April/May 1997, pgs. 57-65

Muslim-American Activism

Scholar Discusses Political Islam

Taking a critical yet respectful look at political Islam, Emery University professor Abdullahi An-Na’im told an audience at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC Feb. 18 that current Islamic movements are characterized by their violent and exclusive tendencies when these movements should be a positive source of change in a Muslim society.

“Islam is inherently pluralistic,” An-Na’im said. “Freedom and toleration is part of our consciousness as Muslims, but the militant and violent history of Islam is stressed. This is wrong.”

An-Na’im, a Muslim originally from Sudan, said that certain internal and external factors such as Western colonialism, isolation and oppressive leaders have created “regressive and destructive” Islamic movements in some countries. He said the West’s adversarial position toward Islam certainly doesn’t make these Islamic movements any more benevolent, and they are usually closed to any Western influences or ideas. This isolation from the West will continue as long as America and other countries adopt the “clash of civilizations” approach to relations with Muslims, An-Naim said. “This will become a self fulfilling prophesy.”

While there is much the West can do to improve relations with Islam, Muslims and Islamic movements themselves can also be more positive, he added. Too often in Islamic movements, Islamic law, or shariah, is used to subjugate members of society. Laws that call for violence or the oppression of women, he said, are not taken directly from the Qur’an and are not a part of Muslim heritage. “Shariah is not divine law, it is human understanding of divine sources,” he said. “Religion is not totally divine because we put the word of God in human language.”

These laws are passed down as absolute, however, with no input from the Islamic community. An-Na’im believes Islamic movements would be more tolerant and inclusive if they saw shariah as an interpretation open to change. “We need to emphasize the human agency in the practicing of religion,” he said. “Other understandings of the divine are possible.”

An-Na’im added that political Islamic movements can be a constructive way for Muslim societies to define themselves. But, these movements must take into account the many differences in a society and a community. He said there is much more to Muslims than just their Islamic nature—they also define themselves as Arabs, Africans, doctors, lawyers, etc. “We cannot see identity in a uni-dimensional sense,” he said. “We are defined by a number of factors and there are many aspects of our identities.” An ideology that allows all these differences to flourish will be at peace with the world and itself, he concluded. 

—Geoff Lumetta

AMA New York, New Jersey Chapters Hold Strategic Planning Conference

One day after an Eid al-Fitr dinner attended by 600 persons including New Jersey governor Christie Todd Whitman at the Hanover Marriott hotel in East Whippany, NJ, the American Muslim Alliance’s New Jersey chapters joined with AMA New York chapters for a strategic planning conference in Staten Island, NY on Feb. 15. Speakers at the conference, which began planning for vastly increased Muslim participation in the 1998 and 2000 elections, included New York attorney Abdeen Jabara, a former president of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and AMA national chairman Dr. Agha Saeed. A less political but equally important theme also was struck at the conference, attended by some 150 AMA members, by members’ sons and daughters attending nearby universities. Their theme was the problems faced by Muslim students and their families in observing Islamic cultural imperatives while making the most of the abundant higher educational opportunities available in the tri-state New York metropolitan area. Probably to the surprise of their families, the students gave their parents very high marks for instilling Islamic values in their children, while at the same time granting them the trust and freedom to participate in the student government, special interest and vocational activities that are an integral part of education for successful participation in American life.

—Richard Curtiss

AMA Sacramento Workshop Attracts 80 Participants, 20 Legislators

More than 80 Muslims from California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona attended what California State Senator Barbara Lee described as “a truly historic meeting” at the California State Capitol Building on Feb. 26. The all-day West Coast leadership training conference was sponsored by the American Muslim Alliance (AMA) to demonstrate how Muslims can participate in the American political system, not just as supporters of leaders but as leaders themselves.

“We invited California legislators to speak or observe,” AMA National Chairman Dr. Agha Saeed reported. “We expected four or five to attend. Instead we got 20. They, in turn, were impressed by the large turnout and our panel discussions.”

The AMA, with 30 chapters throughout the United States and its national office in Fremont, CA, has been instrumental during the past several years in mobilizing American Muslims at the grass roots level to avail themselves of the opportunities for effective political participation and to make a positive impact, not as outsiders but as sought-after insiders in their communities.

Keynote speaker at the event was former Oregon Governor Victor Atiyeh, an Arab American. Other speakers included former Congressman Paul (Pete) McCloskey, Frank Afranji, Mrs. Eileen Ansari, and Oakland Tribune reporter Yasmin Anwar. “If you want the media to listen to you, you have to have a clear agenda,” she told participants. She noted also that “we journalists care about your opinion.”

Conference organizers explained they were seeking to further the AMA motto “2000 for 2000,” by fielding 2,000 Muslim candidates for office in the year 2000.

California legislators in turn presented to the AMA a joint resolution by the California Senate and Assembly recognizing the contribution of Muslims to the State of California. It was received by Dr. Agha Saeed of Berkeley, Dr. Mohammad Ashraf of Fresno and Dr. Talat Khan of Alta Loma on the AMA’s behalf.

Mr. Saeed Ali, consultant from the Latino Legislative Caucus, briefly addressed the gathering, discussing the relationship that has existed between California Latinos and Muslims since the 1890s. Dr. Saeed then noted that “Muslims ran for every office in the U.S. in 1996 except for that of president and vice president. We have crossed the threshold,” he told participants. “This meeting here today is a concrete step toward the year 2000 [and] has to be a start of the learning process.” He said, “AMA’s business is to produce qualified Muslim candidates for the political mainstream, and to promote the humanitarian aspect of Islam in this country.”

Drs. Ashraf and Talat Khan distributed a diagnostic test for the participants, noting that “50 percent of Muslims in this country today were born in America.”

Brother Askia Abdulmajeed, Sacramento Muslim activist already involved in state government, introduced Mel Assagai of the Advocacy Group. “The broader your agenda, the more shallow is the ability of your representative to act,” Mr. Assagai cautioned. “Being specific helps a great deal. What you need to do is build coalitions. You have to make people understand that Islam means peace.”

Legislators who offered tips, advice or encouragement to the Muslim participants included Senators Barbara Lee, Richard Montieth, Patrick Johnston, Richard Rainey, John Burton and Ray Haynes, and Assemblymembers George House, Robert Prenter, Mike Machado, Tom Mclintock, Sally Havice, Liz Figueroa, Peter Frusetta and Mike Sweeney.

—Ras H. Siddiqui

American Muslim Council Hosts Capitol Hill Iftar Dinner

Some 400 people including 18 members of Congress turned out for a Feb. 5 Iftar Dinner in the Senate Hart building on Capitol Hill sponsored by the American Muslim Council. The dinner, at the end of a day of fasting during the final week of the holy month of Ramadan, also attracted diplomats, journalists, legislative aides and prominent Muslims from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Welcoming the guests were AMC president Muhammad Aslam Cheema and AMC executive director Abdurahman Alamoudi. President Saleh Saleh of Mesjid Dar-al-Hijra gave a recitation from the Holy Qur’an. Other speakers included Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed Maher El Sayed and Yemeni Ambassador Mohsin A. Alaini, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Representatives James Moran (D-VA), Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).

Other sponsors of the event included Senators Spencer Abraham (R-MI), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Charles Robb (D-VA) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and Representatives David Bonior (D-MI), Dan Burton (R-IN), Pat Danner (D-MO), Lee Hamilton (D-IN), William Luther (D-MN), Connie Morella (R-MD), John Olver (D-MA), Michael Oxley (R-OH), Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and James Traficant (D-OH).

Kuwaitis Call for Prisoner Release

When Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi forces in 1991, soldiers took Ahmed Baqer to Basra as a prisoner of war. There he spent seven months in a prison camp with thousands of other Kuwaitis. Now Baqer is the secretary of the Kuwaiti National Assembly and one of his main jobs is to free the 625 Kuwaitis who are believed still being held in Iraq.

To mark the sixth anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi forces, Baqer and Dr. Naser Al-Sane, chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, visited the United States to share information about the detention of Kuwaiti citizens.

“I saw, myself, many terrible things and savage acts,” Baqer said at the American Muslim Council offices in Washington, DC Feb. 27. “Now it is very important that the remaining prisoners are released.”

Since the war, Iraq has slowly released all of its American and European detainees, but it refuses to admit that Kuwaitis still are being held. Instead, Iraq claims that all the Kuwaiti prisoners escaped after the war. However, Baqer said prisoners were guarded constantly by armed soldiers and that escape was very unlikely.

The issue has been an emotional one for Kuwaitis, not only for the families and friends of the prisoners but for the entire country. According to Baqer, who is also the chairman for the Committee on Mis-sing Soldiers and POWs, a majority of the 625 prisoners are civilians and should be considered hostages instead of POWs.

Baqer and Al-Sane said their goal is to bring heightened international pressure on Iraq and get American and other Western nations behind them in their goal to get the hostages released.

“So many people do not know about the details of the issue,” Al-Sane said.

 —Geoff Lumetta