Muslim Americans
Beginning to Make Their Mark
By Kaleem Kawaja
Washington, DC
The recent election
in the US was a watershed event for the 300 million
strong American nation. The US today is the world’s
third most populous country. The elections sent
a clear signal to the government and political
parties to change the direction of the three-plus
year old war in Iraq. The American voters took
a decisive and meaningful step. For the now six
million strong Muslim community in the US this
election brought a new recognition and a new meaning
to their American citizenship.
For the first time in the history of the US, a
Muslim American was elected by popular vote and
a convincing margin to the US Congress. Only a
decade ago most Muslims did not think that this
could be a near-term possibility. Representative
Keith Ellison of Minnesota is an authentic representative
of the Muslims of America. Born in the US, of
American parents, he converted to Islam as a teenager
on his own conviction. While his career as a lawyer
and a politician blossomed he continued to seek
the many positive features of Islam for guidance
in a contradictory and turbulent world. He neither
runs away from Islam nor wears Islam on his sleeve.
He is a practicing Muslim who sees the American
Muslim community as a positive force for the growth
of America in a positive direction.
Besides Keith Ellison, a handful of other American
Muslims also succeeded in entering the halls of
political power with their triumph in the recent
election. One such individual is Saqib Ali of
Gaithersburg , MD , who was elected as a Delegate
in the Maryland State House of Delegates. This
young man who was born in the US of Pakistani-American
parents successfully pursued a career as an Information
Technology engineer, while nursing plans to enter
the American political and electoral arena.
Another dozen or so Muslim-Americans contested
the primary elections in the Democratic and Republican
primary elections in July-September and the election
in early November. Four names that come to mind
are: Shakoor Ahmad of Prince Georges County, Maryland
who contested the Democratic party primary for
the position of a Delegate in the Maryland State
House of Delegates; Tufail Ahmad who contested
in the Democratic party primary for the position
of a Councilman in Maryland’s Montgomery
County; Janet Siddiqui who contested for a position
on the Board of Education in Maryland’s
Howard County; Morshid Alam of New York who contested
for a seat on the New York City Council. Even
though they were not elected they achieved a very
important milestone for the community –
namely putting America ’s Muslim community
on the electoral and political map.
Up until the November election the highest elected
Muslim official in US was Larry Shaw – a
Delegate to the House of Delegates in Tennessee
State. In the 2004 election too a few Muslim candidates
had competed but were not elected.
Today, barely five years after the deplorable
terrorist attack on the key symbols of the American
nation by a set of misguided individuals who happened
to be Muslim, the US Muslims as a community appear
to have shrugged off much of the very defamatory
fallout from that disaster. From Boston and New
York to Dallas and San Francisco, from sea to
shining sea, the American-Muslim community is
demonstrating a new resolve, a resolve to overcome
heavy odds and succeed in entering the halls of
American political power on their own merit.
Across many states and cities in the US where
Muslims live in sizeable number they have formed
numerous Muslim political action committees and
Muslim political councils, at federal, state and
county levels. Through these platforms that have
increasingly integrated themselves with the nation’s
two main political parties – Democrats and
Republicans - in the six months preceding the
November election.. Hundreds if not thousands
of Muslims campaigned for candidates of their
choice and conducted fundraising events for them.
In the aftermath of the election, Muslim PACs
in many states are talking with political leaders
who were elected governors and county executives,
to give highly visible political appointment positions
like cabinet and sub-cabinet level positions,
to Muslims. After a thirty-year wait the American
Muslims are becoming savvy in the art of participating
in the mainstream political process and are deriving
benefits from the experience.
The 2004 conventions of the Democratic and Republican
parties saw a significant number of Muslims, mostly
young men and women, attend them as convention
delegates of the parties. For the last five years,
a small San Francisco based Muslim group has placed
young Muslim students as interns in the offices
of US Senators and Congressmen during summer vacations.
Launched by the late Marghoob Quraishi, with the
financial help of the Muslim community, the highly
beneficial program is held every year.
In the states where Muslim population is sizeable,
e.g. in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, California,
Texas, Florida, Georgia one notices a new phenomenon
in the Muslim community. The well- educated and
well to do professional Muslims, who thirty years
ago dedicated themselves to building Islamic centers,
mosques and Sunday schools, are now switching
over to the building of Muslim political organizations
and participation in mainstream American civic,
electoral and political forums.
For about five years now most Islamic centers
in the US have conducted interfaith programs with
vigor, especially during the month of Ramadan,
by inviting non-Muslim Americans and government
officials to their centers and mosques for dialogue,
intermingling and discussing common interest civic
issues.
Yet the areas of mainstream American life where
we do not see adequate representation of Muslims
are the armed services, police force, and media.
The number of Muslims in US army, navy, air force,
marines, coast guard, security forces, and police
force continues to be paltry. These are well paid
respectable services. One hopes that soon the
youth of the community will start joining them
to render service to the nation. The almost total
absence of Muslims from the mainstream American
electronic and print media is though a cause for
much concern. Again let us hope that very soon
more of our young men and women will enter the
important field of journalism which will help
correct the distorted image of the community.
Today about a dozen national organizations of
American Muslims, e.g. Council on American Muslim
Relations, Muslim Public Affairs Council, American
Muslim Alliance, American Muslim Taskforce, Muslim
American Society, Islamic Society of North America,
Islamic Circle of North America, Center for the
Study of Islam and Democracy, et al have opened
liaison and public relations offices in Washington
DC – the nerve center of America’s
political activity.
Blissfully. one sees Muslim professionals excelling
in all professional fields - engineering, medicine,
pharmacy, financial services, accountancy, academics,
law, business. A remarkable phenomenon in this
area is the very large number of Muslim women
and girls who have emerged as high achievers.
The indigenous American Muslims who may have lagged
behind in education and socioeconomic arena are
however well represented in the political and
civic fields. With 42 African-American Congressmen
on the Capitol Hill, one of whom is now a Muslim,
and the common bonds of being a minority, the
prospects of Muslims being more successful in
American politics appear promising.
The total picture of the American Muslim community
is, that about forty years after they became a
community in America, the Muslim citizens are
enthusiastic Americans. America ’s six million
Muslims are high on the American nation, its value
system, its work ethics, its regard for democracy
and justice for all, and its ethos of equal rights.
Not only they are an integral part of the American
life in most areas, they are trying to utilize
the Islamic ideals to correct the aberrations
and shortcomings of daily life in America.
(The writer is a community activist in Washington,
DC . He can be reached on kaleemkawaja@hotmail.com)
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