CHICAGO, 1 September 2003 — The questions since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have ranged from benign to offensive, Kareem Irfan said.
He has been asked frequently whether Islam condones suicide bombing and once why Muslim women are “expected to be your slaves?”
An attorney and Muslim community leader in the Chicago area, Irfan said he could easily respond to the onslaught of inquiries from his neighbors and co-workers, but many more American Muslims could not.
To help them, the largest US Muslim convention of the year is offering what amounts to a crash course in basic Islamic teachings so the thousands of attendees can return home more confident about defending their faith.
Panel discussions at the event, which runs through Monday, include dispelling myths about the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), interpreting Quranic verses and a session entitled “Answering Difficult and Frequently Asked Questions about Islam from American Audiences.”
“People have been under a lot of pressure. They need a certain amount of religious strength to put up with the day-to-day barrage about Islam,” said Ingrid Mattson, a vice president of the Islamic Society of North America, which has organized the convention for 40 years.
Mattson, a professor at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, said the sessions also aim to convince Muslims “to come out of their shells and that it’s OK to be a Muslim in America.”
Muslims began settling in the United States in large numbers in the 1960s, when the federal government loosened some restrictions on immigration. Estimates of the number of American Muslims today vary dramatically from two million to six million.
But until the 2001 suicide hijackings, many Americans were not aware of the significant Muslim population in this country. Since then, non-Muslims have grown more curious — and more openly critical — of the religion, Irfan said.
“Many more people are comfortable now asking, ‘What does Islam say about covering your hair or about terrorism?’” Irfan said. “Many Muslims felt ill-prepared to answer.”
Sayyid M. Sayeed, secretary general of the Islamic Society, said that even Muslim children, aware of attacks on Islam, are seeking explanations about their religion that their parents may not be able to provide.
Aisha Ahmed, a sophomore at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill., who wears a veil, said the pressure extends to her classes when the topic turns to Islam. “Everyone will turn and ask a Muslim student to explain,” Ahmed said.
Amina Khan, a medical student in Chicago, said she is regularly asked why she wears a veil. Aware that many non-Muslims see the tradition as oppressive to women, she coordinates the color of her veil with her brightly colored outfits to show that “it’s not a shackle.”
“We take pride in it,” Khan said.
Abdul-Qayum Mohmand, an Afghanistan-born US citizen who lives in overwhelmingly Mormon Salt Lake City, said some people ask questions “in a way that is not very nice and the question has a very negative connotation.” But he said he is more often approached by people open to learning about the faith.
Mohmand is among those who believe that, despite the pain of being thrust into the spotlight, American Muslims will eventually benefit from this new curiosity.
National Muslim organizations say they have received tens of thousands more hits on their Web sites over the last two years and have been selling more books than ever on Islam.
“People want to find out, `What is this Islam?’” Mohmand said. “Their desire to hear more, to understand more — it has helped dispel misconceptions.”
