CHICAGO: Muslims across the United States said President Barack Obama’s address from Egypt on Thursday could be a catalyst toward repairing strained US relations with Muslims worldwide.
“He was honest, forceful. The words I heard, he spoke truth, said Raja Khalid, 60, who gathered at the Flaming Wok’n Grill in Chicago with other cabbies to sip chai and discuss the speech, which broadcast live in the US at times ranging from 3 am to 6 am. “But words don’t mean anything unless you act upon them.
Most US Muslims had high praise and felt Obama was genuine and fair in his first attempts to improve relations. Others said the address would have little long-term impact and offered few specifics on Mideast peace plans.
Community leaders in Dearborn, Michgan, said Obama’s overtures should have been made on US soil first. The Detroit suburb has one of the largest Arab populations in the US and halal cuisine – religiously acceptable in Islam – is available at KFC.
“There’s a golden opportunity to invest in and utilize this community’s efforts in the Middle East, said Imad Hamad, a director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. “It’s time for engagement. We’re here, we’re part of your global makeup and mission.
Obama emphasized Muslims’ importance in American history and a commitment to addressing American laws that hinder US Muslims ability to pay zakat – a religious obligation to donate to charity. He highlighted contributions of American Muslims, such as Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and the first Muslim elected to the House.
“What was really impressive … is the way he showcased the Muslim American community to the Muslim world, as a community that was an integral part of the American fabric, one that he was proud of, one that he supported and would protect, said Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of Muslims in the US.
She likened Thursday’s address to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream speech, saying Muslim students likely would study it in the future.
In underscoring the importance of Muslims in the US, Obama may have overestimated their numbers, saying nearly 7 million live here. But there is no definitive count of the American Muslim population and estimates vary dramatically, from 2 million to 6 million. Social scientists believe the number is around 3 million, but many Muslim leaders contend that’s an undercount caused partly by language barriers and other challenges in surveying Muslim immigrants living in the US.
Obama also spoke of his own ties to Islam. His father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims, and as a child, he spent several years in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.
New Jersey immigration attorney Sohail Mohammed got up at 6 am and headed straight for his computer to watch the speech stream live.
“As a Muslim American, it was a great feeling to have our president go overseas and to say to the rest of the world that it’s a new beginning, we are not going to use fear and hate, but we’re going to be using progress, said Mohammed, of Clifton, New Jersey.
The Islamic Society of North America and others called address a welcome shift from Bush administration rhetoric. ISNA President Ingrid Mattson was encouraged by no mention of a “war on terror and said Islam has been unfairly associated with violence.
“I felt that he was speaking with Muslim people (rather) than he was coming to lecture the Muslim world, Mattson said.
Mahdi Taakilo, a Somali immigrant in Columbus, Ohio, said the speech’s importance to Muslims shouldn’t be underestimated.
“This is the president of the United States, one of the busiest men on the planet – he took the time to learn the Quran, said Taakilo, who viewed excerpts of the speech online. “This is a guy that will bring the Muslim world and the Americans together.
Others offered skepticism about the impact of words alone.
“This infatuation exercise with this black president of the United States who’s speaking about Islam will have a certain life cycle, said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. “But before that life cycle has dissipated, I think some concrete policies need to be laid out. -AP
