by Jamie Menutis

G21 Staff Writer

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Jamie Menutis

NEW ORLEANS, LA, USA - 29 July, 2002 - With a lack of any foreseeable ending to the Mideast conflict and an American administration that shows no obvious interest in pursuing peace efforts, Muslim Americans are preparing for their civil rights to further disintegrate. Following 9/11 and the surge of hate crimes directed towards Muslims, one of the first American groups to speak to concerned Muslim Americans were Japanese Americans. Japanese Americans felt that their experience during WWII might provide some valuable lessons from which Muslim Americans might benefit.

In hindsight, Japanese Americans point to a number of factors that led to their being the victims of internment within their own country. Firstly, within the Japanese community during WWII there was a crisis of leadership -- no one to speak as the representative for their group. The atmosphere in the country was one of fear and hysteria, which led people to react more on the basis of fear than common sense. Lastly, Japanese Americans were easy victims because of their obvious physical differences.

Muslim Americans share a similar situation in present day America. This discrimination is coming from both their fellow American citizens and the Government. German Americans did not suffer "racial" profiling during WWII. Nor is there any profiling of "White American" men between the ages of 18-30 despite the actions of terrorists such as Timothy McVeigh, the Smiley Face Bomber, white supremacists, abortion clinic bombers and an assortment of other domestic loons who resort to the use of anthrax, mail bombs, etc. to get their points across.

The estimated 4 million Muslim Americans understand the present threat to their civil rights. Though the administration touts religious and racial tolerance, numerous prejudicial actions are taking place throughout the country.

The Muslim Legal Fund of America claims that over 60,000 Muslims in this country have been subjected to either detention without representation, closure of charities, raids on homes and businesses, interrogation, the use of secret evidence and observation. All of this in many instances where there is little or no evidence.

Many Muslims describe their present situation as one of "virtual internment" .They are fearful of the perceptions that exist about them and where those perceptions will lead in the future.

With the drums of hysteria beating louder and louder in the media, Muslim Americans feel that the present situation -- if left unchallenged -- can only end in more loss of civil liberty and hate crimes. With the daily onslaught of reporting that categorizes the Islamic faith with radicalism or terrorism, Muslim Americans feel their religion gets more and more misunderstood and the beauty of the faith lost in a growing web of twists and misconceptions.

Media reporting is guilty of presenting half the facts and at the "end of the day" -- regardless of what the actual events are or if a person is guilty, provoked, using self defense or just in the wrong place at the wrong time -- the public is always left with the impression of guilt. This makes the unfair treatment of all look justifiable in the media. "The majority of Muslims in America are productive citizens who love this country and only wish they would be heard accurately," according to one concerned Muslim American.

If Americans doubt the bias in media coverage against Muslims, they have only to look at the elaborate CNN website memorial that exists for Jewish Victims of Violence in the Mideast. The Website includes links to information on every Israeli victim and is divided up according to each incident that caused their deaths. A similar memorial does not exist for innocent Palestinian victims. CNN has not responded to requests from people who wish accurate and fair reporting that includes homage to all victims in the Mideast conflict. For more information on media accuracy visit www.fair.org or www.pmwatch.org.

Dr. Maher Hathout, MD, describes the present attitude towards Muslims to the "box of chocolates" way of thinking. "It's as if the public has been handed a box of chocolates and told to enjoy them, but to be careful because one of the chocolates is poisonous." The whole box of chocolates is now thrown out because of fear of one. Distrust of Muslims is the result and many Muslim Americans report feeling anger, hatred and discrimination from fellow Americans based solely upon their faith. Many people say they find themselves feeling as though they almost have to apologize for their religion or even conceal it for their own safety. "There is a lot of discomfort when having conversations with people that didn't exist before, you feel like people are judging you in a negative way above all else." SaysİaİMuslim American that I spoke with recently.

According to Dr. Hathout, an outspoken leader for the Muslim Community and advisor to the US Government and other organizations, a frightening misinterpretation of the concept of "Jihad" has led to the present situation that finds Muslims in America having to apologize for their religion. "Jihad" as Dr. Hathout points out refers simply to the Arabic definition of "applying maximum effort." In the Quran, this is meant as

1. Battle against your own shortcomings,
2. Intellectual Jihad, i.e. develop your brain
3. Use and share your resources to stand up for Justice
4. In the physical form -- to defend one's religion if being forced to convert or if being driven from your home.

He further clarifys that the term "Holy War" is not in the Quran and is not a Hadith. The only thing that is Holy in Islam is God.

When asked if "suicide bombings" were justified in Islam at a recent Muslim Public Affairs Conference, he answered with a very certain "no." Suicide bombers are targeting "non-combatants" and this is not allowed in the Quran or in the teaching of the Prophet Mohammed.

Calls to better oneself, seek human justice, develop one's abilities and protect one's religion and home are not so alien to any one's way of thinking or religion. But like any faith, problems arise with the literal rather than symbolic interpretation of Islam.

Within American pluralism, Muslims are the most misunderstood group, this despite the fact that Islam is practiced by more than 1 billion people worldwide (1/5th of world's population) and is one of the world's most important religions. The events of 9/11 in the United States committed by a few who hijacked not only planes but a religion have had devastating effects upon Muslims in America. These religious hijackers have greatly endangered and contaminated the name of this faith and its followers. They have also committed a grave atrocity by murdering thousands of "non-combatants" who were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

With this in mind, Muslim American groups are urging their membership to not lose faith. Muslims are urged to stand up for their beliefs, let others know the truth of their religion and never be afraid to be a voice that counteracts the lies. It is not for lack of will that there has not been more of a voice in this community to counteract the misconceptions. What the community lacks is the resources for the scale of public relations campaign that is so greatly needed. There is also a lack of willingness on the part of the media to give airtime to something other than the sensational.

As an American, I urge other Americans who are unfamiliar with Islam to learn more about the faith. There is obviously much more to Islam than the negative stereotypes that are perpetuated in the popular media. This is why so many people around the world are believers and many continue to believe in Islam here in the United States despite the risks.

The God worshipped by the followers of Abraham, Jesus and Mohammed is the same being. And there are beautiful similarities in the shared concepts of peace, justice, dignity, tolerance and love. The Quran's calls for just treatment of women was revolutionary in its directive that women receive equal treatment within society including their direct inheritance to property and fair laws for divorce and marriage. In Islam there is no "middle" man like a priest or pope that one has to go through in order to access God. Sheiks or Imams are respected persons due to their intellect and not their seat closer to God. . Regardless of what one person or another believes or chooses not to believe none of us really knows anything for sure. Sorry, but that's the reality. The best we can do is to try to live in peace and harmony for the short while we are here.

To get more involved in the movement for justice and human rights visit these progressive sites:

• The Middle East Children's Alliance
  
• Search for Common Ground
  
• Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel
  
• Jewish Friends of Palestine
  
• Muslim Public Affairs Committee