City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer involved Orlando residents in an energizing game of “What would you do as mayor?”

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar, and fell on the month of August in 2011. Although this time of year is commonly characterized by the Muslim tradition of fasting from sunrise to sunset for a period of 30 days, for Muslims around the world it has a multifaceted purpose. Ramadan is a time of deep spirituality, humility, patience, generosity, and community engagement.

During Ramadan 2011, Emerge USA was hard at work encouraging cultural, social, and civic exchanges between communities and developing relationships between Florida’s Muslim community and elected officials. Throughout the state, Emerge USA hosted numerous iftaar dinners that saw a diverse representation of the Muslim community in Florida along with a positive turnout of many elected officials representing various offices.

The city mayors of Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami each attended iftaar dinners in their prospective cities and addressed Emerge USA supporters on the importance of engagement in local government. Our successful get-out-the-vote efforts in these cities created strong connections with the mayors of Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami early on in 2011.

State Representative Janet Cruz, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, and Tampa City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione stand with volunteers that worked tirelessly on Emerge USA’s GOTV Tampa efforts.

In Tampa, State Representative Janet Cruz as well as city council members and county commissioners joined newly elected Mayor Bob Buckhorn for the first ever Tampa Mayoral Iftaar, in partnership with Emerge USA. Young leaders, board members, and community leaders attended the iftaar dinner and joined their local representatives in conversation and dinner.

U.S. Representative Andre Carson (D-Indiana’s 7th Congressional District), one of two Muslims serving in the U.S. Congress, also joined Emerge for an iftaar in South Florida.

Engaging our community through relationship development and civic participation is not only significant, but a fundamental objective for Emerge USA. The month of Ramadan served as a wonderful illustration of the relationships that Emerge USA has developed between the Arab, South Asian, and Muslim communities throughout the state of Florida and their elected officials.