and non-profit law to provide our clients with quality advice and representation. Through our representation we strive to achieve respect for the rule of law and a fairer and more just society as guaranteed in the Constitution.

We’re taking on bigger challenges and moving forward as one. Join us.

We have a new logo. 

You spoke.

We listened.

We responded.

We asked for feedback from our donors and our community members. You responded. Based on these conversations, we’ve set new strategic priorities, and we’re paving a new path forward.

MLFA was a grassroots events-based organization. We’ve survived the pandemic. We made good use of the transitional time to transform our approaches. We’ve built new ways to reach our donors and serve our community. We’ve diversified our model. Through Allah’s grace, we’ve adapted and grown through the struggles and the challenges.

We chose to represent The Muslim Legal Fund of America with a shield and pillar.  

  • The shield shows that we are here to protect the Muslim community. There are existing tools: protections in the U.S. Constitution, laws around religious freedom, and laws against discrimination. As a legal organization, we’re committed to using the law and the legal processes available as a shield against discrimination and unfair treatment.
  • The pillar represents the foundation that we’ve been building through nine years with our own funded legal team. You’ll see our pillar in the skyline as we change policies and set legal precedents.

by Jeannine Sherman – Thursday, August 4, 2022

Rebrand blog image