More U.S. Muslims work to change attitudes about Islam
By KHURRAM SAEED
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: October 25, 2003)
Tired of having their faith under the constant spotlight of suspicion, Muslims in the United States are taking a hands-on approach to change the way many Americans view them and their religion.
Some have donated more than $1 million to supply books, tapes and videos on Islam in nearly half of the nations' libraries. Others, including those in Rockland and Westchester, are seeking to build mosques and schools that will serve the entire community. Still others are discussing ways that Islam can adapt to a new era.
These actions seek to move Islam into mainstream America, but they are also part of a conscious effort, made more urgent since Sept. 11, 2001, to change hearts and minds about the world's second-largest religion, which still inspires fear and distrust in the West.
Monday is the first day of Ramadan, the monthlong period in which a Muslim cleanses the body by fasting from sunrise to sunset and purifies his or her soul through introspection.
Gilbert Gordon, president of the Jerrahi Mosque in Chestnut Ridge, said the terrorist attacks made Americans curious about Islam, and the 6 million Muslims in the United States must act now to distinguish the faith's core teachings from its radicalized messages.
"Good deeds are a much better advertisement for Islam than all the talk in the world, which, unfortunately, Muslims do a lot of," said the Chestnut Ridge resident, who converted to Islam in 1977.
Since 2000, mosque members have donated school supplies to families living in an affordable-housing complex in Spring Valley. At the same time, they have also given tens of thousands of dollars to aid the poor in Afghanistan, North Korea, Turkey and Iraq.
"What would affect the opinions of the American public the most is when they see Muslims helping, when they see Muslims doing good deeds and not just for Muslims," Gordon said. "Being good human beings makes more of an impression than eloquence."
In September 2002, the Council on American Islamic Relations launched the Library Project, which aspired to put a package of 18 Islamic scholarly and children's books, DVDs, videos and audiotapes in all 16,300 libraries in the United States. A sponsor would pay $150 toward the multimedia set, which then was donated to a library in the sponsor's hometown or state, or the sponsor could leave it up to CAIR to decide.
To date, nearly 7,000 sets have been placed, including in every library branch in Maryland.
"There are many misperceptions about Islam and the Muslim community," CAIR spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed said. "We figured one way to combat these misconceptions was to educate people."
It was also a way to ensure that Muslims became more proactive by donating to a cause that benefited society at large, she said.
"These are signs Muslims are working on initiatives that make their communities more normal in the eyes of others," Ahmed said.
To that end, the Islamic Cultural Center of New York has been seeking since 2001 to open a "liberal" Islamic religious and community center in Tarrytown. One of its goals is to make Islam and Muslims easily accessible to the public, said Adel Akel, a New Rochelle resident who is president of the 21-year-old organization.
"We feel it is our challenge to explain to our neighbors who we are and what we believe in," said Akel, a retired economist and statistician who has worked for the United Nations and the World Bank. "We learn from them also."
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the center's members have spoken at churches and synagogues to answer questions about Islam.
Like the Jerrahi Mosque, the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, which operates out of Stamford, Conn., has invited non-Muslims to join its members in breaking the fast and listening to a religious talk after dinner.
Akel said the dialogues have benefited all of those involved.
"Many people that had the wrong idea, after they met with us and listened to our explanations, they seemed to be convinced of what we are saying," Akel said.
There is ample evidence that Islam has been gaining in prominence in America over the years.
Five states, including New Jersey, have passed consumer protection laws for food prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary laws known as halal, which is similar to kosher regulations for Jews.
Two years ago, the U.S. Postal Service introduced its Eid stamp, which offers greetings for Islam's two most important holidays. After an initial run of 75 million, the stamp is part of the agency's "Holiday Celebration" series and there are no plans to discontinue it.
There's even an Iranian Muslim character on "Whoopi," a new prime-time NBC sitcom that tweaks stereotypes.
At the moment, some 5,000 Muslims are paying $10 a month for a channel that does not yet exist. But the gesture is meant to show media operators that there is a large enough U.S. audience to support the channel, called Bridges TV.
"The thirst is out there to have our own voice, to be heard and to have our lifestyle shared with ourselves and the mainstream," said Muzzammil Hassan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, who expects it to be on the air by next fall.
For years, some communities have incorporated the star and crescent, both symbols of Islam, in winter holiday displays, and President Bush will soon host a fast-breaking dinner at the White House, although some national Muslim organizations are calling for a boycott of it over concerns about foreign policy.
For the first time, Hallmark test-marketed Eid greeting cards this year. Although the number of cards produced was relatively low, they sold out quickly, said Deidre Parkes, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Mo.-based company.
"It tells us that the demand is out there," Parkes said.
Omid Safi, an assistant professor of Islamic Studies at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., said that while Eid stamps and greeting cards are "nice acknowledgements" that have some impact on the masses, they are not enough to change how most Muslims are perceived.
What will be more long-lasting and transformative are conversations about Islamic reform by American Muslims, who, unlike their counterparts overseas, have the freedom and opportunity to pursue those difficult questions in the United States, said Safi, who is the editor of "Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism."
He said Muslims are beginning to openly talk about the role of women in Islam, homosexuality, growing conservatism among younger Muslims and the undercurrent of tension between immigrant communities and black Muslims, who represent 35 percent of Muslims in the United States.
In 1970, there were about 100,000 Muslims in the United States, but now there are an estimated 6 million. Yet Omid said Muslims are "woefully behind" in political participation and underrepresented in the arts, media and humanities, areas that influence society.
Whether it's voter registration drives or lobbying for religious pluralism, changes are happening, he said.
"The whole conversation is being had in a different way than it was before," said Safi, who is also a member of the American Academy of Religion's Study of Islam steering committee. "I think it's about time. In fact, it's past time."
Asra Chapnick came to the United States as a child in the mid-1970s. Her parents lived throughout the Midwest and, at one point, her father was the imam, or spiritual leader, of a mosque in Las Vegas.
Then, the Tarrytown resident said, she was seen as a novelty because nobody knew what a Muslim was, why she fasted or why she didn't date in high school. Today, Chapnick, who is the director of the New International Muslim Association of New York, a 5-year-old nonprofit, educational Islamic organization, said most people know the very basics of Islam.
A mother of three who dresses in a black overcoat in public, Chapnick said American Muslims have a unique opportunity to share their faith with non-Muslims, as they shape its future.
Chapnick said she hadn't experienced any type of backlash since the terrorist attacks, and felt comfortable as a Muslim in the United States. She has prayed on airplanes, in airport baggage areas and at rest stops along the highway. That was something her father would never do while they went on road trips.
"Back then people didn't know what those weird positions we were doing were," Chapnick said. "But now everyone has seen that. I would say that now Muslims would have no hesitation about praying anywhere in America."
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