Islam at Ground Zero……….Reflections of A Black American Muslim in 21st Century America
Everyone who is not with you isn’t necessarily against you. This is a reality I embraced early on in my life and work as an activist in the American Muslim community. In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that I am an indigenous, Black American Muslim. Having stated that…..
Without a doubt, some of the opposition to the Park 51 initiative is fueled by religious bigotry and political posturing. However it can also be stated that some of the reservation toward the project is from well meaning Americans for whom the tragic events remain a source of angst and trauma. For them, the presence of a $100 million towering edifice, so close to the very place where thousands lost their lives, will represent, rightly or wrongly, an omnipresent reminder of the tragedy.
As I am blessed and privileged, through my work as an author and lecturer, to travel throughout the Muslim community in America and engage a diverse cross-section of Muslims of all ethnicities, educational levels, genders, age groups and socio-economic status, I have found this to be the position of many, not a few; An agreed upon conclusion: just because one has the right to do something, and can, does not necessarily mean one should….This remains the 800 pound gorilla in the room that many would rather ignore. The complexity of the issue does not allow for such dangerous naïveté.
If one were to survey the Muslims of New York City and America by extension, the building of such a center would not rank very high at all on the list of goals and priorities for the average Muslim. Throughout our communities in America, particularly in urban centers we are facing the realities of high unemployment, lack of business and educational opportunities, and many of the social challenges that affect many in our country, one’s faith tradition notwithstanding. The yet-to-be collected resources that would be used to build the center could be more effectively allocated to empower the community it endeavors to serve, while simultaneously casting a positive light on Islam and Muslims in America.
I think most would agree that it is human nature to fear, hate or otherwise impugn that which one does not understand. Amidst the fear and hate mongers, I implore the Park 51 organizers to rise above the fray and continue the good work they have been known for with regards to relationship building and outreach. Work more closely with those similar forward-thinking, like-minded, rational, sober Muslims in America to help educate and redefine our faith. Your fund raising prowess can be used to strengthen and empower the existing Islamic institutions throughout NYC, which more often than not serve the needs of Muslims and their neighbors, not unlike the Jewish community center and YMCA models that have been referenced in your project narrative.
More important than a new physical structure erected by Muslims, at Ground Zero or anywhere in America for that matter, I submit that the greatest challenge facing Islam and the Muslims in America today is articulating and living an expression of the faith that is not antithetical to and is compatible with the best of our American traditions; a true, home-grown manifestation and practical application of Islam in America.
Islam is in the DNA of the American soil. My ancestors helped to implant and establish it, even under the worse conditions, when they were brought here to build this nation. The Civil Rights Movement empowered and helped us to gain rights and make remarkable strides that otherwise would not have been made. Many of us who did not immigrate here have lived Islam and the struggle for decades and continue to serve our communities and societies in a myriad of ways. We refuse to see this legacy and struggle reduced and trivialized to sound bites and posturing on either side.
It is clear to us, collectively, more than anything else, in 21st Century America, Muslims must reclaim Islam back from the ideological grasp of those who hijacked it. In the times we live in today, it is more important to protect our principles than it is to protect our interests.
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Amin Nathari is the National Representative of IAM – Islam in America Movement, and a lecturer and noted author of several books , including Message to the Grassroots in 21st Century America – What Would Malcolm Do? and the forthcoming work 45, 35, Now….The Continuum of Islam in America – Examining the Evolution of the Islamic Experience in 21st Century America. He also formerly served as Deputy Director of Communications for the City of Newark, NJ. He can be reached at aminnathari@gmail.com.
For more information visit www.nathari.com.
