CNN Documentary ‘Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door’
By Kaleem Kawaja
Washington, DC
In reviewing the above mentioned CNN documentary that was telecast recently I have the following observations to make:
1. A fairly large number of White Americans, even in the southern and other states of the US that are strongholds of conservatives, are fair to Muslims and Islam.
2. Americans have a huge misperception about the principles/tenets of Islam and sharia. Whatever they know of our religion is based on distorted media portrayal of odd happenings in tribal Muslim societies in Afghanistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, etc and the activities of some misguided extremists. A Harvard law professor unhesitatingly explained that there is nothing wrong with Sharia but it has been wrongly interpreted in some Muslim countries.
3. American Muslim organizations and American Muslims have done very little to dispel the misperceptions about Islam. We have done very little to tell Americans at large about our religion’s true teachings and sharia.
4. Organizations like CAIR are spending a disproportionately large amount of their time in staging protests. Rather than protesting against every anti-Muslim American politician and leader they should do more positive PR about Islam. That will be a much more cost-effective use of their resources and help lessen the negative views about Muslims in the US.
5. The work of American Muslim organizations is confined to a few major cities on the east and west coast and big cities like Chicago. In a very large number of other cities there is no one to give information about Islam/Muslims. Conventions of ISNA, ICNA, CAIR, etc. are always held in select American cities where Muslim population is fairly large. Granted that these conventions draw large crowds of Muslims, but they are not helping in reducing anti-Muslim sentiments in the US. Hence they are not fulfilling their objective and goal. Rather than “sing to the choir” and seek admiration from the concentrated Muslim populations in a few cities they should spread to other places and engage in positive advocacy about Islam and the 1400-year Muslim civilization.
6. All American Muslims should engage in advocacy for the community on a personal level to change the misperceptions among average Americans about our community and elements of our faith, e.g. Sharia.
