An American Muslim Journal

Islamophobic response: Maligning legitimate civic action in the wake of Luqman Ameen Abdullah shooting

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  The Islamophobes are out in force maligning the legitimate efforts of American Muslims to engage in civic action that seeks to bring about an independent investigation into the shooting death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah by the FBI on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 in Dearborn, Michigan.

The reliable Islamophobes of Jihad Watch (a biased an hateful blog that is proudly Islamophobic) unfairly (surprise surprise) twisted the legitimate calls for justice at Abdullah's funeral last week by describing them this way:

They're trying to shift attention away from the jihadist violence allegedly being plotted at the Masjid al-Haqq, and onto the supposed excess of the FBI reaction.

Jihad Watch is also suggesting that because American Muslims called for justice at the funeral this means that the shooting of Abdullah was unjust.  No, that is not what it implies.  A person was shot and killed.  What were the circumstances surrounding the shooting?  Was the shooting necessary?  Did the FBI act properly before, during and after the shooting?  A call for justice is a call to have these legitimate questions answered.

The tactic is well known but too many honest people who are looking for a better understanding of Muslims and Islam fall for this tactic because these bigoted people are adept at creating an echo chamber of anti-Muslim hysteria that unfortunately gets passed off as legitimate information.  The tactic is to impute a negative intent on otherwise benign words and then repeat the false charge over and over again until it "appears" that this is the popular and correct assumption.

In this case Jihad Watch and Steve Emerson and Robert Spencer and others are trying to argue that anything short of uncritical support for the FBI in its handling of the attempted arrest of Abdullah is a support for the alleged views and actions of Abdullah as recorded in the indictment and affidavit that predicated the arrest warrant.  This is not the case at all.  The allegations about Abdullah as set forth in the Leone affidavit are repugnant.  But the allegations, not matter how heinous they may be, do not justify an unlawful shooting. 

Unfortunately, it appears that the Islamophobes can notch this case up (at least thus far) as a success.  Although major American Muslim organizations have called for an investigation (see here), there has been very little done at the grassroots level in places like Chicago to call for an independent investigation.  This is possibly the result of fear.  American Muslim leaders are afraid of speaking up because they are worried that their calls for justice will be perceived as support for the alleged actions and views of Abdullah.

What a shame.  It is a shame that leaders of the American Muslim community have not taken a more vigorous stand on this issue.  This is a time when American Muslim leaders can show that they understand how civic engagement works by effectively organizing and mobilizing people into constructive civic action that brings about a fair, full and independent investigation into the shooting death of Abdullah.

Locally in Illinois the largest (at least based on self-professed reach and scope and capacity) Muslim organization - the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago - is silent on the shooting death of Abdullah.  One of the past chairs of CIOGC sent an emotional email to the community's leaders (it had its various shortcomings too) calling them to stand up and act for justice in the wake of the Abdullah shooting.  Nothing came of it, and so far as public information discloses, nothing more is forthcoming from that past chair or anyone else.

The current chair, Zaher Sahloul, is surprisingly mum on the issue.  That is very odd since he speaks of CIOGC as an institution that brings American Muslims together and works for justice and the common good.  Today Sahloul said in an editorial that

CIOGC has been working relentlessly toward this goal of a justly balanced community, where Muslim Americans can play a role in bearing witness to their fellow Americans by defending justice, promoting common good and fighting evil.

I will concur that CIOGC has done some very good work in working for justice and promoting the common good.  But where is it now?  What is CIOGC doing vis-a-vis this issue?  Sahloul invokes Imam Siraj Wahaj in the editorial this way:

According to Imam Siraj Wahhaj, chair of the Muslim Alliance in North America, the Council is one of the few organizations in the nation that is doing real work in the field to integrate the indigenous Muslim communities and the immigrant Muslims through its Mosque-pairing initiative and Intrafaith action.

What better way to show CIOGC's efforts to bridge the gap between the immigrant Muslims and African American Muslims in our community then by taking a stance on the shooting death of an African American Muslim?  Interestingly, Sahloul's editorial is entitled "the power of unity".  There certainly is power in unity, but is unity something that can be embraced when it is convenient and not at other times?  Is that really unity?

Just talking the talk is not enough.  It is (or it should be) unacceptable to let this important issue (the call for an independent investigation into the shooting death of Abdullah) fester while attention is focused on the community's elite rubbing elbows with Governor Quinn and complimenting one another on what greatly leaders we are at Saturday's annual community dinner.

There is still time to do the right thing.  Sahloul can use the annual dinner as an opportunity to place the spotlight on the Abdullah shooting.  Sahloul has some incredible people on the professional staff.  He and his board can work with the professional staff to put together petitions for the dinner's attendees to sign.  These petitions can be addressed to the Illinois congressional delegation asking them to support the call for an independent investigation into the shooting death of Abdullah by the FBI.  Sahloul can raise tough questions during the dinner as members of the FBI will be there as guests as well.  The question is, do our leaders have the will to speak out for justice when it may be uncomfortable or even inconvenient for them to do so?

Let's hope the maligning rhetoric of Islamophobes does not stop our leaders in Illinois from taking up another cause for justice.

Are Chicago-area mosques up to the challenge of helping Iraqi refugees?

Today's Chicago Tribune article on the challenges and struggles of Iraqi refugees in Chicago really hit home.  One of the last board meetings I attended at the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) had an add-on agenda item dealing with the needs of Iraqi refugees.  I'm pretty sure it was Ahlam Mahmoud, the woman referenced in the Chicago Tribune article, who visited us during the board meeting.

An important issue that was not raised in this series of articles but merits examination and further discussion is the support Iraqi refugees have received from mosques in the Edgewater neigbhorhood; or to be more precise, the lack of support.

When Ms. Mahmoud came to speak with CIOGC she did so because, as the "Council of Islamic Organizations", she assumed CIOGC would be able to help secure more support from the mosques in the Edgewater neighborhood.

Ms. Mahmoud pointed out that many of the families within the Iraqi refugee community are women-headed households.  I knew what the problem was going to be as I sat in that meeting this past summer.  I knew even before Ms. Mahmoud said anything that the families were not  being welcomed by the mosques in that part of Chicago.  That is because, in many instances, the mosques in the Edgewater/Rogers Park neighborhoods are men-only institutions.

This meeting took place in July 2009.  I know that nothing was done up until I left CIOGC.  From the time we met Ms. Mahmoud through the end of September CIOGC leaders directed the professional staff to do no programming beyond fundraising.  Too bad.  This is an issue that CIOGC could take up and which really needs the collective attention of the American Muslim community.

The UMMA Center in Waukegan is doing great work with refugee families in Lake County.  This is one of the few organizations (Muslim led) that works on refugee needs.  The UMMA Center's executive director, Ashfaq Mohiuddin, is a great guy.  I don't know the other staff but I feel comfortable saying that UMMA Center is a reputable organization based on my association with Ashfaq Mohiuddin over the past 10 to 12 years.  Check out UMMA Center's website and try to attend the UMMA Center's fundraising dinner this coming Friday (10/30).

Other organizations like Hamdard Center have some services for refugee families but they are not equipped to deal with the challenges on the scale described by the Chicago Tribune story.  This all begs the question: what do we (American Muslims) do from this point forward to address this problem (of unmet refugee needs within our community)?

There are numerous dedicated individuals working on refugee issues.  One person that anyone interested in refugee issues should get to know is Naazish YarKhan.  Although Naazish is a writer by profession, it seems her primary avocation is serving refugee families.  Over the years she's worked with and through the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park, IL to provide services to refugee families and she was the person who directed Ahlam Mahmoud to CIOGC back in July 2009.

One thing I gathered from talking to Naazish a couple of times on this issue is that the challenges of addressing refugee needs is a full time endeavor and cannot possibly be addressed adequately by volunteers.  She wanted CIOGC to take up this issue by possible bringing on someone like Ahlam Mahmoud to work exclusively on refugee services.  I told her that this would be wonderful except that the American Muslim community seems to have an aversion to funding human resources.

However, until we commit to funding full time professionals to serve the needs of the refugee community we are not going to be able to adequately address the longterm issues they are facing.  Mark my words, this article from the Chicago Tribune, if it sparks any sympathy from the American Muslim community, will promote fundraising for food, clothing, household goods and so forth.  The efforts will be focused on short term needs.

I can hear the arguments now: "At least we are doing something by helping them with these immediate needs.  This is our duty!"  This is true but the underlying although unstated assumption, that doing this and funding a longer term solution by funding one or more professionals to work with the refugee communities are mutually exclusive, is false.  We have money in the American Muslim community.  Given that we don't finance the building of our mosques we know that we have the capacity to raises millions of dollars every year not only to maintain the gigantic buildings we now possess but to expand them and to build new ones as well!

I'm not alone in the community when I say that we need to put a moratorium on bricks and mortar projects and begin funding human resources for needy and worthy projects like helping refugee families in need.  However, until people speak up and say no to more bricks and mortar projects and yes to funding services to refugee families, the powers that be will keep on building and expanding the mosques.  Meanwhile, families like those of Ahlam Mahmoud will continue to suffer.

Turkeys donated to the needy...by American Muslims

This is a wonderful story of Americans helping Americans during the Thanksgiving season.  American Muslims are raising money to purchase turkeys to be donated to needy families so that they may enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

The effort I'm talking about (I'm sure there are others around the nation by now) is in and around Chicago, Illinois.  Young American Muslims and their families donate money and that money is used to purchase turkeys for needy families.

ABC News covered the story last year:

Today, and for the past several years, this effort is led by Dr. Jihad Shoshara* and Dr. Sofia Shakir*, a wonderful husband and wife team, who are active in many local efforts to help the needy and to organize American Muslims for meaningful causes.  The effort was originally organized by another longtime community activist - civil rights attorney Kamran Memon.

Here is Dr. Shoshara's message for this year's Turkey Drive:

Assalaamu 'Alaykum,

In Sha Allah this finds you all in the best of health, and highest of Iman.

The Ninth Annual Chicago Muslim Turkey Drive is now underway! For the past eight years, the Muslim community of Chicago has risen to a need every autumn - to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves celebrate Thanksgiving, the national holiday that all Americans regardless of faith share in celebration. Together, we have given thousands of turkeys over these years to families who would otherwise go without; last year alone, you donated six hundred turkeys to needy Chicagoans in Jackson Park and Marquette Park, and God Willing, we aim to repeat our success once more! Once again, the main beneficiaries of our community's generosity will be needy families of the children at Emmett Till Academy (formerly McCosh Elementary School) at 65th and Champlain in Chicago.

As we have done in past years, we are again joining forces with the Sabeel Food Pantry. Sabeel has provided food for anyone in need for years on Chicago's North Side, and with the help of community volunteers to coordinate and distribute the turkeys will extend their services this Thanksgiving. Sabeel is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in the state of Illinois; this means that once again, your contributions will be tax deductible, and all who donate to Sabeel can receive a receipt for tax purposes. (For more info, check Sabeel's website at www.sabeelpantry.org)

We are also blessed to have the support of the Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN), who will In Sha Allah distribute some of the turkeys to needy families in the area of its offices in Marquette Park.

We are now accepting donations for the drive. Please send your tax-deductible check written out to "Sabeel Food Pantry" with "Turkey Drive" written in the memo section to:**

Donations can also be given online via PayPal. To donate via PayPal, please go to www.sabeelpantry.org and click on "Donate".

The Annual Turkey Drive is a symbol of the true nature of our faith at a time when it is sorely needed. Please help us to continue it and make it grow!

Jazak Allahu Khairan,

Jihad Shoshara, MD

This is a great effort that gives meaning to the phrase "Faith In Action"!  Here is some more media coverage of last year's turkey drive:

At a time when food budgets are strained, a semitrailer loaded with turkeys is being given to families at Emmett Till Elementary School. The frozen turkeys are a gift from the Chicago Area's Muslim Community.

"It's just a gesture of neighborliness from the Muslim community of Chicago. You know most of us work here, live here, live our lives here," said Dr. Shoshara.

The school, located near 63rd and Cottage Grove, was selected because 99-percent of the population is below the poverty line. For many of the families, it's a real treat.

"Well they probably would have had the usual. McDonalds meals or whatever they could afford," said Mary Rodgers, principal Emmett Till Elementary School. "This is exceptionally nice."

It's the eighth time the group has donated to a Chicago school.

"I'm just glad to get this turkey. It's less for me to worry about," said one parent.

"Means a lot. Put some in our freezer and some in our stomach," said another.

After the September Eleventh attacks, the image of Muslim Americans took a terrible hit. That damage has yet to be repaired, but events like this are a step in the right direction.

"I think a lot of problems we have as a community (are) that we haven't been here very long so it takes awhile to integrate and get to know the Muslim community. It's one way to show what we think is the best part of our religion. To help serve the poor," said Dr. Shoshara.

This is a great effort so pass it on to your email networks!  Thanks!

_________________________________________________________________________________

* Jihad and Sofia are very close, personal friends

** The address was removed from the original email post - please direct donations to Sabeel Food Pantry!

Working normal hours, doing normal things

Last night I sat in bed, laptop on my lap and my little 19 inch TV tuned into Monday Night Football (yes, that’s right, I don’t have a cool flat screen 1080 DLP 50 inch in my bedroom).  It was about 8:45pm.  I watched the Broncos-Chargers game until the final seconds.  I checked my email, sent a few text messages, visited Facebook and read Google News.  I did some writing too.  It was a relaxing way to end the day (hopefully I’ll do a little more of the same tonight!).

Earlier in the day I wrapped up at the office at 4:30pm and quickly headed off to catch a train home.  I wanted to see my kids.  Throughout the day I thought about each of them – something unique from the past weekend.  For example, for one it was the excitement of new presents from a birthday.  For another it was a 5 year old child’s rendition of Top 40 song from the radio.

Unlike the very recent past, I was home by 6:15pm, I was in the kitchen as dinner was prepared, I ate dinner with my family, helped (ever so slightly) with the clean up and with getting the kids to bed (again, ever so slightly).  Not bad (or at least not as bad as not being around at all)!

I am grateful to God for all of it.  So, why am I thinking about all of this now?

Mainly, I am thinking about it because a lot of it is new.  It has been a long time since I was last able to sit in bed at the end of the day and just relax.  Eating dinner with my family every night is a new thing.  Being home while dinner is being prepared was, heretofore, unheard of (actually preparing dinner may be asking a for too much) and having the luxury to daydream about my kids is a treat I haven’t indulged in for a very long time.

Why am I able to enjoy all of these new luxuries?

I recently changed jobs.  My previous position in the nonprofit sector was a 24/7 gig with a lot of stress.  I loved my work, but on balance it was time to move on.  So move on I did and land a new gig.  My new position has a more manageable schedule.  Again, thank you God!

One thing I’ve noticed about the change is how protective I’ve become of my time.  Before, it was a foregone conclusion that I’d have little time for recreation, for family and for sleep.  Now, I find myself guarding these things zealously!

In just the past few weeks I’ve passed on many events and meetings involving everything from politics to interfaith relations to social services within the Muslim community.  The next several weeks are filled with events as well.  Will I attend any of them?  I may but right now there are no guarantees.

It’s not that I do not care about the issues and topics being discussed and worked on in these meetings.  I do care about most of them.  However, going forward I want to be more thoughtful about my religious and civic engagement.  Whatever I choose to become involved with cannot take away from my time from the things that matter most – my kids.  That is one benchmark. 

Another benchmark is that my volunteerism has to be more thoughtful.  Because I value my time and have a much greater appreciation for its value, I want my volunteerism to be more constructive.  I want it to be focused and I want it to be used to build something meaningful.

Over the last decade and a half I’ve been a serial volunteer without focus.  I’ve volunteered in so many different endeavors but many of them are unrelated to one another.  For example, back on New Year’s Day 2007 I got a call from someone at the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC).  This person wanted me to come to the office that evening for “a very important dinner meeting of key community leaders to discuss strategies for increasing civic engagement  by American Muslims.”

On that particular new year’s day I dropped the bowl games to head downtown for the meeting.  Looking back, I know that meeting was called simply because the CIOGC had to fulfill a grant requirement by a date certain and they needed to have a quota of people who served on mosque or Muslim service organization boards!  I was not invited to the meeting so much as I was invited to be meat (i.e., meeting filler).  What a waste of time! 

Appreciating the value of my time more now, I want to be sure that I spend my volunteer hours more wisely.

If the number of hours I have to volunteer are less plentiful now, then where do I want to spend them?  I’m still working this out in my mind.  I am leaning towards interreligious dialogue and interreligious advocacy and action for the common good.  I’ll give my mosque a fair amount of time but beyond the mosque my commitments will be given sparingly.

I realize that I may be becoming the kind of person I recently held in contempt.  I used to bristle when friends declined invitations to “important meetings” because of some social engagement or another. 

I still think some of those meetings were important and some of the reasons for declining my invitations were lame (but I’m not naming names!).  At the same time I also realize that many of my friends were probably not sold on why I wanted them to come out and spend their precious free time on one of these “important meetings.”

For now I will still go to “important meetings” from time to time even when I’m not planning on taking an active role in the effort or cause for which the “important meeting” is being convened.  I know that sometimes (perhaps many times) I’m being invited as “meeting meat” and not as a “meeting participant” and that’s just fine!  I’ll go, fill some space, maybe learn a bit and then leave guilt-free and obligation-free!

In the absence of a lot of extraneous obligations I will hang out with my kids, watch my two favorite football teams – the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Chicago Bears – and maybe read some interesting books and do a lot more writing!

Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago Uninvites Keynotes - But why?

The following is an open letter I sent to mosque leaders and fellow American Muslims whom I believe are the future leaders of our community (this email was sent to CIOGC leaders as well):

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Fellow Community Members,
 
Assalaamu Alaikum and Peace.
 
Insh'Allah this email finds you in good health.  I am writing to you this evening to share with you my dismay over the Council's decision to dis-invite Naim Shah, Jr. and Shahid Buttar as the Annual Community Dinner keynote speakers.  This was a bad decision, it is unprofessional and it reflects poorly on all of us as a community.
 
First and foremost, these two brothers are accomplished and up and coming leaders from the national Muslim community and we were blessed to have them with us.  You can get some insight into who these brothers are through the following links:
 
Shahid Buttar Bio

Naim Shah Jr. Bio
 
You can hear both of these brothers speak at the following links:

Shahid Buttar on YouTube:
 
 

Naim Shah Jr. on YouTube:


 
Let me be very frank and direct - this was, in my estimation and opinion - a very bad decision.  I am embarrassed by the brothers and sisters who supported this decision.
 
Salam al-Marayati is the high profile keynote who has been invited in place of Naim and Shahid.
 
Lest there be any confusion let me also be very clear - I love Salam Al-Marayati as do you all.  Salam is a friend.  Salam is a great leader.  He has committed his life to working for justice.  Salam is a strong ally of the Illinois Muslim community.  I welcome him in Chicago always.  I am certain that Salam will be the first person to tell us that he does not need the stage and that he will be with us just to support us whether we call him our keynote or something else.
 
So why do we have to uninvite Naim and Shahid?  After all, don't we need more strong young leaders?  Don't we need to promote more of our young leaders?  Some of the Council leadership may argue that we've secured Gov. Pat Quinn and we needed to make room for him in the program and that is why Naim and Shahid had to be uninvited.  This is not true.
 
We always had a spot for a "special guest" who would be a politician and that politician - Quinn, Daley or someone else - would come in, say a few nice words and leave.  We could have easily done the right thing by keeping Naim and Shahid while still welcoming Gov. Quinn and having Salam play an important role in the annual dinner.
 
I resigned from the Council for very specific reasons.  This latest fiasco comes after the fact but it is symptomatic of the problems which caused me to step down.
 
I believe that leaving the Council was the only way to send a clear message that the organization is in many ways dysfunctional.  This most recent debacle is just the tip of the iceberg (which is not to say that the Council does not have many good points - the remaining professional staff are each examples of all the good that still exists within the Council).
 
I have no doubt that some will accost me for raising these issues, but alas, if our community is to become stronger then we need to bring our dysfunctional behaviors into the sunlight and discuss them openly.  I've already been treated with some very unsavory behavior and I've received a few hateful emails from insiders.  I'm girding myself for more.
 
That's all fine.  Until today I kept these issues to myself but this unprofessional behavior (uninviting our keynotes with just a few weeks to go before the annual dinner) was the tipping point for me.
 
If you think I'm wrong, let me know and let me know why.  I'm open to your feedback. 
 
If you agree with me and you are asking yourself - "So what can we do?" then I say we take action.
 
When our elected officials act badly we petition them.  We write letters to them and we call them to account for their actions.  Why shouldn't we do the same thing with the leaders of our American Muslim institutions? 
 
I am asking them to account for this as a member of the American Muslim community.  I have a right to know why this was done.  So do you.
 
Finally, lest there be any doubt, I affirm with sincere conviction that the Council leadership are very good and kind and generous people.  I simply feel this was a very bad decision and one which could have been avoided on multiple occasions if the leadership had acted with diligence and with vision.  Please do not let our leaders argue that the ends justify the means.
 
Please forgive me for my errors and shortcomings - I have many of them.  No doubt - some of you feel I've quit on the community.  I understand your sentiments but I assure you that is not the case.  I am happy to work for the community like all of you - as a volunteer.  Atleast now the powers that be cannot hold the damocle's sword of termination over me for speaking my mind.
 
We should apologize to Naim and Shahid, bring them back into the program and put this sordid little episode behind us.
 
Was'salaam & peace,
 
Junaid M. Afeef

"Healing & Reconciliation" event in Chicagoland... An Intra-faith affair

The Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA) is collaborating with Shura of Islamic Family Counselors of America (in suburban Chicago, IL) to present a panel discussion, lectures and a fundraising dinner.  The event is titled "Healing & Reconciliation" and it appears to be working on "reconciling the historical differences in the American Muslim community."  The MANA event is slated to take place at Monty's Banquets on Sunday, October 4, 2009.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to visit New York City for a MANA organized meeting.  The meeting brought together community organizers and leaders from all over the U.S.  MANA's vision is to begin working in earnest to address the challenging issue of intra-Muslim divisions within the United States.

It was a daylong meeting and there were some very accomplished and proven American Muslim leaders at the meeting.  I think we all left the meeting with an understanding that mending the rifts and divides within the American Muslim community will take time.  It is a challenging problem without a simple answer or solution.

Locally and simultaneously the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago has been and is working on building bridges and relationships between immigrant Muslims and African American Muslims in northern Illinois.  Amina Saeed, President of the Muslim Bar Association of Chicago, and Dr. Mikal Ramadan of the Taqwa Islamic Center (located on Chicago's southside) held a historic intrafaith iftar on September 9, 2009 at the Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information about the event and to purchase tickets please click here.

The featured speakers are Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Amir of MANA and Imam Suhaib Webb, Resident Scholar of MCA in Santa Clara, CA.

Biryani, hummos and collard greens!

Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center and its members hosted a diverse gathering of American Muslims for an iftar dinner on September 9.  The gathering included young children, young professionals and the pioneers of both the immigrant and African American Muslim community.

“This iftar dinner was the culmination of 12 months of planning but it hopefully marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to build bonds of understanding and friendship between our community’s immigrant and African American Muslims” said Dr. Zaher Sahloul, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

The seed for the September 9 intrafaith iftar dinner was planted at the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park, Illinois during Imam W. Deen Mohammed’s janazah prayers one year earlier in 2008.  Imam W. Deen Mohammed’s janazah was a milestone in American Muslim history in that the janazah prayers were held at a predominantly immigrant mosque and because it drew thousands of American Muslims of all races and ethnicities from across the nation.  Many who attend the janazah prayer likened the diverse gathering to the diversity normally seen only during the annual Hajj (pilgrimage).

The intrafaith iftar dinner opened with welcoming words from Imam Sultan Salahuddin of Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center and Dr. Zaher Sahloul.  Sultan yielded the stage to Sahloul as his guest.
 
During his opening comments Sahloul read from a prepared statement and in that statement he acknowledged some of the historical mistakes and shortcomings of immigrant Muslims in their relations with African American Muslims.  He called upon immigrant and African American Muslims to come together not as teachers and students but as fellow Muslims.  Sahloul acknowledged also the arrogance that underpinned immigrant Muslims’ unwillingness to visit African American Muslims in African American mosques and Islamic centers.

Sahloul's comments caught Sultan Salahuddin, Imam of the Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center, of guard.  Commenting on Sahloul's written statement Salahuddin remarked "First of all, I was refreshingly surprised.  I was expecting to hear the usual welcoming, followed by kind words and presentations.  However, Dr. Zaher seems to have come straight from the heart."  Salahuddin added that Sahloul's presentation "showed that he has, indeed, studied our community's past, and has spent time reflecting on its meaning to him today."

As everyone moved into the prayer hall for Maghrib prayer Sultan, the mosque’s imam, asked Ahmed Qadeer, an immigrant Muslim from India and a founding organizer of the Council, to lead the prayers.

On being asked to lead the prayers Qadeer said “I was very reluctant to accept Imam Salahuddin’s request to lead the prayer but I accepted the honor as a symbol of our long-standing friendship and as an honor for the whole immigrant community.”  Qadeer added that he has known Salahuddin since the early nineties and that the offer to lead the prayer was a “gesture of kindness” and a “personal favor”.

The gathered faithful were not the only source of diversity that evening.  The iftar dinner was a potluck, and the evening meal was as varied as those gathered together to share in it.  The buffet line included a tray of fried catfish placed next to a pan of biryani.  There was also a large bowl of hummus next to a huge pot of collard greens.  The intrafaith iftar dinner catered to nearly everyone’s palate.

A warm aura friendship and hope pervaded the gathering.  Representatives of the various institutions coming together in the Intrafaith Initiative all echoed a shared intent to experience one another’s community in the coming year and to make Intrafaith dialogue a priority.

“I really enjoyed the program tremendously” said Dr. Khalid Husain, a member of the Downtown Islamic Center.  Speaking of DIC’s plans for the intrafaith initiative Husain further commented that “we plan on inviting each other to our local programs for a start, and also, to invite our sister masjid to our interfaith activities.”

Other participants of the initiative are focusing on the youth.  Dilara Sayeed of the Webb Foundation said this would be their focus in the coming year.

“The Webb Foundation will partner, Insh’Allah, with the Bahar Center for a youth project that will be based on relationship-building between our two communities” said Sayeed.  The early plans are for students from each community to meet together 8 times from January and May 2010 to work together on “challenges” that need to be solved in partnership with one another.  “This will focus our time together and help us grow together as learners and activists” added Sayeed.

The intra-faith iftar is the first event of a multi-year initiative.  The effort is led by Amina Saeed, the Council's first executive director and current President of the Muslim Bar Association of Chicago, along with her co-chair Dr. Mikal Ramadan, Imam of the Taqwa Islamic Center and a leader within the Chicagoland Shura Council.

"We were all impressed with Sister Amina Saeed's enthusiasm and determination to make intra-faith communications and joint endeavors on productive projects work where in the past they have failed" said Salahuddin.  "We are behind this 100 percent and we believe this will work if everyone is committed to putting forth the effort to make it work" he added.

Saeed and Ramadan were very successful as co-chairs over the past year and both clearly hold one another in high regard.  This professional and committed leadership is essential for the success of such efforts.

Ramadan commented on Saeed saying "she has a deep commitment as well as a rugged determination which she manages gracefully."

"Dr. Ramadan's positive outlook and determination to see this first gathering come together was indispensable in getting the intra-faith initiative off to a good start.  I am looking forward to working with Dr. Ramadan in the coming year as well" said Saeed.

Leaving CIOGC...

I've enjoyed the experiences, the work and the opportunities I've had at the Council these past 15 months as its executive director.  It's been invaluable.  Through my association with CIOGC I've developed wonderful relationships with many new people in Chicago and throughout Illinois and the United States. 

Given the right set of resources, circumstances and instituational structure I could have remained at the helm of CIOGC much longer.  I am proud of the many accomplishments we (our professional staff at CIOGC) achieved during my time with CIOGC - a consistent, weekly eNewsletter, a revamped Chicago Crescent monthly newspaper, greater attention and outreach to member institutions, increased programming, greater engagement with CIOGC committees and the beginnings of a professionalization of the the committees and so much more.

Still, this institution has a long ways to go before it can fulfill its potential.  The next evolution for CIOGC must include major structural re-organizing and a fundamental re-adjustment of how human resources are valued.

To all of the CIOGC staff, the many interfaith and government and civic leaders and the many dedicated leaders of the American Muslim community I say "Thank You!"

May God Bless us all!

Getting more people involved in community work

by    Junaid M. Afeef
        Attorney, Community Organizer & Writer

One of the biggest challenges I continue to experience as a community organizer is not being able to recruit enough new Muslims for important projects of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (the Council).  It seems as though I am repeatedly tapping into the same small cadre of volunteers.

The work of building and growing the American Muslim community is very important.  It requires an “all hands on deck” mentality.  But how do we reach all of the 400,000 Muslims who live in and around Chicago?

Even with a great monthly periodical like the Chicago Crescent and a regularly published eNewsletter, I am unable to reach most of the Muslims who live in the metropolitan Chicago region.

The crux of the problem is that too few Muslims are actively engaged with mosques and Muslim institutions in the region.  Although most mosques are membership based, the number of registered, dues-paying members is dwarfed by comparison to the numbers that regularly turn out for Friday prayers and by the numbers that regularly attend private functions in mosque operated banquet facilities.

This is a problem since maintaining the status quo is not an option for American Muslim communities.  We are either growing or we are dying.  We are living in a time when anti-Muslim sentiments are increasing.  There are enormous transnational economic and social crises which impact Muslims and non-Muslims alike. 

The current ranks of active Muslims is too small to meet address these challenges alone.  We need to engage more people.

The good news is that we know where to find these Muslims!  We see thousands of Muslims at weddings, Iftar parties and ethnic social events.  They are our friends and our relatives.

So how do we get them involved?

We need to approach this challenge on an institutional level and as individuals.

Mosques need to offer more services to a broader cross-section of the Muslim population, and they need to be more welcoming of a diverse Muslim population.

This means developing programs tailored to smaller, targeted audiences.  One audience in particular that cries out for attention is younger Muslim families and individuals.  These are the twenty-something through forty-something Muslims who are woefully underrepresented in mosques.

One strategy for engaging these folks is to create a junior executive board within the mosque.  It should be composed entirely of younger generation Muslims.

A junior executive board is tasked to develop and run programs for its peers with the full support and cooperation of the mosque.  The mosque allocates a reasonable portion of its budget to allow the junior board to carry out its mission, and over time the junior board is given a share of the responsibilities to raise money for the mosque and to help with the operational activities of the mosque as well.

Empowering those whom mosques seek to attract is the only way to expand the membership ranks.  Today’s younger generations are not just intelligent and devout – they are also highly entrepreneurial.  They will not wait around forever to be included in the established Muslim institutions.

On an individual level, those of us who are already involved in the community also have a role to play.  We need to be better salespersons.

We need to sell our friends and family – the ones we see at the mega-weddings and the innumerable Iftar and dinner parties throughout the community all year long – on the value of getting involved.  We need to follow this up with a well thought out “ask” where we pitch a specific volunteer opportunity to our friends and family and ask them to get involved. 

Begin by asking your friends and family to get involved in a well defined and closed-ended project sponsored by your mosque (in some instances you may have to develop these programs yourself).  Start slowly, develop a track record of successful participation, and then ask them to make the bigger, longer term commitment of becoming a member.

A personalized “ask” is a must.  An email blast or a Facebook invitation or even a general announcement is a starting point, but it needs to be followed up with a personalized, one-on-one “ask” where you succinctly layout what you want to accomplish, how your friend/relative can help and why it will benefit them or the community.

Getting more of the Muslim population actively involved in mosque activities is a must if we are to sustain ourselves as a viable Muslim community.
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This essay originally appeared as an Op-Ed in the Chicago Crescent, a monthly publication of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.