Posted on 09/03/2006 7:00:27 PM PDT by voletti
WASHINGTON: Ihsan Saadeddin is proud to be an American. But he's tired of having to prove it just because he's a Muslim too.
The Palestinian grocery store owner in Phoenix has called the United States home for 25 years and feels as American as the next guy. He met his wife in Arizona, sent his three children to public school and has a weakness for McDonald's.
But Saadeddin says the September 11 attacks were a tragic watershed which turned US Muslims from ordinary citizens into objects of suspicion and discrimination overnight.
He believes it is why he was questioned at the airport for 45 minutes last month and asked repeatedly if he supports terrorism.
"Being born in another country does not make me less American than the secretary of homeland security," Saadeddin said.
Estimates of the number of Muslim Americans vary between three and seven million, including Arabs, Iranians, South Asians, African Americans and many other communities.
News of domestic wiretapping, monitoring of mosques, immigration crackdowns, public support for racial profiling and bans on some Muslim scholars visiting the United States has made many Muslim Americans feel like targets of racism.
Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi from Dearborn Heights, Michigan, speaks for many when he complains that officials including President George W. Bush use terms such as "Islamo-fascism" to describe the militant threat. They say such terms are inflammatory and liken their faith to dictatorships.
"This type of thing really hurts," said Elahi, an Iranian-born Shi'ite religious leader.
Outreach efforts
US officials deny they unfairly target Muslim Americans and say community leaders have better access to top US officials than ever before. Outreach efforts include townhall meetings with law enforcement officers and training courses for officials by community members.
"It's obvious that Muslim Americans face civil rights challenges now that they never faced before," said Daniel Sutherland, who heads the civil rights and civil liberties office at the Department of Homeland Security.
"As the government, we need to engage better with Muslim Americans. And we're trying hard within our department and you'll see it with state and local governments," he said.
P.S. Popup alert on the linked page.
The term Islamofascist hurts their feelings?
Well isn't that a shame.
Journalism should be considered an offshoot of fiction--sometimes, as in Clancy's books--there is factual research involved, and sometimes--as in Doctrow's books--real names are used, but the stories are all made up.
Here's the rest of the piece:
To enhance cooperation, Sutherland has created an "incident management team" of about 25 community leaders to share information when a crisis occurs and respond quickly to any backlash.
Many officials and Muslim leaders agree the community can be a vital resource to root out militants at home.
"We feel that inside the mosque is the first line of defence for the country. We keep a very close eye on anyone who comes in new. If we see any threat, in the first place it's a threat to us, to our mosque. ... I'm the first to do something about it by calling the authorities," Saadeddin said.
Sumbal Mahmud, a corporate lawyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is also the spokesperson for the local Islamic community, says US Muslims want to stop terrorism more than anyone because it affects their lives most.
"I'm an adult and can take it. But how do I explain it to the sixth graders at the Islamic school when they come in after 9/11 and see 'Die, Muslim! Die!' scrawled on our playground?"
Muslim leaders say the post-Sept. 11 difficulties have also had some positive impact on their community.
Khalid Qazi, an internist and activist in western New York, says Muslim Americans have become far more active in political and civic life since the attacks, running for public office, from district judge to U.S. senator.
"I can't be American just like everybody else. It's a responsibility. I can't just stay home," said Nayyera Haq, spokeswoman for Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado.
"It's about being active and vocal and not feeling oppressed," said Haq, a Muslim American whose family emigrated from Pakistan. "(It's about) being active, by discussing, by listening to people and by being patient. That is my act of being American."
I prefer to call them islamderthals. *-o(:~{>
IF these KNOBS are REALLY "AMERICAN"....then they will turn over to the FBI their ANTI-AMERICAN BROTHERS
ANYTHING short of that can be viewed as BULLSH*T.
MY suggestion to assimilated Muslim Americans... take cover. OBL doesn't like decadent Americans that eat at McDonalds and go to public schools. Oh and make sure you don't cut your lawns. I hear it is some kind of a sin.
Sort of like how the Democrats are always screaming about how they are partiotic.
I couldn't care less what any Muslims have to say. Period, end of discussion.
Why would the term Islamo-Fascists hurt his feelings if he isnt one?
The fact is we are under attack nby islamo-fascists. If he isnt one the term should mean nothing to him and in fact he should be calling them the same thing. It isnt the US citizens that are making it hard on this guy its the terrorist islamics. maybe he should take his complaints to them.
They have opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to separate themselves from the nutters, and still, there are more than a few guys who go "Why you gotta talk 'bout me like that?"
Unfortunately, American Muslims seem to be forced to walk the walk of the American Japanese during WWII. No internment camps, but from what I've read on this forum, there are plenty of hateful people out there who have become Islamophobes. Americans of all religions, all races, deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. I realize that we do need to "profile" due to Homeland Security, but apparently SOME Americans are being hateful and vengeful against ALL Muslims, including those Americans who are living here peacefully. Have we learned nothing about painting everyone with the same brush? Apparently, some have not. Disgraceful.
It'd be better, Haq, if instead of whining about "feeling oppressed," you started rooting out and turning in the terrorist-wanna-bees from your local mosque. In other words, show that Muslims aren't to be feared and detested.
That's about right!
Before that, it's just whining, and as things now stand, in fact it MAKES HIM WORTHY OF SUSPICION.
"It's about being active and vocal and not feeling oppressed,"
One can only note there is no mention in the article of
American Muslim rage at those who killed and are killing
their fellow citizens.
Yes, it does. There is a vast difference between being American and being an American.
The article never says when Mr. Saedeeddin became a naturalized citizen--just that he "feels" he is American.
If so, he is not an honest example of what this article professes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.