ISNA Holds 30th Annual Convention

By Greg Noakes

Some 7,000 Muslims from the U.S. and Canada gathered over Labor Day weekend in Kansas City, MO for the 30th Annual Convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). The conference's theme, "Muslims for a Better America," was indicative of a new phase of Islamic activity in America, with Muslims moving from their previous concentration on their own communities or home countries to greater involvement in improving the society around them. As ISNA President Abdullah Idris Ali noted in his welcoming message, Muslims are "directing their efforts to the building of a better America, guided by the Qur'anic injunction, 'Let there arise out of you a community inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. Those are the ones who are successful."'

The convention's plenary sessions included discussions of American Muslim demographics, public and private education and curricula development, Islam's portrayal in the mainstream U.S. media, international issues like Bosnia, Somalia, Kashmir and Palestine, and a far-ranging and thought-provoking panel on "American Problems—Islamic Solutions." Smaller interactive workshops and focus sessions addressed parenting, youth issues, family counseling, personal finances and inheritance, the environment, community organization and legal rights from Muslim perspectives.

Speakers were drawn from throughout the North American Islamic community, while foreign diplomats and dignitaries such as Pakistan's Khurram Murad, India's Syed Shahabudin, Algeria's Anwar Haddam, the Sudan's Abu Bakr Chinguetti and Bosnia-Herzegovina's Nedzib Sacirbey provided international insights. Focus sessions were led by Muslim activists and professionals with appropriate skills and expertise.

A first-evening convention highlight was a panel combining four of the most prominent North American Muslim leaders entitled, "Looking Ahead: A Vision for a Better America." Imam Warith Deen Muhammad (son of the late Elijah Muhammad), Imam Jamil al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown) of the National Community, Muhammad Yunus of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and Abdullah Idris Ali of ISNA discussed the need for greater unity and coordination for the ethnically, linguistically and geographically diverse Muslim population in the U.S. and Canada.

Warith D. Muhammad, Jamil al-Amin and the presidents of ICNA and ISNA had previously signed the "California Islamic Declaration," establishing a National Shura Council designed to "discuss matters of national and international importance in order to make collective statements and to take appropriate collective actions.'' In Kansas City the leaders publicly pledged to further coordinate their activities and encourage mutual consultation. Plans are underway to combine the 1994 annual conventions of ISNA and the community of Warith D. Muhammad, raising hopes for even greater integration and coordination among these and other Muslim organizations in the future. Executive Director Abdurahman Alamoudi of the American Muslim Council noted, "It is high time for American Muslims to recognize a national leadership. . . These are the main four grassroots organizations within the American Muslim community necessary for the creation of this leadership."

Aside from the scheduled sessions, the convention gathering itself is a major annual event for American Muslims. The large numbers of children and youth took advantage of special programs which incorporated the "Muslims for a Better America" theme, while adults browsed through books, videos, clothing and other items at the bazaar. Most important, though, were the personal contacts which in many cases extended past the convention weekend. For three days conference participants had an opportunity to see old friends, make new acquaintances, exchange and debate theories and methodologies, network and be part of a virtually self-contained Muslim community. Due to the Labor Day holiday, the downtown area near the convention center was largely deserted except for conference participants. As they traveled between nearby hotels and the conference, the sights and sounds were closer to Cairo or Karachi than Kansas City!

ISNA Convention Program Director Sayyid M. Syeed described the conference's emphasis on American society as a milestone for U.S. and Canadian Muslims. "It is their Islamic obligation to promote sensitivity in their own community about the social and spiritual needs of the wider American mainstream," he said. ''American Muslims now have the self-confidence and the resolution to be positively involved. This convention clearly spelled out their responsibilities not only to themselves and their community but to the larger American society.''

Shaath Presents Peace Accord to American Muslim Leaders

The Palestine Liberation Organization's Nabil Shaath met with leaders of the American Muslim community in Washington on Oct. 5th to present and discuss the recent Israeli-PLO peace accord. At a meeting hosted by the American Muslim Council, Shaath presented arguments in favor of the accord and listened to concerns voiced by the audience, which was made up of officials of a number of American Muslim organizations and publications.

Shaath argued that the accord has to be viewed in terms of a history that, from 1948 until now, has seen greater Jewish settlement, increasing Israeli hegemony and the loss of Palestinian lands. The accord, he noted, reverses the trend with an evacuation of Israeli troops, the return of Arab refugees, a transfer of authority to Palestinians and the beginning of the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. "It's not over until we see an independent Palestinian state and Palestinian flags over Jerusalem," Shaath said.

The PLO official warned against the escalation of predictable differences of opinion within the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities into outright conflicts. "There is nothing worse than turning from fighting the enemy who occupied our land to fighting amongst ourselves," he said, adding that there would be no replacement of the Israeli occupation with a Palestinian occupation which suppresses expressions of opposition.

Questions about the agreement ranged from specific points about the language of the accord to doubts about the compatibility of a Western-style nation-state in an Islamic environment and the GNP-driven model for Palestinian development proposed by the World Bank and other lending organizations. Participants were concerned with the building of Palestinian civil society, with guaranteeing freedom of political and religious expression, and with the prospects for final status talks, set to begin in two years. Both Shaath and his audience agreed on the need to include all strands of Palestinian political thinking in the discussion in order to build a consensus on such issues as borders, Jerusalem and the right of Palestinian return.

Shaath closed by saying that the PLO leadership had seized the opportunity provided by the Oslo channel, pointing out that the Washington negotiations were deadlocked and that no pressure on the Israelis could be expected from the Clinton administration. "What the State Department was putting on the table was trash," the PLO official said. "We could have stayed five more years and not reached any agreement."

The accord "is not what we struggled for," Shaath conceded. "We struggled for the liberation of all of Palestine. But this is what could be achieved now, to give our people a foothold on their land."

Many American Muslims are uneasy about the Israeli-PLO accord, and feel that the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinians are being sold short. Others believe that, given the proper assurances about its implementation, the accord is a good beginning for a lasting settlement in the region. Nabil Shaath heard from both schools of thought during his Washington meeting, and agreed to work with American Muslims to address their problems, ease their fears and engage them fully in the long, difficult process ahead.