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American Muslim's continue to break new ground
Moe
08/25/00 at 14:07:12
American Muslim's continue to break new ground ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Muslim activism has brought about a number of notable 'firsts' in recent American-Islamic history By Anayat Durrani 'America prides itself as being the melting pot, and we Muslims would love to be embraced by America like many other faiths have been embraced before us. Islam has a lot to offer to America and we have to give it a chance' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 24, 2000, 02:24 PM LOS ANGELES (AROL) - Last week, Egyptian-born Dr. Maher Hathout, Sr. Advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council offered the invocation at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Two weeks earlier, Palestinian-born Talat Othman, Chairman of the Islamic Institute, delivered the invocation to the Republican National Committee in Philadelphia. Othman became the first Muslim in American-Islamic history to deliver an Islamic prayer at any political party's national convention. The inclusion of an Islamic prayer in both party's conventions was heralded as a milestone among the American Muslim community. American Muslims are becoming increasingly active and visible in almost all areas of American society. In recent years, the work of American Muslim organizations and countless individuals has helped to mobilize the Islamic community and achieve a more vocal presence in the United States. It has also helped shed light on the Islamic faith, bringing it to the forefront in an effort to acquaint the American public with the real Islam. Muslim activism has brought about a number of notable 'firsts' in recent American-Islamic history, most of which occurred during the 90s. The first American president to do so, President Clinton offered holiday greetings to America's six million Muslims. The Clinton Administration is the first to welcome Ramadan among the major religious holidays celebrated in the United States. It was in February 1996 that the first Iftar dinner was held on Capitol Hill to celebrate the breaking of the fast during Ramadan, which was sponsored by the American Muslim Council (AMC) and six congressmen. On February 20th of that same year, the first day of the Eid ul-Fitr holiday was celebrated in a reception hosted by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in the executive office building. On December 19, 1997, American Muslims saw the symbol of Islam -- the crescent and the star -- displayed along with the national Christmas tree and the Jewish menorah on the White House Ellipse. On January 22, 1998, the first Iftaar, or breaking of the fast, was held in the Pentagon due to the joint efforts of the Pentagon Chaplains Office and the AMC's Armed Forces and Veteran's Affairs Council. On December 10, 1999, American Muslims attended a White House celebration of Eid ul-Fitr hosted by President Clinton, which was also attended by National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh. "The progress American Muslims have been making is one that is certainly positive on one hand but unfortunately, it is not at the level it should be. 'Firsts' for any culture or ethnicity are always inevitable; we just have to be a people that will allow it to come faster than the others," says 25-year-old Ayman Nawash, a Palestinian-American Muslim from New Orleans, LA. In December of 1993, Captain Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad became the first Muslim Chaplain of the US Army and of the US military, leading the way for other Muslim military chaplains to follow. In August 1999, Yahya Hendi was appointed Georgetown Universitys first-ever Muslim Chaplain and is believed to be the first Muslim Chaplain at any major American university. "We Muslims are tired of being mislabeled and it's time for America to get to know the true Muslims. These 'firsts' go along way in introducing Islam to main street America as a religion that is peaceful," says Hatim Nasser, a 25-year-old Yemeni-American Muslim from Berkeley, CA. In April of 1998, American Muslims applauded CNN for becoming the first media network to broadcast live Hajj coverage. On August 17, 1999, M. Osman Siddique became the first American Muslim ambassador to be appointed to represent the United States abroad. Siddique, who took the oath of office with his hand on the Holy Qur'an, is serving as US ambassador to Fiji, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Nawash says that he thinks Muslims are getting better at organizing and working together to become a recognized group in the US due to the creation of several American Muslim organizations. He strongly believes that American Muslims can ultimately progress in American society in the same way other religious and ethnic groups have. "I always think about the American Jews when this subject matter comes up. In the 30s and 40s, Jews were one of the most hated people in America but with their advances in the media and politics, today, they are literally untouchable." Last year, President Clinton appointed a Muslim woman, Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, to serve on the Commission on International Religious Freedom and Dr. Ikram Khan as a member of the Board of Regents for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. However, despite a few successes, only a handful of Muslims are employed in government positions. There is yet to be a Muslim in Congress. Nonetheless, this presidential election has brought about nearly 700 Muslims running for office, including a St. Louis Democrat by the name of Eric Erfan Vickers, who is running for a seat in the House of Representatives, according to BeliefNet. "America prides itself as being the melting pot, and we Muslims would love to be embraced by America like many other faiths have been embraced before us. Islam has a lot to offer to America and we have to give it a chance," says Nasser. Other recent firsts include the halal bill signed into law by the governor of New Jersey, which aims to prevent consumer fraud among food producers and sellers claiming to have halal products. In July the Senate passed a bill that supports religious tolerance toward Muslims, that recognizes the significant contributions of American Muslims. "This is only the beginning. In terms of more 'firsts', all I can say is 'Inshallah,'" says Nawash.

Re: American Muslim's continue to break new ground
Kathy
08/25/00 at 19:01:05
As salaamu alaykum. I would rather not refer to America as a 'melting pot'- but as a "Tossed Salad" Author unknown.

Re: American Muslim's continue to break new ground
Kashif
08/26/00 at 15:13:49
"and we Muslims would love to be embraced by America like many other faiths" - sounds repulsive to me. Would we really love to be embraced by the nation that has slaughtered a whole generation of Iraqi kids? or who continually provides backing to Israel to supress our Palestinian brethren? who supplied weapons to Suharto knowing full well that he was using them to commit a genocide of the East Timorese, ...... No doubt, there are benefits of religious freedom in living in the West, but lets not go overboard shall we.

Re: American Muslim's continue to break new ground
NizarAlsaid
08/27/00 at 20:48:42
As'salaam Alaikum wa AlhamdiAllah. to be embraced by a melting pot seems to have a price, something like 'to give some and take some'. to me that sounds like diluting our religion. we should not prohibit exposure of Islam to mainstream America, but we also must be prepared to have our own aqeedah at a level where we will not be giving practices up just for the sake of acceptance like the Jews did. That was how they interwinded into the American society, by being sell out's of their own religion in hopes of being the reign holders of dunya. I ask Allah that we all be guided to the straight path and not be misguided by the Iblees. Ameen. Alaikum Al salaam, Nizar Alsaid
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