The Indian Muslim issue is something very nuanced. It is something no one else will work on,” noted Attaulla Khan, pictured above. Khan is the outgoing General Secretary of IAMC’s National Executive Board. Photo courtesy of IAMC-USA.
The Indian American Muslim Council held its annual fundraising dinner at the Paradise Indian Cuisine in Baltimore, MD, on Saturday, December 11, 2010.
The evening’s program provided a platform for IAMC to inform the audience on the importance of the advocacy work it undertakes on behalf of Muslims in India, who make up the largest minority living in a democracy and constitute 15% of India’s population.
IAMC’s work focuses on the “protection of human rights and human dignity”, which are the values that provide the “foundation for freedom, justice and peace”. Since its initiation in August 2002 in the aftermath of the genocide of Muslims in Gujurat, India, in which thousands of men, women and children were burned alive, violated, mutilated and hacked to death by rampaging mobs of Hindu extremists, IAMC’s mission has been to raise awareness of issues of concern to Indian Muslims and to break the cycle of socio-economic disadvantage that has plagued the Muslim population in the 50 years since the country’s independence.
“The Indian Muslim issue is something very nuanced. It is something no one else will work on,” noted Attaulla Khan, outgoing General Secretary of IAMC’s National Executive Board, as he recalled how little public awareness there was on the Gujurat massacre, outside of India. “We are at fault because we did not inform people about it.” Khan also observed how amongst Indian representation in Washington, D.C. - which includes organizations like the Sikh Coalition, Dalit Freedom Network and the Hindu American Foundation - a Muslim presence is notably missing.
The organization recently changed its name, adding “American” to its former name, the “Indian Muslim Council”. The change, which took place on U.N. Human Rights Day, was also done to “truly reflect who we are”, said Khan. “The new name defines the identity and the geography we work from with more clarity.” Khan also noted that this would help the younger generation better identify themselves with IAMC.
Currently active in 8 cities in the U.S.A. and with 10 chapters nationwide, IAMC’s goal over the next few years is to have 20 chapters. IAMC is also working with groups in the U.K. and Canada to initiate a Global Council of Indian Muslims. The initiation of a women’s group of IAMC in Maryland was also announced.
The audience was updated on the newly elected IAMC leadership on the local and national levels, which will steer the organization’s work through July 2012. The new team for the MD-VA Chapter includes Farhat Azam as President, Safi Ahmed as Vice-President and Mumtaz Sharif as General Secretary. The National Executive team includes Shaheen Khateeb as President, Khalid Azam as Vice President, Zafar Haq as General Secretary and Jawad Khan as Treasurer.
Speaking about the motivating factor behind those whose volunteer work has helped produce such an impact, Khan said the mission is connected to faith. “The work we do excites us. The kind of comfort and reward you get at the end of the day when you go to sleep knowing that you are trying to help someone who is weak, someone who is helpless...and doing Allah’s work [is what motivates us]. It is an honor to be doing this work. It is a privilege that Allah has chosen us [to do this work].”
IAMC paid tribute to the dedicated work and legacy of one of its founding members, Dr. Omar Khalidi, who was tragically killed in an accident in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Khalidi was a pioneer in the field of research on Indian Muslims and Contemporary Politics, leaving behind a monumental legacy that had a significant impact on the political landscape of India. One of his most prominent published works, “Khaki and Ethnic Violence in India : Armed Forces, Police and Paramilitary During Communal Riots” caused an “uproar in Indian Parliament.” Attaulla Khan recalled that Dr. Khaildi’s goal in his work was to bring about improvement and that he would say, “when you see a deficiency, you point it out - not to find fault but to try to improve.”
“Omar Khalidi was an inspiration to IAMC,” recalled Khan. “When he came to the meetings, he was always excited.” Khan quoted a frequent saying of Dr. Khalidi that IAMC had taken to heart, “ What is good for India is good for Indian Muslims. What is good for Indian Muslims is good for India.” Khan announced that IAMC was starting a “Dr.Omar Khalidi Memorial Fund, in memory of Dr.Khalidi, to preserve and perpetuate his research work and make it available to current researchers and the future generations.” He also said that IAMC will try to put his work online at the domain (omarkhalidi.com) that Dr.Khalidi had registered under his name a short period of time before his death.
Alia Khalidi, daughter of Dr. Khalidi, a law student at Suffolk College in Massachusets, delivered a moving speech in honor of the memory of her father and his relentless work in the advocacy for Indian Muslims. She recalled how she would accompany him on the lectures he would deliver on a regular basis to inform people about the situation of Muslims in India and how he had traveled all over the world through the U.S. State Department to share his knowledge on Islamic architecture.
“He left India early, but never forgot India,” said Ms.Khalidi. “At the heart of his work was a deep-rooted desire to help the Muslims in India.”
Attaulla Khan also briefed the audience on some of the projects that IAMC has been involved in during the past 8 years, such as the campaign in 2005 against Narendra Modi, the Gujurat Minister during the 2002 genocide who had sanctioned the massacre and who was planning to visit the U.S. During the 45 day campaign, which included the work of paid lobbyists, 21 congressmen signed up to the cause, resulting in the the House condemning Modi and the U.S. State Department revoking his U.S. visa. IAMC’s awareness campaign also resulted in Modi being dis-invited from a World Economic Forum (WEF) summit that he was scheduled to attend. In 2008, amidst rumors of another planned visit to the U.S. by Modi, IAMC undertook another campaign involving hand-delivering about 12,000 letters from constituents in different states to the Congress. 38 Congressmen also wrote letters to the Department of State, leading to the latter confirming that there would be no visa for Modi.
IAMC’s efforts played a pivotal role in the release of all but one of 100 Muslim youth arrested in Hyderabad, India, on false terrorism charges following bomb blasts in the city. IAMC was able to help prove that the youth were subjected to torture under police custody and were forced to give false testimonies in the case. IAMC has sponsored a documentary film on fake encounter killings in India, a phenomenon whose frequency has subsided in recent years due to media exposure. IAMC is also working, in conjunction with director Shubhradeep Chakravorty, on two other documentary films; one on attempts to subvert the Indian Judicial system and one following the impacted lives of those falsely accused of terrorism.
As part of its media awareness efforts, IAMC sponsors the work of an independent community media organization, TwoCircles.net (TCN), that seeks to present news and views on media stories of interest in India from the Muslim perspective. The founder and editor-in-chief of TCN, Kashif-ul-Huda, based in Massachusets, was the keynote speaker for the evening. After asking the audience’s opinion on some of the challenges facing Muslims in India, Huda explained the need for community media.
“The majority of our opinion doesn’t get represented in the media,” said Huda. “Usually Muslim news in mainstream media is in a negative context.” Huda said the goal of the efforts of TCN with regards to Non-Muslim Indian readers was to educate them about Muslim viewpoints, to present a positive image of Muslims and to provide a platform for exchange of views and removal of misconceptions. For Muslim readers, Huda said, this provides an opportunity to educate, inform and empower, through highlighting positive role models, community news, field reporting and new ideas. Huda said that most traffic on the site was from areas around India with higher Muslim concentrations. High-traffic areas in the U.S. included California, Illinois, New York and Texas, and worldwide traffic was mainly generated from India, the U.S.A., some Gulf countries and Australia. Huda said reporting for TCN currently comes from some hired full-time reporters in India, and other part-time and freelance reporters. He said TCN’s goal ultimately is to have a reporter based in every state of India.
Huda said that TCN stories and articles have had a lot of impact on mainstream media, with major news sources like the ‘Times of India’ and ‘Hindustan Times’ following up on stories first brought to light by TCN. Huda said he is regularly contacted by mainstream media organizations and TCN has become an important source of news on Indian Muslims, as well as providing intellectual and strategic support to Muslims.
The fund-raising portion of the evening was conducted by Imam Irfan Kabeeruddin, director of Dar-ul-Uloom Maryland. The goal of $20,000 to cover the cost of IAMC’s projects was quickly reached and slightly exceeded by the end of the evening. The program was concluded with entertainment by Amaan Ali, a young American of Indian heritage who has been doing comedy shows for a number of years.
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