Meetings generate dialogue on Islam

Meetings generate dialogue on Islam

by Shelia M. Poole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
9/22/2004

Macon --- Quentin Troupe doesn't mind the questions. In fact, he welcomes them.

Are Muslims commanded by God to commit acts of terrorism? What is Islam about?

"I put myself in a position to let people know I'm a Muslim, so I can clear away all the misconceptions and give people a proper understanding of who we are and what we're about," said Troupe, a Macon resident who converted to Islam 11 years ago.

Troupe, 31, who recently attended a town hall meeting on U.S.-Islamic relations at Wesleyan College in Macon, blames much of the misunderstanding about Islam on the media and ignorance about his religion.

The 2001 terrorist attacks, the recent killing of Russian schoolchildren and other violent acts done in the name of Islam have caused many Muslims to look inward and fostered debate within the community. At the same time, the incidents have caused Muslims and non-Muslims alike to look at where relations go from here.

Soon after the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations strongly condemned the beheading of U.S. hostage Eugene Armstrong in Iraq, news broke Tuesday that a second hostage, reportedly another American, had also been killed.

"This is not representative of Islam," said spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, who said CAIR has called for the release of all hostages in Iraq.

But some in the Muslim community worry about retaliation at home. Hooper, for example, started receiving hate e-mails soon after Anderson was killed, and he expected them to continue after the second slaying.

He said a man recently attempted to torch an Islamic center in Texas and that some Muslim children were splashed with gasoline. He wondered: Where was the outrage?

"Outrage works both ways," Hooper said. "All of us need to check ourselves and make sure we're operating on one standard."

Such conversations are being encouraged by a series of town hall meetings across the country on U.S.-Islamic relations sponsored by the nonpartisan Americans for Informed Democracy, which was started by a group of American students at Oxford University concerned about the evaporation of goodwill in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, and the dramatic decline in the image of the United States. Three such meetings were held recently in Georgia, and others are scheduled elsewhere through Oct. 11. AID Executive Director Seth Green said other town hall meetings are being considered for Georgia, perhaps before the end of the year.

Fear and anger

A second part of the series will bring together U.S. students and students in predominantly Muslim countries via teleconferences. For example, students at Northwestern University near Chicago will speak with students at the Institute for Quranic Studies in Indonesia.

Both events come just ahead of the presidential elections.

"We want people to make informed decisions about who will be best for the U.S.-Islamic relationship," said Green, one of the founders of AID and a law student at Yale University. "People seem to be yearning for this discussion. There are so many points of incomplete contact, especially in a place like Georgia, where people read about Islam in the news constantly, yet they have no contact with people who are Muslims. These are discussions about real issues, not just a love fest."

But amid the dialogue, many Muslims in the United States voice fear and anger that they are being targeted and say the war on terrorism is just a thinly disguised war on Islam. And in the Muslim world many are angry and frustrated about U.S. support of Israel. They also point to the arrests, detentions and deportations of Muslims and the Patriot Act, which has expanded law enforcement's powers.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said reports of harassment, violence and discrimination have increased nearly 70 percent since the 2001 attacks. In a May report titled "The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States," there were 17 reported incidents in Georgia in 2003, up from 10 the previous year. California had the largest number of reported incidents, at 221.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International USA released its first-ever report on racial profiling. According to the report, one in every nine Americans is victimized by racial profiling. While the report looked at incidents involving blacks, Latinos and Asians, it also gave attention to Muslims.

In addition to "driving while black," today's reality includes "worshipping while Muslim" and "flying while Middle Eastern," the report suggests.

Racial profiling feared

At hearings around the country, Amnesty International heard other harrowing stories, including one from a Pakistani-Muslim woman with a heart condition who said she would not dial 911 if she were having a heart attack.

"Overall, I think the government's mistrust of Muslims is leading Muslims into a kind of grave and fearful lifestyle," said Amjad Taufique, a member of the board of the Masjid Al-Hedaya in Marietta. "People don't know what is going to happen next."

Taufique tells the story of his daughter, who was harassed by a schoolmate. Walking through the hallways, she was met with a student's jeers of "I don't like Iraq" or "Go back to Iraq." Never mind that she is of Pakistani heritage and was born in Augusta. "I can't even go back to Iraq," he said his daughter told him.

After another incident, he suggested talking to school officials, but she asked him not to, saying she had other "good" friends.

But the last few years have also brought the Muslim community closer, said Taufique. He has also taken steps on his own and as a member of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta to establish stronger ties with non-Muslims.

Among other Muslims, "we talk about what are the ways we can do more to reach out to our friends and neighbors who are not Muslims," he said. Such efforts have included community projects, speaking engagements and interfaith services.

'Breaking silence'

Mohamed Khalifa said soul-searching has become more pronounced since Sept. 11.

"It is Islamic duty to say this is wrong . . . but again, you will find that some might justify doing that [violence] by saying there is a lot of injustice in other parts of the world," said Khalifa, general manager of engineering for a Newnan company and a board member of the Islamic Community Center in Fayetteville. But Khalifa said he sees many Muslims saying that "two wrongs do not make right . . . Many of the Muslims were silent; now they are breaking that silence."

Enes Selimovic's experience is somewhat different. Selimovic is Bosnian, and his light skin and Eastern European looks don't fit the stereotype of a Muslim.

"Most of the people know I am [Muslim], " he said. "I'm not going to hide it."

Still, immediately after Sept. 11, "it was hard to be a Muslim," he said. But in time, he believes the public will realize that "we're not all fanatics."