“We are foreigners in our own country,” a friend and
fellow attorney said to me as we left a professional
gathering and walked to our cars.
I repeated the words in my head, allowing them to linger
as I contemplated their deeper meaning and my status in
society as an American Muslim.
Foreigners in our own country.
Those words literally haunted me in the weeks that
followed: Oklahoma’s anti-Sharia law resolution had inspired
copycat resolutions by state legislators in more than half a
dozen other states.
While we are led to believe that the threat of Sharia law
overtaking our judicial structure is imminent, these same
politicians admit there are no cases involving Islamic law
in their own jurisdictions.
Foreigners in our own country.
In Bridgewater, an application to convert an old Redwood
Inn into a mosque was met by a newly proposed zoning
ordinance that would, coincidentally, disrupt those plans.
Foreigners in our own country.
Two elderly Sikh men were gunned down in Elk Grove,
Calif., while taking a walk. Law enforcement officials are
investigating the motive. Members of the Sikh community
point out Sikh men are often mistaken for Muslims because of
their turbans.
Foreigners in our own country.
Congressional hearings commenced yesterday on “The Extent
of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That
Community’s Response” in Washington, D.C. Ostensibly
concerned with the threat of homegrown terrorism, the
hearings short-sightedly targeted the Muslim community
exclusively.
On the eve of these hearings, the FBI arrested a suspect
in the attempted terrorist bombing of a Martin Luther King
Jr. Day parade in Spokane, Wash. The suspect is reported to
be a member of a neo-Nazi group. The hearings will not
address this, however, because the suspect is a non-Muslim.
Foreigners in our own country.
I am an American — born and bred. When I envision a “good
American,” I think of those who show concern and care not
only for their country, but for their neighbors and
communities. I think of folks whose societal contributions
enrich and improve the lives of others. I think of American
Muslims in my home state of New Jersey and nationwide,
touching the lives of others with hope, courage and promise:
• Munir Chaudry is an American Muslim who founded the
Sabeel Food Pantry in Chicago. The pantry runs year-round
and distributes food to the needy in a west Chicago
neighborhood. It caters to customers of all faiths and
backgrounds.
• Zamir Hussain is an American Muslim who directs the
Muslims Against Hunger Project in New Jersey. Through his
efforts, American Muslims volunteer monthly at Elijah’s
Promise soup kitchen in New Brunswick.
• M. Khurram Baig and his wife are an American Muslim
couple in Atlanta, Ga., who are involved with a
not-for-profit organization, Give a Lift Foundation. The
foundation was started by American Muslims in September
2009, with a mission to sponsor families out of poverty,
regardless of race, religion or creed.
• Imam Yusuf Hasan is an American Muslim who serves as a
staff chaplain at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and
St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. He is
the first board-certified Muslim chaplain in the United
States and specializes in pediatrics pastoral care. He
regularly raises funds to provide gifts to children stricken
with cancer, regardless of religion.
We are Americans.
Moreover, a number of us are “good Americans.”
Engy Abdelkader is a New York/New
Jersey-based attorney, community activist and member of the
American Muslim community.
