Image: American Muslim Day on the Hill 2026. Image Credit: American Muslim Advisory Council.
Article by David Seal, Tennessee Conservative News –
According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, $168,000.00 was granted to the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) in 2024.
The Muslim group is listed as a Partner with Proudvoter along with 35 other civic and non-profit groups.
Screenshot of Proudvoter below.
Other Proudvoter partner organizations include in part: The Equity Alliance, The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition Votes, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, and many other community organizations.
The Proudvoter Partner Page with all 36 community partners is linked here.
From the AMAC Website:
“The American Muslim Advisory Council is a 501c3 tax exempt organization.”
The AMAC website features the following statement on the history of the organization.
“AMAC was formed in early 2012, in the aftermath of the harshest piece of anti-Muslim legislation to ever be introduced in any US State legislature. The so called “anti-Shariah” bill would have made acts of devotion, like the giving charity through a Tennessee mosque, or simply practicing basic religious observances like a Muslim observing the five daily prayers, potentially a felony offenses. The bill was ultimately gutted of its unconstitutional provisions and reduced to a symbolic piece of legislation. However, the introduction of such harsh, ill-informed and discriminatory legislation served to galvanize Tennessee Muslims. The result was a statewide coordination effort that eventually became AMAC.”
The screenshot below features the AMAC Mission Statement and Vision Statement.
The American Muslim Advisory Council features the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development as a partner for “digital literacy courses designed to empower community members with essential technology skills for today’s connected world.”
A screenshot of the digital literacy page featuring the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development is provided below.
Author’s Note: This reporter reached out to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development through a house legislative office to verify that a $168,000.00 grant had been made to AMAC. The following response was made by the legislative Director of TDECD.
“Thank you for reaching out. Regarding this grant, AMAC was an awardee of round of federal broadband and digital opportunity grants that were administered by our department in 2024. The grant was a part of the Digital Skills, Education, and Workforce Development tranche of funding that was required to focus on “impacted communities and populations from COVID” at the direction of the Biden Administration. This funding included a $168,000 grant to the American Muslim Advisory Council to serve community members through digital skills training, without any restriction to religious background, in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, and Wilson. For additional context, this round of broadband funding also awarded other nonprofits such as the YMCA, Ministries in Shelby County, and Men of Valor.
Currently, the grantee is about to be closed out. To clarify again, this grant was 100% federally funded by a prior administration and no state dollars were awarded to the organization. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you for passing this along!” – said Cameron Snow, Legislative Director, Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development.
A significant part of the AMAC mission is voter registration and political activism.
Several state legislators, and their offices, were surprised to learn that the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development had provided flow-through federal funding to the American Muslim Advisory Council.
Concerning the funding of non-profits and accountability, the Tennessee Conservative News reached out to the incoming First District House Member who commented as follows on the grant funding to AMAC.
“Taxpayers shouldn’t be compelled to fund private organizations whose missions conflict with their values. I question whether government should fund nonprofits at all. At a minimum, every grant must serve a clear public purpose, undergo thorough vetting, and face strict financial oversight. Government should hold itself to the same standards it demands of taxpayers.” – said Jessica Means (R-Sullivan County), Representative Elect, District 1
The voter activism page of AMAC is linked here.
It is unclear if any oversight is imposed on AMAC or any other non-profit organization that receives grant funding from TECD.
“Alhamdulilah what an amazing Muslim Day on the Hill! Over 110 Tennessee Muslims from Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, participated in a mock session and 35 meetings with their district legislators. Jazakallahu Khairan to Nashville International Academy, Pleasant View School, White Station High School, Annoor Academy along with parents, family, and community members for making our Day on the Hill a success.
We appreciate Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Sr. Zulfat Suara for opening remarks to kick off the day and inspiring the community to always speak up in the name of justice.” – American Muslim Advisory Council.
A link to the above webpage of AMAC is provided here.
The American Muslim Advisory Council includes education as part of its community outreach, advocating for Muslim students in Tennessee’s public schools. Part of their effort is to educate the public on concerns of “safety and belonging.”
The images below are taken from the AMAC SCHOOLS page of their website.
The following screenshot is from the Education Page and features a report that can be downloaded at the link provided here.
The Tennessee Conservative News will request grant applications and non-profit guidelines from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and report findings as they become available.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
