California Muslims Join
38th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
CAIR-LA Area Executive Director Hussam Ayloush addresses
the gathering |
Anaheim, CA: On Saturday,
April 28, the Los Angeles Area and Sacramento Valley offices
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations coordinated
with the Manzanar Committee and the Japanese American Citizens
League (JACL) to bring members of the California Muslim
community for a one-day pilgrimage to the Manzanar National
Historic Site.
Visitors listened to speakers who narrated their families’
stories of internment at Manzanar during World War II, when
the US government ordered more than 120,000 Japanese Americans
to be detained at 11 military-style camps, without ever
allowing them any due process of law. Not a single internee
was ever charged or convicted.
“An entire community was unjustly detained during
World War II, only because of their Japanese ancestry,”
said CAIR-LA Area Executive Director Hussam Ayloush at the
conclusion of the trip. “Americans must remember what
can happen during a time of war and rampant propaganda.
We should let history be our guide and not allow our government
to repeat the same injustices, this time against American
Muslims and Arabs, as we continue with the War on Terror.
' ”
As calls for special scrutiny and profiling of Muslims are
increasing, Ayloush stressed the need for members of the
Muslim community to visit Manzanar and other Japanese American
internment camps to relearn about that dark moment in our
country’s history.
Andy Noguchi, coordinator for the Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage,
said, "It is vital to visit Manzanar and other internment
camps, not only for Muslims, but for all Americans especially
after September 11, so that people understand that war backlash
has happened before. It's important to bring a lot of concerned
Americans together to spread awareness of what happened
to Japanese Americans during World War II and how the Muslim
community is now being affected in similar ways."
On Saturday, visitors also participated in interfaith ceremonies
held at the Manzanar monument. Ayloush and Dr. E. M. Abdul
Mumin, another Muslim leader and head of the Du Bois Institute
in Riverside, offered a Muslim prayer. Later in the evening,
people visited the Manzanar Interpretive Center, which featured
exhibits and an award-winning documentary entitled “Remembering
Manzanar.”
The theme of this year’s pilgrimage was “One
Life…a Legacy for All,” in honor of the legacy
of Sue Kunitomi Embrey, an internee at Manzanar. She became
the driving force behind the movement to create the Manzanar
National Historic Site. She also served as Manzanar Committee
Chair and founder of the Manzanar Pilgrimage. Embrey passed
away in May 2006.
CAIR, America 's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has
32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission
is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue,
protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build
coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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