The Muslim Women’s Organization is a left-of-center, volunteer-run Muslim organization based in Orlando, Florida.

Background

The Muslim Women’s Organization (MWO) is a left-of-center, nonprofit, volunteer-run Muslim advocacy organization based in Orlando, Florida. The organization, founded in 2010 by a small group of Muslim women, claimed more than 150 active volunteers in 2015. ¹

The organization’s Community Assistance for Ramadan and Eid (CARE) program provides Muslim families with packages containing food and meat vouchers for Ramadan, backpacks and school supplies, and clothing. ²

Funding

The organization reported total revenue amount of $26,311 in 2015, 100 percent of which came in the form of contributions, gifts, and grants. MWO received $29,855 in contributions and grants in 2016, however, it also received $128,535 in “other revenue.” This trend continued in 2017 after MWO had a total revenue amount of $68,599, $68,543 of which came in the form of “other revenue,” accounting for almost all of the organization’s total revenue. ³

The Muslim Women’s Organization had a large increase in contributions and grants in 2018. MWO had a total revenue amount of $110,626 for the year, $100,199 of which came in the form of contributions and grants. The organization also received around $6,000 from fundraising and approximately $4,200 from “other revenue.” ⁴

MWO also had a total revenue amount of over $100,000 for 2019 and 2020. The organization’s total revenue amounted to $101,343 in 2019, $97,610 of which came in the form of contributions and grants. The total revenue amount for 2020 came to $171,354 and the organization recorded $170,512 received from contributions and grants. ⁵

The Muslim Women’s Organization’s total functional expenses amounted to $3,487 in 2015, $145,718 in 2016, $48,721 in 2017, $110,485 in 2018, $126,977 in 2019, and $126,365 in 2020. ^{6 7}

Advocacy Activities

Social Justice and Advocacy Committee

The Muslim Women’s Organization created a Social Justice and Advocacy Committee, which works to “eradicate anti-blackness and racism in the Muslim community.” It also issued a statement and “call to action” after the death of George Floyd. ⁸

In the statement, which was released shortly after the death of George Floyd in 2020, the organization claims that the “foundation of modern policing originates from the Jim Crow era when it was deemed necessary to preserve racial order,” and that people should not “question the protests, the anger, or the destruction of property in Minneapolis. The destroyed property in that city can be restored.” ⁹

Linda Sarsour

The Muslim Women’s Organization has worked closely with Linda Sarsour, a controversial Palestinian-American activist who promotes intersectional left-wing activism to address a wide array of left-wing issues. In 2017, Sarsour gained national prominence as a co-chair of the national Women’s March protest against the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Sarsour was a special guest and keynote speaker at the Muslim Women’s Organization’s 2016 Gala. ^{10 11 12 13 14}

1. “MWO Annual Report – 2015.” SquareSpace. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/574478b501dbae831f5eb133/t/5cfaf78a503625000122b18c/1559951244541/annual+report+2015.pdf.
2. “MWO Annual Report – 2015.” SquareSpace. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/574478b501dbae831f5eb133/t/5cfaf78a503625000122b18c/1559951244541/annual+report+2015.pdf.
3. “Muslim Women’s Organization.” Propublica. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/453740080.
4. “Muslim Women’s Organization.” Propublica Accessed October 10, 2022. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/453740080/05_2021_prefixes_45-45/453740080_201812_990EZ_2021051218096808.
5. “Muslim Women’s Organization.” Propublica. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/453740080
6. “Muslim Women’s Organization.” Propublica. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/453740080.
7. “Muslim Women’s Organization.” Propublica Accessed October 10, 2022. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/453740080/05_2021_prefixes_45-45/453740080_201812_990EZ_2021051218096808.
8. ^[1] “Social Justice and Advocacy Committee.” Muslim Women’s Organization. Accessed October 22, 2022. https://www.mwo-orlando.org/mwve
9. Muslim Women’s Organization. “STATEMENT REGARDING THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD.” Google Documents. May 31, 2020. Accessed October 10, 2022. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1udDAgMwMgr07n-kyz8IP2QMWTb01m099aq0fGksA5i8/edit.
10. “#46 Linda SarsourPOLITICO 50 2017.” Accessed October 10, 2022. www.politico.com/interactives/2017/politico50/linda-sarsour/.
11. Rosenberg, Eli. “A Muslim-American Activists Speech Raises Ire Even Before Its Delivered.” The New York Times. May 26, 2017. Accessed October 10, 2022. web.archive.org/web/20170708055506/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/nyregion/linda-sarsour-cuny-speech-protests.html.
12. Myerson, Rachel. “Why Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour is controversial.” The Times of Israel. May 3, 2017. Accessed October 10, 2022. www.timesofisrael.com/why-palestinian-american-activist-linda-sarsour-is-controversial/.
13. Hing, Julianne. “Facing Race Spotlight: Palestinian-American Activist Linda Sarsour.” Colorlines. October 24, 2014. Accessed October 10, 2022. www.colorlines.com/articles/facing-race-spotlight-palestinian-american-activist-linda-sarsour.
14. “CAIR Florida.” CAIR Florida’s Rasha Mubarak Emceed Muslim Women’s. October 10, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2022. www.cairflorida.org/index.php/tag-cair-fl-in-the-news/271-cair-florida-s-rasha-mubarak-emceed-muslim-women-s-organization-gala.