PHILADELPHIA, 7 July 2003 — Nearly two years after the Sept. 11 attacks, America’s seven million Muslims are struggling to present a friendly face to a society that often treats them as a security risk, Muslim community leaders said on Saturday.
But Muslims who traveled to Philadelphia for a July 4 weekend convention said they were determined to find ways to integrate into the American social mainstream, despite perceived injustices imposed by US President George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism.”
“We are part and parcel of this society, and we are seeking its betterment. But we have to take our involvement to the next level,” said Souheil Ghannouchi, president of the Muslim American Society, which co-hosted the convention with the New York-based Islamic Circle of North America.
The gathering, among the largest for US Muslims this year, opened with the recitation of verses from the holy Qur’an.
Men, women and children, many in traditional Muslim dress, joined workshops on faith and Islamic living and to hear speakers call for a unified Islamic community and a larger moral role in US society.
Ghannouchi and others believe US Muslims can provide the United States with an important cultural bridge to 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, while lending support to American conservatives on domestic social issues such as abortion.
In April, Muslims helped defeat a Maryland proposal to allow slot machines at state horse-racing tracks. Muslim groups have also stepped up assistance to the homeless in US cities. And there are signs that Muslim immigrants can win acceptance in the nation’s political arena.
“I have good news. I’m the first Muslim immigrant in US history to win nomination to public office. And I did it with Muslim support and Muslim money,” said Kamal Nawash, a Palestinian-born Republican lawyer who is running for the state senate in Virginia this year.
The main stumbling block is the US government’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, which led to a wave of detentions and deportations of Muslims.
“Most Muslim voters in the immigrant community voted for Bush. We’re taking a beating for that now,” said Naeem Baig, secretary-general for the Islamic Circle of North America.
Families who have lived in the United States for decades are now leaving in droves, with more than 40,000 Muslims abandoning New York City alone for Canada and other countries, conference organizers said.
“What we are witnessing is the political persecution of Muslims,” said Nahla Al-Arian, wife of former University of South Florida professor and Palestinian activist Sami Al-Arian, who was arrested in February on terrorism-related charges.
