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Lessons in Sensitivity from Houston’s Police Department

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:55:32 +0000

The city of New York, it seems, is always in the news. From fashion and cuisine to finance and big business, this great city is often regarded as the quintessential American urban center unmatched by any other. It is not only an attractive option for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants entering the country each year, but also for those with unsavory intentions, such as criminals and would-be terrorists. After the events of 9/11, New York’s police department has understandably been under a huge amount of pressure to keep its residents safe, to learn about possible terror plots in time, and to train its police force accordingly.

But readers will agree that while keeping New Yorkers safe is one thing, infringing upon the civil liberties of an entire section of society is quite another. Last year, we heard the news of aggressive spying on New York’s Muslim Community.

Just when that public relations nightmare had died down, an even bigger scandal has erupted. The New York Times and other media organizations have confirmed that during a year’s span 1,489 police officers of all ranks were shown a film called “The Third Jihad”, which depicts Muslims as being hell-bent on destroying the United States. In the current inflammatory political
situation in the country and abroad, a film such as this can only sow fear and hatred in the hearts of those sworn to protect all New Yorkers.

Yes, the New York police department has a lot on their plate, and they do need to know what the “enemy” is thinking so that they can be adequately and proactively prepared. But is this the correct way to do that? Perhaps the New York Police Commissioner could compare notes with the Chief of Police of the Houston Police Department, where more than 5,000 police officers are
grappling with similar issues, and dealing with their fears very differently.

In August 2011, the Houston Police Academy started a new training program aimed at improving the level of cultural sensitivity and awareness of their police officers. A one-year program, it provides mandatory attendance at a panel discussion of four sections of the Houston-area multi-cultural society: Asians, African Americans, Jews and yes, Muslims.

I am one of three Muslims who go in to this thrice-monthly discussion and talk about Islamic culture: stereotypes, dos and don’ts, misconceptions etc. The officers have questions ranging from jihad to hijab to food and more. Most are genuinely interested in learning, and thank me for coming out and showing them the moderate face of Islam. I think this sort of training is far superior to the one being given the New York police officers.

True, there are terrorists out there plotting all sorts of evil things in the name of Islam. Some are using religion for their own dirty politics, while others actually believe in their twisted picture of Islam. So police officers should be aware of this very real threat, and I’m sure the Houston police force is as well. But a training video that claims violence and terror is “the true agenda of much
of Islam in America” lends an absolutely skewed image of my religion that will not only affect how those officers do their jobs but also how they treat their neighbors, and what they teach their children. And the last thing we need in our world today is to lump all 2.5 million American adherents of a single faith together in a very ugly box.

Contributed by RFUSA’s Texan Correspondent Saadia Faruqi.

Now is the Time for Dialogue

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:59:38 +0000

Now, more than ever, is the time for dialogue. The fires between New York City’s Muslim community and the New York Police Department have been stoked once again. Recent reports have revealed that the controversial film, “The Third Jihad”, which essentially claims Muslims are plotting a secret jihadist movement in the West, has been shown “on a continuous loop” to nearly 1500 police officers during training exercises. The film has reheated the debate over the NYPD’s actions on spying on NYC’s Muslim communities in an attempt to destroy “home grown terror” plots.

American Muslim communities are outraged and distrustful of NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. In an act of protest earlier this month, some Muslim community leaders refused to attend Mayor Bloomberg’s annual interfaith breakfast. Since release of the news regarding “The Third Jihad”, many Muslim American activist groups are protesting the NYPD, some calling for Commissioner Kelly, who appeared in the film and endorsed it, to resign.

The NYPD and American Muslim communities have made a vital mistake: they forgot to talk with each other instead of at each other. While all of these reports seem to make the NYPD the biggest bully, American Muslim communities are not innocent either. Because of the hurt and distrust generated as a result of the spying activities and recent revelations regarding this film, these communities are ready to defend themselves by protesting and boycotting. The boycott of the interfaith dinner was a missed opportunity for dialogue. The City of New York and the NYPD don’t have to be the enemy. They are the victims of the crime of ignorance of one’s neighbors. This misunderstanding has hurt many; it has broken the trust a community should have in those who protect and serve.

Living in New York City is an experience of multicultural expression. We have the largest community in the world. We love our city. Our city has risen from the ashes of terrible tragedies, and has thrived as a place for everyone. Tragedies resulting from religious extremism have affected us all. All New Yorkers, including Muslims, have worked hard to uproot extremism in their own communities. Making New York safe for everyone is not an uncommon goal, however it involves coming to an understanding that terrorism and Islam are not synonymous.

I propose a new training program for the NYPD: to actually encounter Muslim American communities as an active investment in trying to understand. The NYPD has a huge opportunity to foster significant dialogue with neighbors who are misunderstood and discriminated against. The only way we can root out the hatred implanted by such films as “The Third Jihad” is by talking with each other. Now is the time for dialogue. If the goal is to keep all inhabitants of the city of New York safe and free, then there must be an effort on both sides to accomplish this goal in a friendly, peaceful, and respectful manner. Changing the conversation regarding Islam in America should start here. All eyes are on you NYC.

Contributed by Nicole Edine, RFUSA’s New York Correspondent

Is Religious Freedom Just a Dream?

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:45:02 +0000

When our founding fathers, driven by religious persecution to a new continent, drafted the constitution, it was obvious they had in mind the religious and civil freedoms of every generation that lived after them. And for a while, as long as the country was unified in religious practice, tolerance was not that difficult to achieve. But with every new wave of immigrants entering the United States, the variety of religious thought and tradition has expanded… until today, Americans seem to fear and reject everyone who acts, looks or dresses differently. From politicians screaming about Shariah to Hindu temples being attacked with Molotov cocktail, and every action in between, the question has now become: can religious tolerance and freedom ever be attained?

In my home town of Houston, at least, many seem hopeful that it can. Last Saturday the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community hosted an interfaith symposium which challenged leaders of all major religions to answer a simple question: how can the followers of different religions co-exist in harmony? In front of a standing-room only crowd in the largest mosque in Texas, panelists from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jain faiths grappled with this serious question from their religious perspectives. Despite the gravity of the challenge, however, the solutions offered by the panelists were simple. Gurmit Singh Bhatia of the Sikh Center Houston wisely proposed: “Whenever injustices happen, stand up for them.” Interesting… how many of us actually stand up for the religious freedom of others? When Prophet Muhammad was being caricaturized by European cartoonists, for example, few Christians stood up and protested. When Christians were being kidnapped and killed in the Middle East, no mainstream Muslim bothered to express his or her outrage. On the other hand when Terry Jones threatened to burn the Quran, the Christian body that stood up to him made him back down, thus proving that the power does belong to the people.

Other panelists had equally simple but powerful suggestions. Reverend Butch Green of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship stressed the importance of being good listeners: “We should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” he said. “If all else fails, agree to disagree.”

How many of us really listen to the views of others? As a purdah-observing woman working in a professional field that shouldn’t be affected by how I dress, I find that I can’t do anything to convince others that covering up was my choice.

One may wonder why the symposium focused on religion when the entire “axis of evil” of intolerance has been sowed by extremism and fanatics in the name of religion itself. Perhaps because the root cause of a problem sometimes offers a solution as well. Imam Naseem Mahdi, keynote speaker of the symposium and national vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, reminded his fellow Muslims that Islam’s original jihad was solely for the protection of “cloisters, churches and mosques”. In fact, all panelists focused on how their respective scriptures and teachings promoted religious freedom, in the hope that their own followers at least would understand and implement those teachings, instead of blindly following what they heard on television and radio. If that strategy were to work, then perhaps some day religious freedom could actually be a reality.

Contributed by Saadia Faruqi, RFUSA’s Texas correspondent.

What is (and Isn’t) Religious Freedom?

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:37:58 +0000

This past month, I have been ashamed to be a young Catholic in Chicago. This is not because I deny the religion in which I was raised, not because I have given up my desire to reform the Church, but because my community has supported division and
misunderstanding in the name of “religious liberty.”

The controversy began when it was discovered that the route of the 2012 Chicago gay pride parade would pass Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Lakeview neighborhood, possibly disrupting Sunday services. Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago, related the gay liberation movement to the Ku Klux Klan. He feared the possibility that gay activists, on parade day, would embody the same brutal anti-Catholicism as the Klan, endangering Catholics on the morning of the parade.

My disappointment does not solely come from the issuance of this statement, but from the fact that George, in his apology for the statement, claimed that he spoke out of fear for the Church’s liberty. While I do not have to define the many stances and tactics
that differentiate the gay rights movement from the Ku Klux Klan, I feel as though I must acknowledge the fact that Cardinal George spoke out of fear for his community, not an intention of hatred. While I understand George’s fears, and while I respect and
understand his role in guiding and overseeing the Catholics of Chicago, I believe his invocation of religious liberty touches upon a very serious aspect of our often-faltering national discourse.

Highlighting and combating abuses of religious freedom is crucial to our societal cohesion. As we have seen in issues of national awareness, such as the Park51 center and the controversy regarding the “All-American Muslim” television show, as well as in
issues of local concern, such as the vandalism of community synagogues and churches, religious intolerance has not disappeared from the ills of our society.

However, as we have seen through the statements made by Cardinal George, defending religious liberty demands not only the revelation of abuses perpetuated by majority communities against minority communities. It also means protecting the sanctity of this ideal, defending it from those who would seek to limit, constrain, and misapply it. We must be equally aware of both challenges if we are to be advocates for pluralism in the United States.

It is our duty to not only spread awareness regarding local threats to religious freedom and to combat the dominant narratives of fear-mongering that plague our societal discourses, but to also serve as humanizing agents of religious and secular communities
in our society. Safeguarding religious freedom, a defining tenet of our national foundation, is the mutual duty of all members of all communities, religious or secular. As an integral aspect of initiatives of interfaith engagement, intercultural interaction, and
intergenerational wisdom-building, it speaks to a deep desire for humanity to flourish, express, live, and love.

Ultimately, we must remember that, despite the reality of religious intolerance and hatred that still exists in our society and communities, the call to peace and consciousness is being echoed across our country and around the world. Religious Freedom USA serves as one of these voices, calling us to the awareness of our common humanity and destiny, inviting us to the realization that if freedom is denied to one, it is denied to all. While fear may lead manyto perpetuate abuses of religious freedom, and still others to misapprehend this ideal, solidarity and the development of critical consciousness can build a solid foundation of respect.

I look forward to offering further insight and critique of such issues facing the Chicagoland and Illinois communities and connecting them to the wider battle we must wage – the defeat of narratives of intolerance, the promotion of religious pluralism, and the protection of liberties for all.

Contributed by Peter Dziedzic, RFUSA’s Illinois Blogger.

Action Item: Tell Home Depot’s CEO to Buy Ad Time on All-American Muslim

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:46:20 +0000

Lowe’s recently pulled its advertising from the popular television show “All-American Muslim,” bowing to the pressure of Isalmophobes. It is unworthy of our business as Americans who care about the stories of all American religious communities. We now need a new place to shop, as we approach the new year. Help us draft Home Depot to be the tolerant alternative!

We are asking Home Depot to buy the spots on “All-American Muslim” that Lowe’s used to purchase. If they do so, those who sign this petition commit to turning first to Home Depot as our home, appliance, and hardware store in 2012. We shop tolerantly — and want HomeDepot to be our go-to store for religious freedom.

By signing this petition, you are showing that you want all religious communities in American to have a free voice. You are exercising your freedom to shop at stores that further religious tolerance.

SIGN ON NOW! DRAFT HOME DEPOT AS THE STORE OF TOLERANCE IN 2012

Call for Contributors: 50 Writers from 50 States to Bring Light to Issues of Religious Freedom

interngp — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:49:16 +0000

Across the country, the right to practice religion freely–and free of fear–is at risk. Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Sikh houses of worship have been singled out and attacked, and news of these stories often does not travel. By utilizing social media, however, we believe that local issues of religious freedom can quickly become national news stories.

To that end, Religious Freedom USA is launching a campaign to bring local issues of religious freedom and equality to a national forum. We are seeking bloggers from all 50 States who can bring to light instances of injustice or moments of support for the free worship of religion. By highlighting the ways that religious freedom is curtailed all over the U.S. we will help to ensure that the ability to practice religion is as much held sacred in everyday life as it is by our legal system.

To apply, please send a brief cover letter and resume to Frank Fredericks, co-Director of Religious Freedom USA frank[at]worldfaith.org

People of all traditions and backgrounds are encouraged to apply, and writing experience is strongly encouraged. With questions, please e-mail Josh Stanton, co-Director of Religious Freedom USA at josh[at]irdialogue.org

After 9/11: Muslims for Life Blood Drive May Heal a Nation

interngp — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:22:44 +0000

As the tenth anniversary of September 11 dawns, people across the nation are coming together to give back to their communities through volunteer projects and donations. Many are working in interfaith groups, with the hope of finding peace and tolerance in the aftermath of injustice and violence.

Muslims for Life was born out of a similar desire to highlight religious accord in a world where groups are often more polarized than ever before. It is a nationwide campaign by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – the oldest Muslim organization in the United States – to hold blood drives in honor of the victims of 9/11. The goal is to raise 10,000 units of blood in the month of September, which is sufficient to save 3,000 or more lives.

While the campaign sounds good on paper, it initially raised the hackles of a few other Muslim organizations. Many Muslim Americans feel that they have nothing to apologize for – 9/11 was obviously the act of terrorists and just like Christians are not apologizing for Timothy McVeigh, Muslims need not for the 9/11 attackers. In reality, the religion of Islam has come under attack from all sides because 9/11 took place under its banner. When terrorists hijack a faith to impose their own sick ideology onto others, it becomes the responsibility of others of that faith to take back control, and show the world what Islam truly stands for. Muslims for Life is a practical way of doing just that: proving that Islam holds deep regard for life by donating its very essence: blood.

The simple yet powerful concept has been embraced by a nation eager for compassionate action. Muslims for Life has taken on a life of its own, encompassing more than 170 cities and 220 blood drives not only in mosques but also in churches, temples and synagogues. Realizing the impact of such collective action, one Rabbi in Houston writes on his blog about hosting their own blood drive: “… as we join our Muslim brothers and sisters in their Muslims for Life Blood Drive Campaign… let’s show the world how Jews and Muslim can work together to make a difference.” A noble cause indeed, if out of the pain and terror of 9/11 ten years ago can rise a nation more unified, tolerant and understanding of each other.

Original Post By Saadia Faruqi, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Houston North

A Troupe of Muslim Comedians Prepares to Unleash its Satirical Jihad on the Bible Belt

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:27:47 +0000

Dear Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Murfreesboro anti-mosque activist Laurie Cardoza-Moore and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain: We’ve been pretty hard on you in these pages and on our blogs, chastising you for your blatant Islamophobia and laughing at your absurd contention that Sharia law could be imposed in the U.S. in a matter of years. But maybe we’ve been rash. Here you’ve been attempting to whip us into a frenzy, warning us that the Muslims are coming, and we’ve done nothing but mock you.

And now, it turns out you’re right. The Muslims really are coming to Middle Tennessee. And the latest weapon in their terrorist arsenal? Stand-up comedy.

On Sunday night, “The Muslims Are Coming” — a national tour of Muslim-American comedians — will unleash its satirical jihad at the Mercy Lounge. Stand-up comics Dean Obeidallah and Negin Farsad organized the tour in part to ply their trade, but more importantly, to counter the gross misperceptions about Muslims in America that permeate the media. To that end, they are focusing their efforts on the red states of the South, where anti-Muslim sentiments are highest.
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Ramadan Reflection Day 11: My 9/11 Story

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:25:31 +0000

A month from now will mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I’ve been asked countless times what I plan on doing this year in commemoration. I plan on doing what I do every year — standing at Ground Zero out of respect for those that we lost that day, with those who lost on that day, even if there are people who think I shouldn’t be there.

Eleven months ago, on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I attended the memorial service at ground zero. As a chaplain for the NYPD, I went to an early breakfast the day of with family members of police officers that we lost in that tragic attack. We then took a bus together to the ground zero site where we joined a growing crowd of politicians, civil servants, 9/11 families, and others.

Jews and Muslims in America Have More in Common Than We Think

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:16:38 +0000

Contrary to common assumptions, many Jewish and Muslim Americans enjoy warm relations. Yet we are only beginning to understand how and why this is so. A Gallup report released last week goes a long way to explaining this unexpected trend and shows that the two communities have more in common than is often thought.

The report, “Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future,” reveals that overwhelming numbers of Jewish Americans believe Muslim Americans are loyal to their country — 80 percent to be exact. Aside from Muslims themselves, no other religious community demonstrates such confidence in the loyalty of America’s Muslim citizens.