American Muslim Communities: Security Risk or Source of Hope?
continued
The first question was posed by an audience member inquiring about the process her Turkish son-in-law might expect to encounter as he applies for a visa to the U.S. Daniel Sutherland responded that since 9/11, the legal process for obtaining a visa has become much more complicated and advised that her son-in-law hire a good attorney. Muqtedar Khan replied that since the U.S. has very good relations with Turkey and Turkey is not on the list of suspect countries, the process should be relatively smooth. He went on to say that the Turkish American community is not part of what he considers to be "American Muslim politics."
The second questioner asserted that there is a contradiction between the pervading climate of fear and Muqtedar Khan's position that Muslim Americans reacted wrongly post-9/11. Naheed Qureshi responded that many Muslim organizations issued condemnations of the attacks, although these condemnations were not necessarily widely publicized. It would be impossible for Muslims to condemn every individual act of violence, she said, and, in expecting this, a standard has been created whereby Muslims have been set up to fail.
The third question was directed to Daniel Sutherland, who was asked to specifically describe what his office does, how he works with Muslim communities, what types of people he employs, whether there are Muslims working in his office, and if so, whether they are active in their communities. Government efforts to engage with the community will not be successful, the questioner said, if the government has its own interpreters who do not understand Islam. Sutherland responded that his office is working to build trust and build relationships with Muslim communities by helping individuals who, for example, have wrongly had visas blocked or whose names have incorrectly been placed on no-fly lists. He acknowledged that the government has not done well in employing Muslims and that this is a situation that needs improvement.
Muqtedar Khan joined the discussion, making the distinction that he and Naheed Qureshi look at American Muslims through different lenses. From a civil rights perspective, he said, many who did not identify strongly as Muslims were targeted by the government and therefore returned to American Muslim communities, which he defined as mosque-centered. Khan said that American Muslims have not been invited to make policy, offering the example that the head of the Pakistani American Congress would never go on to become ambassador to Pakistan, quite unlike Israeli lobbyists who are often appointed to policy-making posts.
The fourth questioner noted that the panelists seem to use the terms "American Muslims" and "Muslim Americans" interchangeably, although differences in meaning seem apparent. Naheed Qureshi explained that the second term is usually considered the primary identifier. Muqtedar Khan replied that there is a heated debate within the community as to how to define itself. The trend in the U.S., he said, is to talk of ethnicity as prefix and talk of religion as the main term. He went on to say that only if Muslims include America in their self-identification, i.e. if they accept that there is something American about them, will America include Islam in its identification.
The fifth question was directed at Muqtedar Khan, asking him to elaborate on his implication that there is a choice or opposition for American Muslims between American policy and policy in their home countries. Khan responded by offering an anecdote from a discussion he had with members of the Pakistani American Congress prior to the 2004 presidential election who were torn as to how to vote because Bush was perceived to be a good choice for Pakistan, but not for American Muslims.
The next question was posed to Naheed Qureshi and challenged her assertion that targeting Muslim communities is not effective law enforcement. The questioner pointed out that there is evidence that Al-Qaeda has infiltrated the U.S. Would they not, then, the questioner asked, try to cultivate contacts within American Muslim communities? Qureshi responded that drawing such a conclusion is probably false, as the 9/11 perpetrators did not infiltrate American Muslim communities. She stressed that it is important for Americans to understand that there is no evidence of Al-Qaeda moles in Muslim communities in the U.S.
Muqtedar Khan added that Al-Qaeda is far more sophisticated than most people think and explicitly does not engage with American Muslim communities, not least of all because of the amount of surveillance on these communities. Moreover, Khan stated, American Muslim communities are conscious about their own self-interest and have distanced themselves from Al-Qaeda. Daniel Sutherland noted that American Muslim communities police themselves.
The final question came from an audience member who travels frequently and is constantly detained by security officials because he has a common Muslim name, a name he shares with a wanted terrorist suspect. Daniel Sutherland acknowledged that terrorist watch lists are a new endeavor and that it will take time to make them work better. He then explained the procedure for filing a grievance with the Transportation Safety Authority to remove oneself from a watch list. Sutherland made clear that it is to the advantage of the government to remove those names that have been wrongly included on watch lists, to lessen the civil rights infringements and resource implications associated with these lists. Muqtedar Khan suggested that the questioner use his full name when traveling to lessen the likelihood that he is stopped. Naheed Qureshi interjected that, while a practical solution, no one should have to do this as Americans have a constitutional right to travel freely. The beauty of the system, she said, is that Americans have the opportunity to complain to government agencies. She emphasized that American Muslims should take advantage of opportunities to engage with the government; when we fail to complain, she said, we communicate that there is no problem. Muqtedar Khan added in closing that American Muslims cannot ignore the problem of Muslim terrorists. He said that American Muslims, himself included, have responsibilities to ensure that there is not another attack on American soil.
Mustapha Tlili then brought the discussion to a close, thanking the panelists and audience members for their participation.
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