Tuesday, September 20, 2005

European & American Muslims

I concur that European Muslims provide the best hope for bridging the chasm between the West and the Islamic world, but I don't understand why were the estimated five to seven million American Muslims taken out from the mix of having an active role in restoring hope and confidence in the highly entangled bilateral relationships between U.S.A. and the Muslim world. President Bush was very careful soon after the 9/11 terrorists attacks to come to the Muslim's mosque in Washington D.C., and declare that the war on terror is not a war against Islam or Muslims, the American Muslims on their part reciprocated by pledging their full cooperation with the various governmental agencies, and by committing themselves to remain fully vigilant by keeping their eyes and ears open for any suspected terrorist hideouts and report them to the appropriate authorities. The Muslim organizations sought guidelines and clarifications from the Treasury Department on how to dispose of the charitable contributions collected annually from the members of the Muslim societies. In addition, they exhorted their members to commit to their civic duties by voting in the local elections as well as the national ones. They have provided libraries across the nation with copies of the Muslim holy book translated into every day English so other interested Americans can learn about Muslims if they chose to do so. American Muslims are also very active in Major U.S. cities in reaching out to other monotheistic faiths by instituting meetings and work shops with Jewish as well as Christian clergy men in order for them to understand one another and to keep the interfaith dialogue as an ongoing project to restore confidence between the varying faiths. American Muslims also travel abroad and meet with Muslim countries heads of states and expert theologians, and they facilitate trips and speaking engagements for them at major U.S. universities. So yes, American Muslims can and should be part of the larger endeavor of rebuilding the lost trust and part of restoring the hope for people of all walks of life to get a long peacefully with one another without regard to faith or ethnicity.

2 comments:

أبو سنان said...

Part of the problem is that you have some activists here in the USA, namely Haddad, Nomani and Manjani ruining our credibility in the Muslim world. At best, the USA is only on the fringes of the Islamic world. No one takes us seriously.

Hatem Abunimeh said...

I concede that no one takes us seriously. As a matter of fact some Islamists call our brand of Islam " American tainted Islam" Nonetheless, I think moderate Islame is going to be the one to prevail when everything else is said and done.