In America, Islam Faces Its Future
By the AOL Black Voices News Staff,
Posted: 2006-10-26 15:40:53
In the summer of 2001, about five weeks before the 9/11 attacks, that most American of institutions, the United States Postal Service, issued a new stamp celebrating the Islamic holidays of Eid. This was a moment of modern triumph, an acknowledgement of a wider and changing world.
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Steven Senne, AP Photo
A crane sits alongside Boston's unfinished Mosque and cultural center being built in the city's Roxbury section. The original completion date for the mosque was November 2004. Construction on the mosque stalled and Islamic Society of Boston officials say a controversy has dried up funding.
"This is a proud moment for the Postal Service, the Muslim community, and Americans in general," said postal official Azeezaly S. Jaffer,"… The Eid stamp will help us highlight the business, educational and social contributions of the estimated six to seven million Muslims in this country whose cultural heritage has become an integral part of the fabric of this great nation."
There was little question that Muslims were becoming a more integral part of American life: Mosques were sprouting up in some of the most remote and unexpected corners of the country; Halal butchers were now a common and un-remarked upon feature of many urban shopping districts, the way Kosher ones had been half a century earlier.
The Eid stamps would commemorate two of the most important festivals on the Muslim calendar, Eid al-Fitr, the breaking of the fast at the end of the holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, the end of the Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims are obligated to do once in their lives.
But today, in the long dark wake of 9/11, the exuberance and sense of belonging that some Muslims may have felt in Jaffer's words, have largely vanished. For as much as 9/11 changed life for most Americans, no group may experienced a more jarring shift in their day-today reality than American Muslims.
There was little question that Muslims were becoming a more integral part of American life: Mosques were sprouting up in some of the most remote and unexpected corners of the country; Halal butchers were now a common and un-remarked upon feature of many urban shopping districts, the way Kosher ones had been half a century earlier.
The Eid stamps would commemorate two of the most important festivals on the Muslim calendar, Eid al-Fitr, the breaking of the fast at the end of the holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, the end of the Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims are obligated to do once in their lives.
But today, in the long dark wake of 9/11, the exuberance and sense of belonging that some Muslims may have felt in Jaffer's words, have largely vanished. For as much as 9/11 changed life for most Americans, no group may experienced a more jarring shift in their day-today reality than American Muslims.
"I think, in general for American Muslims, we became double victims," said Sakeena Abdulraheem, the Maryland/Virginia outreach team leader for Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR). "Because we are Americans, too, and we were mourning what happened on 9/11. And very quickly, we were subject to hate crimes. We did not have time to mourn; we had to immediately work proactively to condemn terrorism and made it clear that Islam is not about violence."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations produces a civil right report each year, and in the most current version, the group said that the number of a civil rights complaints by Muslims rose in 2005 to 1,972, the highest level in the organization's 12-year history.
"This constitutes a 29.6 percent increase in the total number of complaints of anti-Muslim harassment, violence and discriminatory treatment from 2004," the report stated.
But an equally important fight for Muslims is the battle to change public perceptions. The expanding discussion of Islam, for a lot of Americans, is inextricably tied to the debate about terrorism. According to one survey conducted by CAIR, "one-fourth (23 to 27 percent) of Americans consistently believe stereotypes such as: "Muslims value life less than other people" and "The Muslim religion teaches violence and hatred."
Politicians talk about "radical Islam" and the "fight against Islamo-fascists." Television talk-shows do stories on Islamophobia. Indeed, Omar Mohammedi,president of the New York chapter of CAIR, this week appeared on the 'Montel Williams Show' to talk about the growing problem of "Islamophobia."
"People are being targeted by the media or by public officials based on their relgion," Mohammedi tells Black Voices. "Muslims are being dehumanized because of their religion. At first, it was a war on terrorism, now it feels like a war on Islam."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations produces a civil right report each year, and in the most current version, the group said that the number of a civil rights complaints by Muslims rose in 2005 to 1,972, the highest level in the organization's 12-year history.
"This constitutes a 29.6 percent increase in the total number of complaints of anti-Muslim harassment, violence and discriminatory treatment from 2004," the report stated.
But an equally important fight for Muslims is the battle to change public perceptions. The expanding discussion of Islam, for a lot of Americans, is inextricably tied to the debate about terrorism. According to one survey conducted by CAIR, "one-fourth (23 to 27 percent) of Americans consistently believe stereotypes such as: "Muslims value life less than other people" and "The Muslim religion teaches violence and hatred."
Politicians talk about "radical Islam" and the "fight against Islamo-fascists." Television talk-shows do stories on Islamophobia. Indeed, Omar Mohammedi,president of the New York chapter of CAIR, this week appeared on the 'Montel Williams Show' to talk about the growing problem of "Islamophobia."
"People are being targeted by the media or by public officials based on their relgion," Mohammedi tells Black Voices. "Muslims are being dehumanized because of their religion. At first, it was a war on terrorism, now it feels like a war on Islam."
For Sakeena Adbulraheem, the practical result is that she now helps to conduct workshops on air travel, called "Airport Profiling: Your Rights and Obligations." The airport is hell for a lot of Muslims
"We are just trying to teach people how to travel safely," Abdulraheem said. "We are just trying to improve communication, and show people how to avoid these confrontations because sometimes there is a language barrier. "
Abdulraheem tells the story of a Muslim woman living in the U.S. who was on her way back to Paskistan for a wedding. "So, she wore her jewelry," Adbulraheem said. That set off the security alarms, which led to the woman being pulled aside and searched. In her understandable irritation, she began speaking in Punjabi, complaining that she was being treated like she had a bomb. The only recognizable word of her outburst was "bomb." Security descended on her.
"Miscommunication can have serious consequences," Abdulkraheem surmised.
"We are just trying to teach people how to travel safely," Abdulraheem said. "We are just trying to improve communication, and show people how to avoid these confrontations because sometimes there is a language barrier. "
Abdulraheem tells the story of a Muslim woman living in the U.S. who was on her way back to Paskistan for a wedding. "So, she wore her jewelry," Adbulraheem said. That set off the security alarms, which led to the woman being pulled aside and searched. In her understandable irritation, she began speaking in Punjabi, complaining that she was being treated like she had a bomb. The only recognizable word of her outburst was "bomb." Security descended on her.
"Miscommunication can have serious consequences," Abdulkraheem surmised.
There is wide agreement that despite all the distressing stories of prejudice and hate that have followed 9/11, there were enough stories of kindness and generosity to allow optimism. "I am really more hopeful for the future, because this has happened before to other communities and they have overcome it," said Mohammedi. "This is a test that the community is going through and we will overcome it and hopefully our children will feel safer and better integrated."
This November, Minnesota could send the first-ever Muslim congressman to Washington to represent its 5th Congressional district, which includes Minneapolis and some of its suburbs.
"I think it's time for the United States to see a moderate Muslim voice, to see a face of Islam that is just like everybody else's face," Keith Ellison, a 42-year-old Democratic state representative, who converted to Islam as a teenager, "The Hill" newspaper last spring. "Perhaps it would be good for somebody who is Muslim to be in congress, so that Muslims would feel like they are part of the body politic and that other Americans would know that we're here to make a contribution to this country."
If Ellison wins it will be a moment of triumph, and more than just for him, and it would be confirmation that the world is indeed changing.
Pride and Patriotism: Photos, History and More on American Muslims
This November, Minnesota could send the first-ever Muslim congressman to Washington to represent its 5th Congressional district, which includes Minneapolis and some of its suburbs.
"I think it's time for the United States to see a moderate Muslim voice, to see a face of Islam that is just like everybody else's face," Keith Ellison, a 42-year-old Democratic state representative, who converted to Islam as a teenager, "The Hill" newspaper last spring. "Perhaps it would be good for somebody who is Muslim to be in congress, so that Muslims would feel like they are part of the body politic and that other Americans would know that we're here to make a contribution to this country."
If Ellison wins it will be a moment of triumph, and more than just for him, and it would be confirmation that the world is indeed changing.
Pride and Patriotism: Photos, History and More on American Muslims
2006-10-17 15:39:06