Uncle Sam and Islamophobia

‘Islamophobia’ is the greatest challenge to Muslim community in North America, more so in the United States of America. In the past, innocent individuals were attacked because of their faith, sometimes due to misinformation. There is a lot of ignorance about the Muslim community, as an overwhelming majority of Americans (57%) have never ever met a Muslim.

This is a spine-chilling statistic that is straight away prevalent in the United States, a fact endorsed by Azhar Azeez, President of Islamic Society of North America, which, inarguably, represents the largest community of Muslims in North America.

The same is given credence by a Pew research report, which points out “Americans who personally know someone who is Muslim (55% of all non-Muslim U.S. adults) express somewhat more positive views of Muslims and Islam than do those who say they do not personally know someone who is Muslim”.

This means that at least 44 percent of Americans feel positive about Muslims, as they happen to be someone’s doctors, patients, teachers, professors, donut shop owners or just a friendly neighbour. Elaborating further, he explains “lack of knowledge about Islamic beliefs” contributes to such misconceptions. These challenges can be overcome if Muslims reach out and engage with other faith members in a very professional and civilized manner.

But the fact of the matter is that under Trump’s leadership, Muslims in North America are concerned, consequent to which their confidence in administration is somewhat strained. This is the general perception of a vast majority of those associated with ISNA.

These are challenging times for Muslims in America, where ‘the daily circus unfolding at White House’ has quashed trust of Muslims in Trump’s administration. There are enough accounts of them being side-lined. Myriad representations made by ISNA have failed to yield response. Missives to President Trump have been gathering dust.

This was glaringly on show during the White House Iftar Dinner this year, a tradition that originated under President Thomas Jefferson way back in 1805, and has been kept alive as an annual tradition since 1999 by Bill Clinton, George Bush and Obama. In 2017, the Trump Administration ignored the annual event and merely released a brief ‘…Eid Mubarak’ message on social media.

Azeez brings forth a comparative fact while recounting “I met Obama several times. During his regime, American Muslims felt empowered as they were living in a comfort zone. Alas, there is no engagement with the present US government, which is leading to confusion and chaos”.

Yet, ISNA has a shoulder to lean on. The courts and media in America have been just and vocal. This is giving the community confidence that no major harm will happen to them in spite of the regime’s indifference to their security and well-being.

In a way, the challenge is not restricted to Muslims alone. It exists for all other minorities, including the African-American community and Latinos, who all have expressed apprehensions, at one point or the other. And such instability or sense of insecurity is not entirely new, though right now it has become more pronounced. Even the “Catholic community and Hindu brethren experienced isolation” goes the stated opinion.

With a vast diaspora of Indian Muslims in United States, ISNA’s standpoint on current Indian leadership cannot be overlooked. Speaking for millions of Muslims, Azeez says “democracy, secularism and pluralistic values are in the DNA of every Indian.

For centuries together, majority community and minorities have coexisted peacefully. They have both contributed to the betterment of the nation. Sometimes politics creates walls as a means to serve their own vested interests.

We have concerns just like anyone else, but it is imperative that we educate people about our relevance, highlight ourselves as contributing members of the society, towards the betterment of nation, towards the betterment of weaker sections of society, and then only we can expect positive results.

It must be a collective community effort”. They all hope to replicate this spirit of oneness in the United States of America to ensure that Islamophobia will cease to exist any time longer.

By Syed Khaled Shahbaaz