Washington Report, March 2006, page 64

Muslim-American Activism

Supporters Attend CAIR Banquet

JORDAN’S King Abdullah II addressed, via video, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 11th annual fund-raising dinner at the Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA on Dec. 3, 2005. After first thanking American Muslims for their support after the Nov. 9 bombing in Amman, the Jordanian monarch also thanked Muslim Americans for their condemnation of those who kill supposedly in Islam’s name. “Together we stand in defense of the essence of the religion of Islam,” King Abdullah said. “American Muslims can provide an important example of how Muslims from around the world from all schools of thought can join together. American Muslim life reaffirms the core values of Islam.”

The nearly 1,000 people who attended CAIR’s sold-out banquet raised more than $1.2 million to support the group’s civil rights and advocacy work on behalf of the American Muslim community. CAIR now has 31 regional offices across the United States and Canada which all help to give a voice to the Muslim community.

“We thank all those who contributed to our campaign and we pledge to work daily to earn the community’s continuing support,” said CAIR board chairman Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D.

The keynote address was given by Rep. James P. Moran (D-VA), who is serving his eighth term in the House of Representatives. “Since the tragedy of 9/11 some people in the highest levels of government have masqueraded as patriots,” Moran charged. “Real patriots are those who criticize America when it tramples on the Bill of Rights or deceives people about the real reasons for going to war,” Moran told his rapt, mostly Muslim, audience. “Your fight is our fight, too,” he said.

“American Muslims must have security and civil liberties,” the congressman continued. “They are like a canary in a coal mine,” he said, by warning all Americans when they see problems like racial profiling or brutalizing and detaining Arab Americans without cause. “I’ve been to Guantanamo Bay,” Moran said. “Not only is it wrong, but it’s ineffective” to torture people, because the information gained in such a manner isn’t correct. “We will not sacrifice our principles,” Moran vowed. “Torture dehumanizes the young, earns disrespect around the world, and destroys our mission to win the hearts and minds of Arab people.”

Turning to another controversy, Moran said, “The PATRIOT Act is unpatriotic and un-American. It doesn’t protect our civil liberties. It’s like saying a forest fire is necessary in order to protect our trees.”

Moran advised Muslim Americans to meet with members of Congress and to get involved in local government. “There are too few elected Muslim representatives in state government, and no Muslims in the U.S. Congress,” he noted. “When Muslim Americans engage in the fight for civil rights and justice in this country the entire world will be affected....Stand up. Speak out.”

CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, described some recent civil rights success stories at home, but warned of growing Islamaphobia. Only 2 percent of Americans have a positive view of Islam in this country, he noted, while 32 percent have negative views. We have a chance to work on the 67 percent who are neutral, Awad said, adding that Muslims in France, Germany and U.K. are discussing the launch of similar organizations.

—Delinda C. Hanley

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