Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1998, pages 76-78

What They Said

Rep. David Bonior: Raising Awareness of Islam

Washington Report editors were deeply moved by a speech delivered by Congressman David Bonior (D-MI), minority whip (second-ranking Democrat) in the House of Representatives, on Oct. 3, 1998 at the third annual national convention of the American Muslim Alliance in Hempstead, NY. Representative Bonior, who also participated in the national convention of the Islamic Society of North America in St. Louis, MO in September, clearly understands the deep yearning of America’s rapidly growing Islamic community to be fully accepted by all of their fellow Americans in order to make their own deeply moral contributions to the richness, creativity and compassion of the American Way of Life. We present the full text of Representative Bonior’s remarks with gratitude for his profound understanding of both the true meaning of America and of the yearnings of America’s Islamic community.

I am very honored to join you here today.

The fact that so many people would travel from across the country to be here reflects a remarkable pride and strength.

A pride and strength that underscore your deep commitment to faith…to family...to community…and to our democracy.

Our strength depends on the active engagement of every citizen and every community. The Muslim community contributes a great deal....more than most people now realize.

But too often, these wonderful contributions go unnoticed.

Too often, ordinary people slip into the mire of prejudice.

And when that happens, they fail to honor basic human dignity. Peering through the narrow keyhole of stereotypes, they cannot see people as individuals.

That is a tragedy.

But it is not one we have to accept.

Our challenge is to reach out to people.

Our challenge is to appeal to their sense of decency, fairness, and humanity.

Khalil Gibran once wrote: “I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind, yet I’m ungrateful to those teachers.”

I applaud your growing involvement in the political process, your reaching out, your efforts to educate. You recognize that political and social change come as a direct result of personal involvement, careful organization and hard work.

And not just at the national level. Change begins at home, and I’m glad to see the AMA recognizes the importance of active engagement at the local, county, district and state levels. As someone once said, “mighty trees grow from deep roots.”

Voter registration, recruiting candidates, building coalitions, getting people excited and involved—all that is hard work. Sometimes mundane work. But it is also the bread-and-butter of our democracy.

It is through such day-to-day work, such persistence, that you will have a real impact, and help people realize everything that Muslim Americans have to offer.

People need to learn more about Islam, its traditions, and the contributions of Muslim Americans to our country. And that will come as more and more American Muslims become involved in civic affairs and elected to office.

Thanks to your efforts, and those of Muslim Americans all across the country, I can look forward to the day in the not so distant future when I will serve alongside Muslim Americans in the U.S. House.

In the interim, there are concrete steps we can take together to help reshape attitudes, and put a stop to persistent and disturbing discrimination.

I want to touch briefly on a few of the avenues we can pursue.

The first is an issue on which I am working with you very closely. Recently, I introduced a House resolution calling for religious tolerance towards Muslims in America.

Islam is America’s fastest growing religion, with five million faithful. But at the same time, it is among the most misunderstood and persecuted religious communities.

I am hopeful that through this effort in Congress we can raise awareness of Islam and the many wonderful contributions Muslim Americans are making around the country.

Perhaps nowhere needs greater awareness than Hollywood. Just once, it would be nice to see Muslims portrayed in popular culture as they really are—the successful embodiment of the American dream, citizens with an abiding faith in family, in community, in democracy and in God.

All Americans deserve respect, and all Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law.

That is why I am working with members of the Muslim community and government officials to end discriminatory profiling at airports.

As many of you know all too well, the way profiling is now conducted singles out people of Middle Eastern descent for discrimination and harassment. This is terribly wrong.

We have been struggling for years to overcome these cruel stereotypes. This profiling is reminiscent of the discrimination and harassment that Americans of Middle Eastern descent confronted both during the Gulf war, after the Oklahoma City bombing, and now again during this period of heightened international tension.

I have been in close contact with the Federal Aviation Administration about this policy, and met last month with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and leaders of the Arab-American community in Detroit.

We told her about some outrageous incidents.

About the high school student who missed his Olympic rowing try-out because he wasn’t allowed to get on the plane.

Or the Detroit police officer whose holiday vacation plans were delayed because he was hassled at the airport.

Or the family of a respected Muslim-American physician who were humiliated by interrogators just as they were about to leave on a family vacation.

This cannot continue.

We have to keep up the pressure on the FAA and the airlines. We all care about security as much as anybody else. But they must also recognize that security concerns are no basis for wholesale discrimination against hundreds of thousands of Americans. They need to know that establishing security does not require the sacrifice of human dignity.

Discrimination in any guise is still discrimination. Working together, we can and will change this policy.

In this vein, I also want to discuss the federal government’s use of “secret evidence” in detaining people without telling them why they are being held, or giving them access to the evidence concerning their case.

This is an outrageous practice. It runs against every tradition of American jurisprudence, and flies in the face of basic principles of justice.

Take the case of Dr. Mazen Al-Najjar in Tampa, Florida. He has been jailed since May 1997, after he appealed a deportation order.

He has not been charged with any crime, and yet he is being held indefinitely—denied bail on the basis of secret evidence that even his lawyers aren’t allowed to see.

How can this be?

How can the government imprison someone without charges? Without a chance to review the evidence against them and give their side of the story?

This is not right, and we can do something about it.

I have written the attorney general to decry this abusive practice, and will continue to press for change. I urge all of you to speak out on this policy.

We must also push to change the U.S. policy on Iraq. Unless we do, millions of people will continue to suffer.

While I strongly believe that Saddam Hussain must comply with U.N. resolutions, the U.S. should also take into consideration the embargo’s toll on everyday Iraqis, especially children.

Our current policy has failed. There is not enough medicine. Not enough food. Not even water that’s clean enough to drink. Some 700,000 children have died under sanctions, and that’s a tragedy we must stop.

Representatives John Conyers, Carolyn Kilpatrick and I are circulating a letter among our colleagues urging an end to economic sanctions, and we will be sending it to the president next week. The U.N. sanctions committee is scheduled to meet soon, and we hope to have an impact on its decision.

Our voices—from all around the country—can make a difference.

We must make our voices heard on the Middle East peace process, too.

The Israelis and Palestinians must keep pressing ahead, despite those extremists on both sides who are attempting to block progress.

Recently I met with Ahmed Qurie, the speaker of the Palestinian Council. We talked about the current situation, and the need for a balanced U.S. approach to the peace process.

We must work to ensure both parties honor the Oslo agreement.

We must condemn all violence. Now more than ever is the time for diplomacy, and the U.S. has a vital role to play: we must keep the parties talking.

Just last week we saw what can happen when the U.S. brings pressure to bear. It is no small accomplishment to see Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Netanyahu together at the White House, moving the ball forward.

I look forward to the day when the security of both Israelis and Palestinians are assured and a Palestinian state established.

Along with our diplomatic efforts, we must also work to improve economic opportunities for Palestinians, because economic opportunity is essential to lasting peace.

Let me say that I am optimistic about the peace process. I say this because I see progress elsewhere, like Northern Ireland, where so much hatred and heartbreak is slowly but surely giving way to hope and possibility.

Northern Ireland is a place where terrorist bombs are starting to backfire, where atrocities actually bring people together instead of splitting them apart.

It is so important that we support such courage and nurture any step in the right direction, however small. Because the alternative is much, much worse.

Escalation can be so very dangerous.

We see that in Kosovo, we see that in Rwanda, we see that in Kashmir, we see that wherever people let the flood tides of hatred breach the dikes of civility, of tolerance and humanity.

The international community must do more to stop the tragic conflict in Kosovo, and the United States should play a leadership role.

Too many lives have been lost already. We cannot simply stand idly by and let history repeat itself—and yet it appears that is what is happening.

All Americans of conscience—of every faith—have to continue to speak out, to increase the pressure, to push for action to stop the murder and mayhem.

We also need to keep pushing for international action to find a peaceful resolution of the issues dividing India and Pakistan.

I have long believed that it takes more courage to step back from the brink of conflict than to stand at the edge in bellicose anger—even if that anger is justified.

Last year, as Pakistan celebrated 50 years of independence, I thought of the words of Allama Iqbal, the great poet. He once wrote that “Time...is sweetness with poison mingled: A general blessing for all, but mixed with a measure of wrath.”

Iqbal’s verse still speaks to the challenges Pakistan faces today.

There is a certain “measure of wrath” that threatens peace, opportunity and human dignity throughout South Asia.

Specifically, I am thinking about the conflict over Kashmir.

Self-determination in Kashmir and the costly and dangerous arms race it has engendered in South Asia...these are tough issues to deal with.

Issues with no simple solutions. I support self-determination, but building a consensus for that takes time and work. Though we do not lack for a willingness to work, time is of the essence.

We are all deeply concerned about escalating tensions there, especially in the wake of the recent nuclear tests.

But I am also heartened by the courage Pakistan demonstrated by announcing its willingness to sign the test ban treaty. Stepping back from the brink—and stepping back first—shows both wisdom and faith.

I am hoping that this wise, brave step signals renewed hope and the possibility of reconciliation. We should all work to nurture this possibility by insisting that the United States—and the international community—focus in on this difficult process.

Reconciliation won’t be easy. After decades of demanding an eye for an eye, it will take some time before people see eye to eye.

Iqbal wrote: “The eye indeed is blind that sees nothing but ugliness, finds things out of joint, not beneficial.

“For, indeed, the sun never sees the darkness of the night.”

I would say that Iqbal speaks the truth, but I would argue that the sun and the night do meet—every morning.

And mornings are a time of hope, of possibility, of promise.

I’m hopeful this may be such a morning of possibility for Pakistan and India, even if there are clouds overhead.

I’m not alone in this hope. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has shown a personal interest in seeing this resolved.

As a matter of fact, Secretary Albright’s family has had a long-standing interest in Kashmir. Her father, a Czechoslovak diplomat, once wrote a book about the dispute.

I hope that Secretary Albright can play a constructive role in reducing tensions there. Settling tough disputes takes time and patience.

It also takes courage.

We know that the people of Kashmir deserve the right of self-determination, and that we can’t afford to abandon our commitment to freedom and fairness.

We also know that we can’t afford another half-century of conflict in the region. There is too much to lose on both sides, and too much to gain together.

As Iqbal wrote in his poem, “The Candle”: “I simply wonder, How speedily the World will change!”

I wonder, too. But I also know that together we can change the world.

These are not simply diplomatic challenges. They are personal challenges. We can have an impact by speaking out, by educating, by raising the voice of conscience and proposing practical solutions.

A respect for human dignity, for tolerance, for justice—and a belief that through our democratic system we can build a better world—these must guide and motivate us. We have a long journey ahead, and we may encounter a rocky road. We will confront obstacles.

But let us push on together. Let us reach out and build bridges of understanding and compassion, even if that means crossing the canyon of prejudice. We have no other choice.

Let me share a story with you.

A wise man was giving instruction to some children, when he posed this question: how do you know the night is over and the day has come?

Puzzled, the children took some time to answer.

Then one of them ventured: “You know the night is over and the day has come when, at dawn, you look out at a tree, and you can tell whether it is an apple or a pear tree.”

The wise man acknowledged this response, but repeated the question.

A second student said: “You know the night is over and the day has come when you see an animal in the distance, and you can tell whether it is a donkey or a horse.”

The wise man acknowledged this response too, then repeated the question.

At this, the students—unsure how to answer—asked the wise man to solve the dilemma he had posed.

The wise man said: “You know the night is over and the day has come when you look into the eyes of any human being, and you see there your brother or your sister. For, if you do not see your brother or your sister, it is still night—the day hasn’t come.”

So today I say to you: we must work together to enlighten others, to right the injustices, and expose the false stereotypes through daily actions in our own communities. We must push hard, because the cause of dignity will not advance by itself.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability.

It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be the co-workers of God....

We must use time creatively and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

I congratulate you on this conference. Coming together to speak out with one voice is so very important. Important for your families, for the entire Muslim American community, for our democracy, and for the country.

Someone recently asked me “How come you’re doing all this? You’re not Muslim. You’re Catholic, Polish and Ukrainian.”

I said that as long as people from one ethnic group, one religion, or one creed are denied basic human rights—as long as their inherent human dignity is denied—none of us can be sure of our own.

As Dr. King said, we are all wrapped “in a single garment of destiny.”

Human rights are universal rights.

Safeguarding them is the responsibility of all people, and all of us—no matter what our background—must take this responsibility seriously.

Only together can we shape a better future.

I look forward to working alongside you in the months and years to come. Thank you.