Policy & Advocacy Initiatives

MAPS works alongside its esteemed partner organizations and coalitions to engage the White House, Federal Department leadership, Congressional Offices, Statehouses, City Halls and local government agencies on many of the following issues that continue to pose workplace challenges to Muslim American public servants.

A. Prayer and meditation spaces — Government agencies must establish or maintain Muslim or interfaith prayer rooms across all agencies to better accommodate Muslim employees across the federal interagency and state and local government. Spaces have been previously established or currently maintained in the US Congress, State Department, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, and elsewhere. Many still lack them or have inconsistent, opaque processes for setting them up.

B. Employee Resource Groups — The formation of ERGs for Muslim American staffers too often faces delays and discriminatory hurdles. MAPS Chapter ERGs have been previously established at the White House, and Departments of Justice, Commerce, Transportation, Labor, HHS, EPA, SBA, and others. Additional guidance and clarity may be communicated to administrators and department officials to help facilitate or expedite their formation and recognition, including designating a point of contact to shepherd applications through approval.

C. Internal Communications — Government entities may strengthen messaging and internal communications against anti-Muslim bigotry within their departments and agencies. MAPS also encourages agencies to review and strengthen grievance processes in order to effectively prevent and address workplace harassment or discrimination on the basis of religion.

D. Resource Availability — To help identify and prevent bias, MAPS urges agencies to coordinate with relevant civil society and civil rights organizations. Agencies may adopt the MAPS/ISPU Toolkit (see Section 4) to improve awareness of Muslim employee faith practices, including daily prayer, Friday congregational prayer, Ramadan fasting, and religious holidays, and where possible coordinate with Federal Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

E. Training — Government executives should work to eliminate anti-Muslim bias in workforce and national security trainings. MAPS urges that Islamophobia awareness courses piloted by ING, ISPU, America Indivisible, MPAC, and Emgage be scaled up and widely adopted, and that law enforcement agencies be better trained to engage with Muslim communities.

Federal, State, and local governments should collect and analyze disaggregated data on employees’ self-reported religious affiliations to measure demographic representation and senior workforce composition. The White House PPO has previously collected religion data alongside other demographic categories. Expanding this practice helps identify gaps and ensure an inclusive workplace for all underrepresented groups.

MAPS promotes the establishment of Muslim American Heritage Month at all levels of government, preferably during January to align with the academic school year. New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Georgia, and California have already passed State-level declarations, while Federal and Congressional efforts have been initiated but not finalized.

Developed with the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), this toolkit provides government officials with information about Muslim American identity, faith practices, and public service. It was created to address gaps in resource availability and awareness identified by MAPS since July of 2021 shortly after its establishment. MAPS encourages sharing this helpful resource with public administrators and human capital executives at every level.

MAPS supports the creation of dedicated government roles and institutional bodies at every level to monitor and combat anti-Muslim bigotry.

A. Federal Government — Create a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Muslim Bigotry at the State Department and a domestic Special Representative, modeled on the existing envoy for Antisemitism. The House passed the Combating International Islamophobia Act in December 2021; the White House has executive authority to act without Congress. Canada and the EU have already established similar roles.

B. State Government — Establish State-level commissions or advisory boards dedicated to combating Islamophobia. Virginia, for example, created a Commission to Combat Antisemitism through executive order in 2022, housed in the Office of the Governor and staffed by faith leaders, law enforcement, educators, and subject matter experts. This model demonstrates how States can take targeted action against religious bigotry, and MAPS urges States to extend the same commitment to all communities of faith.

C. Local Government — Create dedicated municipal offices and roles to address anti-Muslim hate. New York City offers a leading example: the city maintains a Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, and under Mayor Zohran Mamdani established an Office of Community Safety in March 2026 with a hate crime prevention mandate. The NYC Commission on Human Rights has also led anti-Islamophobia campaigns and cultural competency workshops. The Mayor’s Guide to Countering Islamophobia, published by America Indivisible and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2025, provides a practical framework any municipality can adopt.

Many Muslim Americans adhere to Shariah-compliant investing, which prohibits usury, conventional bonds, and certain other instruments. Muslim public servants at every level of government should not be forced to choose between their religious beliefs and their retirement benefits.

A. Federal Government — The Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), managed by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, currently allows a Mutual Fund Window of up to 25% to be allocated to alternative funds that include Shariah-compliant options. MAPS advocates for expanding this window to 100%. MAPS’ partners at Amana Mutual Funds offer resources on selecting compliant funds through the existing brokerage window.

B. State Government — State employees typically participate in 457(b) or 403(b) retirement plans, which often have more limited investment menus than the Federal TSP. Some State plans offer self-directed brokerage accounts that allow employees to select Shariah-compliant funds, but many do not. MAPS encourages State governments to review their plan offerings and ensure self-directed brokerage options are available to all employees.

C. Local Government — Municipal and county employees face similar constraints through their employer-sponsored retirement plans. MAPS urges local governments to work with their plan administrators to add self-directed brokerage windows or include Shariah-compliant fund options in their default investment menus, ensuring Muslim employees can participate fully without compromising their faith.

Many Muslim Federal employees have reported discrimination in security clearance interviews that go beyond SF-86 standard practice, or have had clearances denied without apparent cause or recourse. This creates a chilling effect on Muslim recruitment into the Federal workforce.

MAPS calls for the revision of clearance processes to remove any discrimination on the basis of religious belief or affiliation, or establishing an independent audit, adjudication, or appeals process when such processes are conducted by independent Federal agencies or sub-national authorities.

MAPS welcomes additional accommodation issues affecting our members and the Muslim American community within government workplaces or beyond. Reach us at policy@mapsnational.org to submit your feedback or suggestions today to help make, and keep, our public institutions representative and conducive.