There is no doubt that the Muslims living in US faced many challenges after the attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, but they turned the adversity into opportunity.
“There had been a rise in anti-Muslim sentiments post 9/11 in the US which led to various crimes, including hate crimes and destruction of Muslim properties. However, the Muslims met these challenges well by engaging with the government and the civil society and interacting with interfaith allies and the media,” said the president of Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY), Asim Rehman on Tuesday. Mr Rehman was speaking on “Muslim identity in a pluralistic society.” He was in Kolkata as part of his tour of different Indian cities.
Mr Rehman acknowledged that due to growing antagonism and suspicion, the New York police even started spying on some local mosques and many Muslim Americans faced immense problems while travelling. There was also an opposition to construction of new mosques in many areas. “However, the US government played an excellent role. It told the court that although it was not a party in the dispute, it supported the Muslim community’s right to build its place of worship like any other community,” he added.
According to Mr Rehman, the main reason of Islamophobia in the USA was misinformation. “However, the good news is that in the post 9/11 era, the Muslim Americans has strengthened its presence in civil society. To get their due, they used the same methods which other minority groups had earlier used to successfully fight for their causes,” he added.
Through an increased engagement with the government and the police and considerable help from the civil liberty groups and the powerful justice system, the Muslim Americans now find themselves in a much better position. “According to a Gallup poll, a large section of Muslim community said it was thriving in the USA,” Mr Rehman added.
Mr Rehman narrated an incident which reflected the spirit of tolerance, fellow-feeling and generosity of both the American society and the Muslim Americans. In August 2012, a fund-raising drive was launched to rebuild a mosque in Joplin in Missouri which was destroyed in an apparent hate crime. “The Muslims had planned to collect $100,000 dollars. However, they ended up collecting $ 400,000 because not just Muslims but non-Muslim Americans also generously donated. It was their way of giving-back to the local Muslim community because the mosque had played a key role in providing relief and rehabilitation to the people of the area when Joplin was hit by a devastating tornado in May 2011,” he added.