This site contains the views and opinions of American Muslims living in Michigan on a wide range of issues affecting our lives. Its authors are just a sampling of the diverse American Muslim community here, comprising many races, ethnicities and sects. Although we do not speak for any particular group, we are members of the large moderate majority of Muslims who call America their home and feel a responsibility to see that it prospers.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Story perpetuates McCarthyism against group

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/OPINION01/704190325/1008

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Story perpetuates McCarthyism against group

In a reprint of a New York Times article, which was relabeled as "Muslim group under fire: Mandate of fostering understanding of Islam challenged by critics who allege terrorism links" on April 4 by The Detroit News, the edited version omitted an extremely relevant section that skewed the spirit of the original article.

The original article clearly presented that government officials in Washington, D.C., stated that linking the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to terrorism is akin to "McCarthyism."

Also omitted was the quote from Michael Rolince, a retired FBI official who directed counterterrorism from 2002 to 2005, who stated that "of all the groups, there is probably more suspicion about CAIR, but when you ask people for cold hard facts, you get blank stares."

The News' headline, combined with the omission of such pertinent information, inadvertently perpetuated the McCarthyistic atmosphere elaborated upon by federal law enforcement officials.

Dawud Walid
Executive Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations -- Michigan
Southfield

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Islamic group condemns graffiti

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/NEWS05/704050369/1007/NEWS

Islamic group condemns graffiti

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic civil liberties group, said Wednesday that it condemned the vandalism of the Assyrian Church of the East-St. Mary's Church in Warren.

The group also called on law enforcement authorities to allocate greater resources in investigating hate crimes against houses of worship.

"We offer our sympathy and support to the local Assyrian community and call on law enforcement to investigate this incident, and similar attacks on houses of worship, with a greater sense of urgency," said Dawud Walid, the group's executive director.

The church vandalism was spotted on Monday morning and included black and blue spray-painted graffiti that suggested Arabs aren't Christians and should "Die 2wice."

Assyrians are Christians, and many do not consider themselves Arabs.

Walid said he was particularly concerned that the vandalism occurred during the Christian holy week of Easter.

Metro Detroit groups burn bridges with false of Islam

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/OPINION01/704050304/1008

Metro Detroit groups burn bridges with false images of Islam
Zeinab Chami

A disturbing trend has been picking up steam in Metro-Detroit during the past couple of months: So-called Muslim "reformers" have been invited to speak in Ann Arbor, Detroit and West Bloomfield.

The latest weapon in the Islamophobe arsenal is Tawfik Hamid, who claims to be an ex-terrorist (which apparently makes him an expert on Islam). Hamid was recently invited to speak by the Zionist Organization of America at the Jewish Community Center.

Hamid -- a medical doctor, not any sort of expert on Islam -- said outlandish and inflammatory things about Islam. If the Zionist Organization of America is truly interested in building bridges with Muslims and understanding Islam, why bring someone who degrades Islam with false accusations and ridiculous claims?

For instance, he falsely stated that no top scholars in the Muslim world have issued fatwas (jurisprudential rulings) against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist cohorts. As University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole pointed out on his blog "Informed Comment" back on July 9, 2005, almost all major Shia grand ayatollahs (who represent up to 300 million Muslims) have come out with scathing fatwas condemning bin Laden and al-Qaida. The top scholar of Al-Azhar University in Egypt -- Sunni Islam's most prestigious institution -- has also clearly come out against those terrorists.

Contrary to popular belief, Muslims do not have a problem with progress, but there is a problem with some of the people calling for it. When self-proclaimed "ex-terrorists" are advising Muslims on how to be Muslims, there is a problem.

These people obviously had a very warped idea of Islam. The vast majority of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims would not look to terrorists, former or current, for advice on our faith when we have a number of scholars. The fact that they somehow "saw the light" does not in any way make them experts.

Few non-Muslims truly understand that Islam contains within it a complex system of laws, perhaps more complex than any other faith in the world. People like Hamid and bin Laden have never studied Islamic jurisprudence, nor are they qualified to interpret these laws. But for some reason different groups of people peg them as experts.

There is a much larger issue looming behind Hamid's visit: the fact that groups in the Metro Detroit -- which has one of the most concentrated and vibrant Muslim communities in the country -- are burning bridges instead of building them.

Why are these groups not pushing for interfaith dialogue or respectful debates on issues in academic settings? They know very well that bringing the likes of Tawfik Hamid will alienate Muslims and drive a wedge between our communities.

A word of advice to all Metro Detroiters truly interested in interfaith understanding: Dialogue and progress start from within a community. To understand Islam, go to your local mosque, talk to your practicing Muslim neighbors and co-workers or call the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan.

There is no shortage of Muslims here working for progress. Maybe it's time to reach out to them.

Zeinab Chami is a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan in Southfield.

Metro Detroit groups burn bridges by with false images of Islam

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/OPINION01/704050304/1008

Opinion: Metro Detroit groups burn bridges with false images of Islam
Zeinab Chami

A disturbing trend has been picking up steam in Metro-Detroit during the past couple of months: So-called Muslim "reformers" have been invited to speak in Ann Arbor, Detroit and West Bloomfield.

The latest weapon in the Islamophobe arsenal is Tawfik Hamid, who claims to be an ex-terrorist (which apparently makes him an expert on Islam). Hamid was recently invited to speak by the Zionist Organization of America at the Jewish Community Center.

Hamid -- a medical doctor, not any sort of expert on Islam -- said outlandish and inflammatory things about Islam. If the Zionist Organization of America is truly interested in building bridges with Muslims and understanding Islam, why bring someone who degrades Islam with false accusations and ridiculous claims?

For instance, he falsely stated that no top scholars in the Muslim world have issued fatwas (jurisprudential rulings) against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist cohorts. As University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole pointed out on his blog "Informed Comment" back on July 9, 2005, almost all major Shia grand ayatollahs (who represent up to 300 million Muslims) have come out with scathing fatwas condemning bin Laden and al-Qaida. The top scholar of Al-Azhar University in Egypt -- Sunni Islam's most prestigious institution -- has also clearly come out against those terrorists.

Contrary to popular belief, Muslims do not have a problem with progress, but there is a problem with some of the people calling for it. When self-proclaimed "ex-terrorists" are advising Muslims on how to be Muslims, there is a problem.

These people obviously had a very warped idea of Islam. The vast majority of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims would not look to terrorists, former or current, for advice on our faith when we have a number of scholars. The fact that they somehow "saw the light" does not in any way make them experts.

Few non-Muslims truly understand that Islam contains within it a complex system of laws, perhaps more complex than any other faith in the world. People like Hamid and bin Laden have never studied Islamic jurisprudence, nor are they qualified to interpret these laws. But for some reason different groups of people peg them as experts.

There is a much larger issue looming behind Hamid's visit: the fact that groups in the Metro Detroit -- which has one of the most concentrated and vibrant Muslim communities in the country -- are burning bridges instead of building them.

Why are these groups not pushing for interfaith dialogue or respectful debates on issues in academic settings? They know very well that bringing the likes of Tawfik Hamid will alienate Muslims and drive a wedge between our communities.

A word of advice to all Metro Detroiters truly interested in interfaith understanding: Dialogue and progress start from within a community. To understand Islam, go to your local mosque, talk to your practicing Muslim neighbors and co-workers or call the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan.

There is no shortage of Muslims here working for progress. Maybe it's time to reach out to them.

Zeinab Chami is a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan in Southfield.