< Light Millennium: M. A. Muqtedar Khan - "If those very things disappear. . . " An interview by Yonca Dogan Poyraz
john
EVERYTHING SHOULD BE UNDER THE SUN...
NO New Nuclear Weapons... NO New Nuclear Targets... NO New Pretexts For Nuclear War... NO Nuclear Testing...
NO Star Wars... NO Weapons In Space...
NO All Types Of Weapons, War & War Culture...
We have only one WORLD yet! If we destroy it, where else will we go?
http://lightmillennium.org
Mission of the Lightmillennium.Org
About the Lightmillennium.Org
Events of the Lightmillennium.Org
Supporters of the Light Millennium
The Light Millennium TV Programs
Archive of the Lightmillennium.Org
Participants of the Lightmillennium.Org
BoD, A.Board and Volunteer Rep. of the Lightmillennium.Org
Contact information of the Lightmillennium.Org

M. A. Muqtedar KHAN:
"If those very things disappear, such as religious tolerance and freedom of speech and so on, America will not be worth living for or living in."

Dr. M. A. Muqtedar KHAN


Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Adrian College in Michigan. He is on the board of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Center for Balanced Development and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.

He earned his Ph.D. in International Relations, Political Philosophy, and Islamic Political Thought, from Georgetown University in May 2000. Dr. KHAN is author of
the book, The American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom.

 

An Interview by
Yonca Poyraz DOGAN
*


Selected Quotes from the below interveiw:


"Now Muslims are trying to start a struggle for civil rights. They are trying to focus on winning the hearts and minds of Americans. They are trying to build bridges through interfaith dialogue and investing in America itself.
"

"American-Muslims thought that they could change American foreign policy and they had other dreams also. Some people actually dreamt of converting all America into Islam and making America an Islamic state. After 9/11, those dreams have been shattered. Now Muslims have become more realistic and they realized that we are not as powerful as we thought we were."

"Now, it would be a mistake for American Muslims to focus on foreign policy issues. I think they should focus on defending the American Muslim community, fighting for civil rights in America, investing in America because America itself is changing."

- In your recent article in The New York Times, you point out the importance of 9/11 for Muslims in America. How important is it?

- September 11. is an important date for American Muslims because things have changed incredibly. Before September 11, America was quite open and hospitable to Islam. Islam was growing rapidly. It was the fastest growing religion in America. It was the fastest growing religion in the West. We had converts from all religions, faiths and ethnicities. We built about two-thousand mosques in the last 30 years, 400 schools and so on. If you notice the mind frame of American Muslims before 9/11, they were completely assured of their political rights in this country. They had a lot of faith in this government and in this constitution whether they were conscious of it or not. But what they were insecure about was their Islamic identity so they invested everything that they had in protecting their Islamic identity of their community and their children. So all their money, all the resources were spent on building mosques, schools besides the money spent for fighting or struggling for causes overseas, such as Palestine and Kashmir.

- What else has changed with 9/11?

- 9/11 happens and the U.S. Patriot Act was passed and there are extensive civil rights violations against Muslims in this country and it set a new mind frame where Muslims are worried and insecure about the future of Islam in America itself. So before 9/11, if you take the word "American-Muslims," Muslims were confident about the "American" in it and  insecure about "Muslim" and invested in that. With 9/11, Muslims have become insecure about the American itself. They think the Patriot Act might even rid American Muslims of their citizenship. Now Muslims are trying to start a struggle for civil rights. They are trying to focus on wining the hearts and minds of Americans. They are trying to build bridges through interfaith dialogue and investing in America itself. Recently, a Pakistani couple gave 2.5 million dollars to Stanford University. And you see Muslims participating in establishing soup kitchens, raising funds for local charity. Suddenly you find American-Muslims investing in the "American" part of "American-Muslims" and this is a significant change.

- If they had done this prior to 9/11, could things be different for American-Muslim community now?

- Sure. On September 11, it became very clear that America was not going to treat American-Muslims as their allies. They were treating American-Muslims as suspects. George Bush came out and made a very nice statement about Islam, and said Islam is religion of peace, it's not a threat. But they have treated American-Muslims as suspects. All 6 million of us because we were seen as aligned with forces which are aligned against America. In principle, we have the same causes that Al Qaida have if you look at the list of what is said about Palestine. I think, American-Muslims had focused so much on foreign issues that they had not invested in other aspects (American-Muslims are not aware of) or any of the domestic issues. Suddenly they found out that they really did not have friends, really good friends in America. There are enemies for sure. The Christian coalition, which is whipping up anti-Muslim sentiments widely and as a result of that there is more anti-Muslim sentiment in America now than there was last year.

- You wrote, "September 11 may have shattered some dreams but forced them to reconnect with reality..."

- The American-Muslims were very confident about the strength of their community. They thought that they were responsible for the election of George Bush. American-Muslim community had become a force and all of a sudden we are talking about a fact that we could even transform American foreign policy and change it. And of course the biggest focus was on U.S. foreign policy toward Israel. American-Muslims thought that they could change American foreign policy and they had other dreams also. Some people actually dreamt of converting all America into Islam and making America an Islamic state. After 9/11, those dreams have been shattered. Now Muslims have become more realistic and they realized that we are not as powerful as we thought we were. They suddenly realized how vulnerable they were to the new legislation which have passed. Muslims haven't yet challenged in the courts all these new legislations. Now we are doing that but the lead is ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union. So Muslims on their own are not even able to fight for themselves.

- How about American Muslim organizations?

- Foreign money to American Muslim organizations has been reduced. Organizations themselves are not sure whether they should take money or not. As a result of that, many organizations have gone basically bankrupt. American Muslims themselves are feeling hesitant to donate money because of the raids on charities. CAIR is the only organization which seem to be doing reasonably well but CAIR also takes money from overseas. They recently took 5 million dollars from a Saudi prince.

- Critics claim that CAIR is a terrorist organization.

- There are two reasons: One is that they have been taking money from Saudi Arabia and number two is that I don't think they condemned suicide bombings in Palestine. Because of the lack of condemnation of suicide bombings by Hamas, many pro-Israeli forces in America see the lack of condemnation as support for terrorism. So there was an article written by Steven Emerson several years ago where he called CAIR, Hamas with a K Street address. But CAIR has its own advantages. It is a civil rights organization. If it focuses on that, I think it can serve the community. But if it starts becoming a proxy for pursuing foreign policy changes as a substitute to Palestinian activism here in America and it tires to use the American-Muslim community as an instrument to advance the interests of other Arab communities overseas, then it will be seen as a foreign agent, not only by the American government but also by many Muslims.

- Your book has striking observations about prospect for Islam in America.

- There are 3 chapters which I think would be very interesting. There is a chapter which talks about prospects for Islam in America. There is also a chapter which deals with politics and realities of 9/11. And there is chapter which talks about Islam and democracy in which I argue that not only Islam and democracy are compatible but it is a mission of American Muslims to demonstrate how Islam is compatible with democracy by living Islamic lives in America. There are certain things about America which are wonderful in the sense that it provides freedom for Muslims to be Muslims. We are able to have think-tanks like IIIT (The International Institute of Islamic Thought, sister organization of AMSS-American Muslim Social Scientists) in America, which are not allowed in other Muslim countries. AMSS is big in America. There are few Muslim countries, which even have an AMSS. So American Muslims, because of their relative wealth, their high literacy level, lots of scholars and intellectuals and the freedom to do what they want, not only will be able to produce a viable and vital Muslim community and a democracy but also revive Islamic thought and give new impetus and new strength to Islamic intellectual development for the whole community. I think that American Muslims have a major role to play.

- You point out the high education level of the American Muslims.

MK: Per capita income of American Muslims is far higher than average American citizen, estimated around 40-thousand dollars per person. The educational level of American Muslims is also very high, more than 70 percent are college graduates, and that includes both men and women. In that sense, it's a very elite community. Plus things that happen in America have a tendency to globalize. I live in Michigan and through my web site, I find people reading it from over 80 countries, many of them from Muslim countries. So things that happen in America can be easily disseminated in the entire Muslim world. So the American Muslims have been positioned very well.

- But their political influence is still low.

- One of the reasons why the American Muslims' political influence is limited is because they have focused on the most difficult challenge, which is combating the influence of American Jewish community and trying to change American foreign policy toward Israel. This is probably one of the most highly invested and most difficult goals. We have not attempted any other goal in the same level and I think we are significantly powerful community but not yet powerful enough to deal with that major challenge. So it's like saying that we could have jumped 6 feet high, 7 feet high but we try to jump 10 feet high, which we are not ready for at the moment. Also what's interesting to notice is that very goal has also been used to mobilize American Muslim community so it goes both ways. Maybe that goal was helping to unite American Muslims, I don't know.

Now, it would be a mistake for American Muslims to focus on foreign policy issues. I think they should focus on defending the American Muslim community, fighting for civil rights in America, investing in America because America itself is changing. There were certain things in America that we liked. That's why we came here. If those very things disappear, such as religious tolerance and freedom of speech and so on, America will not be worth living for or living in. We have to make sure that the things we liked about America, we defend them .

- What else can American Muslims do?

- One of the interesting things that American Muslims can provide for the rest of the Muslim world is an opportunity for scholars from different parts of the world to come here and live in a free society and express their ideas. So we find many many Muslim scholars in the last 5 years alone who have come over here. One of the interesting things that American Muslims can provide is a safe heaven for Muslim scholars, who do not have freedom in the Muslim world.

_ . _

 

* Yonca Poyraz Dogan works at Voice of America (www.voanews.com) as a broadcaster.

E-mail: poyrazdogan@yahoo.com

E-mail to Dr. M. A. Muqtedar KHAN: muqtedar@yahoo.com

For more info about M. A. Muqtedar KHAN
http://www.ijtihad.org/memo.htm

   
This issue is dedicated to How To Decrease Global Hunger?
If you wish to receive The Light Millennium's media releases, announcements or about future events,
please send us an e-mail to
:contact@lightmillennium.org
YES For The Global Peace Movement, YES Loving & Caring Each Other, YES Greatness in Humanity, YES Saving Our Unique Mother Earth,
YES Great Dreams For Better Tomorrows, YES Emerging Positive Global Energy, YES National and Global Transparency, and YES Lighting Our Souls & Minds.

This e-magazine is under the umbrella of
The Light Millennium, which is
A Charitable, Under 501 (c) (3) Status, Not-For-Profit
organization based in New York.
Established in January 2000, and founded by Bircan Unver
on July 17, 2001
A Public Interest Multi-Media Global Platform.

"YOU ARE THE SOUL OF THIS GLOBAL PLATFORM."
©The Light Millennium e-magazine
created and designed by Bircan ÜNVER since August 1999.
#13th Issue, New Year-2004.
Publishing Date: December 2003, New York
URL: http://lightmillennium.org
WEBALIZER
For Light Millennium's New STATS
Activated since
November 21, 2003
This site is copyright © 1999-2000-2001-2002-2003-2004 and trademarks ™ of their respective owners & The Light Millennium.org.
The contents of this site may not be reproduce in whole or part without the expressed or written permission of creators.
All material contained here in is protected under all applicable international copyright laws. All rights reserved.