Washington Blade - September 14, 2001
Gay Muslims wary
Amid emotional aftermath, hostility feared
Picture: Al-Fatiha has worked to combat anti-gay discrimination among
Muslims; now they find themselves fearing anti-Muslim discrimination after
this week's attacks on the U.S.
(by Clint Steib)
by Rhonda Smith
In the wake of attacks at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center Tuesday,
Chicago resident Ifti Nasim said a woman told him to go back where he came
from, and her male companion called him a derogatory name.
Nasim, who has lived in the United States for 31 years and co-founded the
South Asian Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Organization and Support
Group in Chicago, did not respond. But since then, he said his partner of 21
years has been urging him to remain at home.
"[Muslims] are human beings like everybody else and very much against
terrorism and heinous crimes, no matter who did it," said Nasim, 54. "We are
part of American mainstream society.
"We cannot choose our parents, but we have a choice about where we want to
live," the poet and writer added. "And I choose America."
Like their heterosexual counterparts, gay Muslims and Arab Americans
nationwide moved quickly this week to quash any potential backlash against
their communities while the nation struggled to recover and government
officials began their search for suspects.
The backlash stems from various news reports linking the attacks to Osama
bin Laden, an extremist Islamic militant with access to millions of dollars
from his Saudi Arabian family. The media also reported that some Arabs and
Muslims celebrated the attacks because of U.S. foreign policies they do not
agree with.
Gay Muslims said they fear what happened this week could trigger the same
sort of actions that they faced in April 1993, after Timothy McVeigh and
accomplices bombed a federal government building in Oklahoma City.
Initially, public officials and others suggested the suspects in the
Oklahoma bombing were from the Middle East.
"American Muslims experienced violent attacks and verbal harassment in the
aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing when our fellow citizens rushed to
judgment about the perpetrators of the crime," the Islamic Society of North
America in Plainfield, Ind., said in a written statement. "We urge our
fellow Americans not to be quick to stereotype Muslims, who are also
suffering at this traumatic time. We, like all Americans, want to feel
secure and want to see the perpetrators brought to justice."
Other groups that signed the statement included the American Muslim
Alliance, Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers, and the
Association of Muslim Social Scientists. The Council on American-Islamic
Relations, Islamic Medical Association of North America, Islamic Circle of
North America, the Muslim American Society, and the Muslim Public Affairs
Council also signed the statement.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington, D.C., also
condemned the attacks.
"Arab Americans, like all Americans, are shocked and angered by such
brutality," the group said in a written statement. Its leaders also urged
the public and the media to "proceed with caution and resist rushes to
judgment."
The American Muslim Council in Washington, D.C., said it wants law
enforcement officials "to be cognizant of the fact that at times like these,
there are some acts of violence perpetrated against Islamic Centers and
Muslims of our communities."
Faisal Alam, founder and director of Al-Fatiha, an international group for
gay Muslims, condemned the attacks and urged gay people "not to be quick to
stereotype Arabs or Muslims."
"We must not allow our fears and anger to overcome us," he said. "Religion
has long been used as a tool of oppression against many communities,
including LGBT people. But no religion at its core advocates violence or
terrorism, including Islam."
Al-Fatiha organizers asked the group’s chapters worldwide to hold special
prayer sessions to mourn what happened. The group has U.S. chapters in the
District of Columbia, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego,
Calif., and San Francisco.
"If any group of people could understand that you can be misrepresented in
the media, it has to be gays and lesbians," said New York City resident
Mubarak Dahir, a freelance writer and board member for the National Lesbian
& Gay Journalists Association.
Dahir’s mother was American. His father is Palestinian and lives in a small
village near the town of Ramallah, in Palestine.
"Please do not make assumptions or accept easy definitions and stereotypes,"
he said, "that you will definitely be reading in the newspaper in the days
to come."
A spokesperson for Al-Fatiha said the media appears to have changed
approaches involving how to cover such tragedies.
"This time, I’ve seen psychologists and counselors on television telling
people not to strike out," said Abdullah, an Al-Fatiha spokesperson in
Washington who agreed to speak with the Blade on the condition that his full
name not be used. "I feel much more comfortable with them having done that.
But I’m certain there will be individuals who are angry and will do
destructive things."
Kirsten Kingdon, executive director of Parents, Families, & Friends of
Lesbians & Gays in Washington, D.C., also urged caution in a letter she sent
nationwide this week to the organization’s volunteers, staff members, and
board of directors.
"This is a time for all of us, and especially those of us who are aware of
the pain inflicted because of unfair and inaccurate stereotypes, to be aware
of the fears those who are stereotyped [face]," she said, "and do what we
can to support them."
Faris Malik, a gay Muslim in Oakland, Calif., said he has not seen any
animosity against Muslims in that region. For example, he said students at
the University of California, Berkeley, shared their thoughts about the
attacks on paper and posters placed in the school’s central gathering area.
"The overwhelming number of quotes written said not to draw conclusions or
act with prejudice toward Arabs and Muslims," he said. "That made me feel
hopeful.
"But even beyond not retaliating against innocent Muslims, there was a sense
that they wanted no retaliation at all," Malik added. "They seemed to
realize that the people who committed these acts were renegades responsible
for their own actions."
INFO
Al-Fatiha
Faisal Alam, founder
www.al-fatiha.net
gaymuslims@...
Gay and Lesbian Arab Society
Ramzi Zakaria, founder
www.glas.org
info@...
SANGAT-Chicago
South Asian Gay, Lesbian Bisexual, Transgender Organization and Support
Group
Ifti Nasim, co-founder
P.O. Box 268463
Chicago, IL 60626
(773) 506-8810
members.aol.com/youngal/sangat.html
sangat@...
No comments:
Post a Comment