Speaking at DePaul University

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of addressing 150 students of my alma mater, DePaul University, in a speaking event organized by UMMA (United Muslims Moving Ahead), the school's Muslim student club. The topic of the speech was "American Jihad: The Struggles of American Muslims," followed by a lively Q&A. Kudos to UMMA on their meticulous planning of this event including the beautiful hall, the diverse turnout, and the logistical preparation.

A Voice of Reason: Assyrian Leaders Respond

A Couple of days ago, I blogged about the experience and reflections my staff and I shared while protesting with the Chicago Assyrian community against Al Qaeda's murder of innocent Iraqi Christians. See: Beyond the Comfort Zone: Passion and Peril at a Pro-Christian Rally.

It seemed that the blog post was shared widely on Facebook. It was also published by the American Muslim, and the Chicago Tribune faith blog, among others. I was heartened to see that our humble gesture was embraced and echoed by Muslims and Christians alike from Chicago to London to Sydney.

Earlier today, I was even more heartened to receive an email response from the national Assyrian American leadership.  See our email exchange below (published with permission).

Ms. Waleeta Canon wrote to me on behalf of the board of directors of the Assyrian American National Coalition to graciously thank me, to express her empathy for any inconvenience (although she did not have to) and to tell me that we are on the exact same page in our firm resolve not to let the violent, the hateful, and the divisive define our relationship as communities and human beings, and that together we shall rise above the hate and come together as one.

In these difficult times where violent thugs pose as men of God, where hate-mongers pose as defenders of freedom, where agents of intolerance and division pose as heroic patriots, it gives me great faith and hope to see we the people say "thanks, but no thanks" to all of the above. Indeed hate is a self-addressed envelope. God-fearing and Conscientious people of any faith or disposition cannot reciprocate hate with hate. You cannot defeat fire with fire. You can only douse fire with water.


The ignorant and morally-vacuous can defeat us ONLY if we allow them to. But if we stay firm in our trust in God, and firm on our course of mutual respect, love, and compassion, affording our fellow human beings the same dignity and value we so desire for ourselves - regardless of race, ethnicity, or faith - our harmony will be indestructible.

The Christian populations of the Middle-East are indigenous. Their faith choice is theirs. It should not only be respected, it should also be protected. I think most Muslims who know something about their faith will agree with me when I say that this is a faith obligation on us Muslims. As such the Church attacks are an affront to all Muslims no less than had they been Mosque attacks. Our prophet's first political act was to declare the St.Catherine monastery in the Sinai as a protected site. It was the first letter sent in his own handwriting. This the legacy we inherited and its the one we crave. Al Qaeda and their ilk are imposing an unIslamic alternative that we reject in the strongest of terms.

From: Waleeta Canon
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 1:27 PM
To: Ahmed Rehab
Cc: Elmer Abbo; margaret; christine; martin
Subject: Thank you



Mr. Rehab,



On behalf of the Assyrian American National Coalition, we want to sincerely thank you and the rest of the CAIR-Chicago staff which attended Monday's protest of violence against Iraq's imperiled Christians. It spoke volumes to the Assyrians who were present that we had Muslim Americans stand with us, as a reminder that terrorism affects all the people of Iraq, and when one group is targeted, indeed, we are all targeted. This has been an emotionally difficult week for the Assyrian Christians in the US, and we have felt especially vulnerable and helpless as we watch our defenseless brothers and sisters attacked and murdered.



We understand you had overwhelming support from the attendees despite some problem from individuals who felt it necessary to take their anger out on Islam, and on you and your colleagues. Thank you for staying and marching with us despite any discomfort you may have felt. We warmly welcomed your presence, and hope we see you at our future events here in Chicago and nationwide.



Sincerely,
AANC Board of Directors

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>>On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 1:39 PM, Ahmed Rehab wrote:

Dear Waleeta,



Thank you so much for your warm words of gratitude. I would like to ask permission to share this beautiful message with my community.



As I wrote on my blog, my staff and I walked back feeling that the Assyrian community with its good and bad is OUR community. Also, as I made clear in my blog, the Assyrian brothers and sisters that were there were largely welcoming, kind, and appreciative.

This experience has brought us closer and I hope we can build on that. There are those who wish to divide us through violence. Others who wish to divide us through ideological polemics and smear campaigns.

We are committed to finding common ground that enriches our common humanity and not give an inch to the agents of violence, hate, and divisiveness. Please know that we honor your community, and I do not just say that as Ahmed Rehab but as a Muslim whose sentiment is shared by many other Muslims.


Most importantly, I want to take this opportunity to directly express to you and your fellow leaders my deepest condolences and sorrows for the loss of your loved ones. We will continue to raise our voices condemning, ostracizing, and disempowering those who claim to be part of our faith and yet engage in senseless brutality that we find to be an affront to the creator and his creation.


Ahmed M. Rehab
CAIR-Chicago

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>>On Thu, November 11, 2010 2:48 PM Waleeta Canon wrote:



Dear Ahmed,



We would be honored for you to share our message with your community. Like you, we share the sentiment that together we stand on much more solid ground, and that no group in the Middle East is an island. We are all part of the vibrant fabric of the Middle East, and we all want it to stay that way, despite the horrific attempts by any extremists to divide us and make us enemies.


Thank you for your kind words and condolences. We look forward to the opportunity to work together in the future.



Warm regards,


Waleeta Canon
Executive Board
AANC

A Model Anti Israeli Occupation Protest

Touching and Beautifully choreographed protest and video. This is how all anti-occupation protests should be. Peaceful, civil, yet profound. I hope that other college students can learn from ASU's creative example. Kudos to ASU, SJP and Saiaf Abdallah.

Beyond the Comfort Zone: Passion and Peril at a Pro-Christian Rally

Yesterday, CAIR-Chicago staff and interns participated in a rally alongside the Assyrian community of Chicago to condemn violence against Iraqi Christians. The rally was organized in response to the massacre of dozens of Assyrian Christians in Baghdad on October 31st.

It was a tricky decision for us. We knew that there could be anti-Muslim sentiment at the rally that would put is in a precarious position, but we decided that our disdain for the heinous acts of Al Qaeda far exceeded our concern for personal inconvenience.

We decided that the right thing for us to do was to act on our values and our sincere feelings of camaraderie with our fellow human beings in times of anguish. We wanted to raise our voices as Muslims in support of the Assyrian community and against terrorists who purport to act in the name of our faith.

Al Qaeda does not have reverence for any innocent life, including those of Muslims. It is a fact that they have bombed many more Mosques in Iraq than churches.
While we were weary of the possibility that some people at the rally could lash out at us, Muslims-at-large who condemn terrorism, we were not interested in seeing ourselves as victims. The only victims we were prepared to recognize were the 52 innocent souls that were claimed by the recent church bombing, and the many others - Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and otherwise - claimed by terrorism.

And so we set out with signs including "An Attack on Your Church is an Attack on my Mosque," "American Muslims, Iraqi Christians, One Blood," "My Brother is an Assyrian," "We Stand with Iraqi Christians," and "Muslims for Peace."

We held our signs up high and marched in solidarity with the predominantly Assyrian Christian crowd.

The reaction we got was mixed.

In an interesting scene that summed up my experience, I was asked by one man if I was a Muslim. I said "Yes, I am." He then asked, "Am I impure?"

I joked, "I don't know did you shower this morning?"

He dismissed the joke and asked me if I thought "his blood was impure." I told him, "why would you expect that, you've never met me, I am here supporting you, what about me leads you to ask me such a question?" He told me, "You said you are a Muslim." I told him, "so what?" He said that Muslims believe this sort of thing. I told him that he had been grossly misinformed, "you're blood like all innocent blood is holy to me."

Another man interjected and started yelling that I was "unwanted" there, motioning with his arms for me to leave. As he continued to yell at me, my attention was drawn to something that touched me. A young woman a few yards away leaned down on a stroller she was pushing and started to sob uncontrollably.

At first, I thought it had nothing to do with us but my intuition told me otherwise. I asked here, "what's wrong, why are you crying?"

She said unable to hold back her tears, "I am so sorry you and your friends have to deal with idiots like that, this man does not represent us, I am so embarrassed. This is so wrong."

Here I was standing before a stark display of contrasts, extreme animosity on one end and extreme compassion on the other.

In a single powerful moment, I was reminded yet again at the absurdity of those who generalize about any one group of people. Here were two people of the same religion, color, and ethnic background standing side by side rallying for the same cause -- and yet they could not be any more different.

I hugged her and tried to comfort her, "Trust me, I know, we have our share of idiots too, everyone has them, most people here have been kind."



And it was true. Many in the crowd were genuinely happy - almost relieved - to see Muslims standing with them at this rally. Some smiled, some nodded, others simply said "thank you!" It reinforced my feeling that our participation was extremely important.

While there were other incidents - one lady held a cross up to my face and told me I was a "bad Muslim" for condemning terrorism which is "in my Quran", two people told us that we are going to hell for not accepting Jesus as our Saviour, some guy yelled profanities and was held back by a girl half his size, another called for reciprocal violence - in every single instance, someone else would take a strong stance, telling the others to back off and apologizing.

As we made our way back to the office, we were chased by two girls. "Can I ask you a question?" one of them said. "Can I just give each of you guys a hug?"

We met back in the office for an evaluation.

I learned that my colleagues' experience mostly mirrored mine.

Despite the bigotry of some, we all felt strong solidarity with most people. We felt as if the Assyrian community, with its good and bad, was our own.

It is of no surprise to any of us that there are some negative feelings among some Arab and Assyrian Christian communities regarding Islam and Muslims. Part of it is understandable to us, given the ugly acts by saboteurs claiming to act in the name of Islam. Part of it is due to the opportunistic work of preachers like father Zakaria Boutros who make a living out of telling Arabic-speaking Christians that Islam is an evil religion. Part of it still is due to the lack of dialogue and engagement between our faith communities, and that was the part we resolved to try to change.

Assyrians have a long and proud history that goes back to one of the earliest civilizations in the world. They live as a religious minority in their indigenous homeland. For centuries, they have coexisted peacefully with their Muslim neighbors. But at other times, especially now, the instability and violence is leaving them feeling frightened for their loved ones and overall vulnerable. Some of them blame Al Qaeda, others demonize all Muslims, and others still blame the United States and its wars.

One thing we must never allow is for the bad amongst us – terrorists, extremists, ideologues of exclusion and hate – to succeed in turning the rest of us against each other. We must condemn them, ostracize them, and disempower them. The way to do that is to strengthen our relations, and stand with one another. That is the only way to spell defeat for the agents of hate.

We must emerge from our comfort zones and stand together as one against all forms of violence, ignorance, and intolerance.

When Christians are attacked, they should NOT have to rally alone. We must rally along with them. When Jews are attacked, they should NOT have to rally alone. When Muslims are attacked, we should NOT have to rally alone.

Update: The Assyrian National Leadership Responds

Muslim Vote Decides Illinois Gubernatorial Election

Now that the dust has settled on the 2010 midterm elections, political analysts and pundits alike are obsessing over the headlines while eschewing some of the less obvious but equally important revelations of this elections cycle.

First the obvious:

There is little doubt that this election was a referendum on the Democratic leadership of the last two years, just as the Democratic ascent to power two years ago was a referendum on the Republican leadership before it. The pendulum trajectory that our electoral culture seems to be chartering is somewhat problematic since it reinforces the notion that the out-of-power party should hold back, waiting and hoping for those in power to screw up. This breeds an attitude of divisiveness and ill-will, one that makes it hard for any important issue to move forward.

Two years ago, President Obama and the democrats were swept into power with a mandate handed to them by more than 50% of the voting populace. Obama received 7% more popular votes than McCain and a whopping 53% more electoral votes. Democrats swept House and Senate, earning a clear majority in each. And yet the Democrats failed to act boldly on their mandate by leveraging the dizzying enthusiasm in their base. Instead, they took compromising positions on key issues that dissipated enthusiasm within Democratic voters while failing to win over conservatives who grew in their bitterness and ire. Indeed, the enthusiasm shifted to the other side, the Tea Party organized with as much passion in 2010 as the Democratic base had done in 2008. Independent voters, forever the decisive wildcard, did what they do best and voted for change.

The results, the Republicans swept back to power claiming the House with a clear majority.

But all is not lost for the Democrats. The Democrats did manage to hold on to the Senate --and to the Tea Party's chagrin I am sure, they even managed to hold on to the "face of Obama's policies," Senate majority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) who has been receiving the lion's share of conservative ire.

So now there is something of a power share leaving commentators wondering if Obama is going to be a Clinton or a Carter.

But, the headline aside, there was much more to how this election cycle panned out:

While the Tea Party's fever-pitched enthusiasm definitely helped the Republicans, the Tea Party is not all powerful. Several Tea Party candidates including Christine O'Donnell, the most talked about candidate of 2010, and anti-Islam mouthpiece Carl Paladino, flopped.

Despite the ugly rise in Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric nationwide, Both Muslim congressmen, Keith Ellison and Andre Carson were easily re-elected. Ellison who faced a viscous anti-Muslim campaign by the Tea Party, received one of the highest total number of votes in any congressional election in the country.

Ellison was not the only won to disappoint anti-diversity sentiment. Hansen Hashem Clarke won a US congressional seat. Hansen who is half Bangladeshi, half African-American, of Muslim and Catholic background, and married to a Korean born woman raised by Jews, quickly vowed to fight racial and religious profiling.

Locally in Illinois,  anti-immigrant congressman Mark Kirk managed to squeeze past Alexi Giannoulias in a tightly-contested election to claim Obama's old Senate seat. But the immigrant vote poured in large numbers and was largely organized, helping to determine many other local and national important elections including Reid, Boxer, Bennet, and Murray for the US Senate (Reid won 90% of the Latino vote, to Angle's 8%).

The Muslim vote, which largely caucuses with the immigrant vote, was in of itself a key decider in this election as well. It is safe to say that the Muslim vote was the single difference between Bill Brady losing and Pat Quinn given that only 19,000 votes separated the two (Brady has yet to concede but will). Had the Republicans and Bill Brady paid as much attention to Muslim issues (which include anti-bigotry but also things like healthcare and education) during the campaign as the Democrats  and Pat Quinn, they may have been celebrating Illinois' first Republican governor since George Ryan.

I will close with this take home lesson for future candidates: Muslims may be small in number but we are organizing. We are voting at much higher rates and as a bloc, we CAN decide important elections, and we WILL.