A new coordinating body of Muslim leaders in Western nations is in the works. To bring it to fruition, an international steering committee was formed in Washington D.C., where 200 Muslim leaders from local and national organizations met on February 1-3 in Arlington, VA for the 1st International Conference of Muslim Councils in the West. The summit was organized by the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO).
Delegates from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Australia, Canada, the Carribean, Latin America, and South Africa made presentations on the state of Muslims in their respective countries.
There was a time where there were standing fatwas against citizenship in non Muslim lands, shared the French delegate Abdullah bin Mansour, from the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, with the delegates, marvelling on how far Muslims have come as citizens of the West. 21 Ulema met in [France] in the early 90s to address jurisprudence specific to Non Muslim lands, he said. Most Muslims in Europe now are indigneous, from Turkey, the Balkans and Russia.
From Dr. Abed Ayoub, the CEO and President of the United Muslim Relief, to Arsalan Suleman, the United States Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, from Noera Ayaz of Women in Islam, to Chaplain Asma Hanif, many American Muslim leaders attended the conference.
The aim was to note trends and find solutions to shared issues of concern. For three days the international consortium of leaders discussed anti-Muslim bigotry, integration and Countering Violent Extremism and search faith based solutions to common challenges.
Dividing the delegates into 3 groups roundtable discussions sought solutions on identifying and developing strategic priorities for the Muslim communities in the West, exchanging ideas and developing strategies to address the rise of Some of Some of the topics tackled were Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry in the West, developing ways with which to challenge and counteract the problem of violent extremism in all its forms, enhancing the integration and positive contributions of Muslim communities in the societies in which they live, and developing strategies for the resettlement of the new waves of refugees and exchanging experiences and resources.
Nadia Hasan, co founder of the Young Leaders Institute (YLI), a new leadership training organization, discovered that many of the fellow participants that attended the 3-day summit are involved in interfaith work, however, she is of the opinion that, given this particular agenda, intra-faith work is as or more important here and attendees need to focus on strengthening ties between various diverse Muslim communities as a means to overcome the obstacles that are afflicting Muslim communities around the world.
It seemed to me that Muslims in the U.S. are far more well established and ingrained in their society than other countries. I used to think the opposite. Many of the Muslim visitors expressed their surprise at how well the Muslims in the U.S. have established themselves and that they're excited to see if they can apply a similar model in their own countries. I was personally very impressed by the French representative, commented participant Rameez Abid, Director of Communication & Outreach for the ICNA Council for Social Justice.
Dr Maha Hilal brought up the role of state violence in the rise of anti Muslim bigotry, and said that unless that was addressed problems would remain. Others encouraged participants to run for office at city and state levels, and challenge the government on Counter Violent Terrorism policies. Surveys were encouraged to get feedback from Muslim communities and others to see what policies were working and what werent in regards to integration, Islamophobia and anti- terrorism initiatives..
The Conference was a successful and productive event with participants discussing issues and working together to propose solutions, noted Oussama Jamal, the Chairman of USCMO.
"I thought it was an amazing gathering and I was thrilled to be amongst a vast group of influential global Muslim leaders from all corners of the globe, as far away as Australia. For two days, we discussed strategic priorities and we actively participated in recommending resolutions on how to deal with Islamophobia, integration, youth radicalization and countering violent extremism. As lively and intellectually stimulating the conversations and the debates were, I questioned the efficacy to the extent in which these resolutions could be practically implemented and to what degree would their impact resonate locally and globally? said Nadia Hasan,.
The leaders came to a resolution acknowledging the need and agreed to form a Coordinating Body of Muslim Councils in the West and have formed a steering committee to implement this decision.
Many participants discovered that making the masajid more welcoming and friendly was a concern across the board and youth and women focused programming was needed.
My final plea was for us to take a real look at the forces and bonds of 'unity' between local Muslim communities, or lack thereof, and for us to have a real, honest conversation about what divides us so that we may increase the effectiveness of these resolutions as we work to build a full-fledged, inclusive, diverse, inter-generational and women-friendly global Muslim community, the One Ummah that was described by our beloved Prophet. Let's stop talking about unity and let's start acting in unity! Unity is Immunity! said Hasan of YLI.
"We will continue to engage in civic, social, political and educational areas to better integrate the Muslims in their own countries, as well as internationally", Said Oussama Jammal, Secretary General of USCMO.
The historic conference was a vibrant open discussion with enthusiastic participation from a diverse set of leaders who represented the Muslim community in the West. A commitment to continue such meetings, which bring leaders together for a common purpose and a vision for our community, was agreed on by all, read a statement issued by USMCO.
A parallel program was arranged for relief organizations. For some time all major American Muslim relief organizations have been talking about forming an umbrella council to coordinate domestic relief efforts and last December, the loosely formed coalition worked together during a tornado in Texas. The conference provided a venue for these talks to continue and had several sessions with the State department and the Office of Refugee Admissions.
Noting the dissonance that is the US government and the amount of work and money that goes into refugee resettlement, into providing mental health services for torture victims, one participant stated, What if the wonderful government employees who worked in the State department resettling refugees actually met with those who make policies to kill and torture the very same people. It's like the government is suffering from bipolar disorder, stated a participant.
Murat Kose of Zakat Foundation of America (ZF) was a major sponsor of the conference. They needed sponsorship and from a unity point of view it was a good effort. We always wanted something like this for Muslims and they took the lead on this and we want to support them, said Kose.
We need to grow up and think nationally. But this is a difficult conversation for Muslims leaders to have, to convince people. This Relief Council would partner with masajid and Islamic Centers in the United States, so masjids can focus on being a masjid, added Kose.
"There is a need for a forum of Muslim organizations in the west" stated Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain. He asked that the next conference be sponsored by think tanks and publications as sponsorship by relief organizations signaled that Muslims were in crisis mode, whereas he believes that Muslims are thriving in the West.
Zaynab O Lalla, one of the two women from the Swedish delegation and an emerging leader, was happy to meet Muslim women leaders from other countries. One participant from Europe felt that the discussions were American-centric and did not apply to her country.
While it is clear that Muslim Americans must become more active in their communities, they are not alone: it is the responsibility of every American, regardless of faith or race, to engage more directly in society, noted Mariane Leite, who works with the Muslim community in DC as a nation building consultant who was invited to the special luncheon along with several interfaith partners.
Congressman Keith Ellison gave a keynote as did Former Ambassador from South Africa Ebrahim Rasool. Rasool, who has lived through apartheid and had to declare his children illegitimate under the apartheid regime made a speech, that really touched hearts. He said Muslims need to give people a healthy way out when we frame our issues. A dead end is terribly hopeless. The option for redemption should remain open. South African Muslims stood with the oppressed and overcame hate and prejudice to lead their country, and so should American Muslims.
I think the conference was beneficial. This is the first time in history that Western based Muslim organizations came together to find solutions to common problems being faced by Muslims in the West. I would even go far as to say that it is a pioneering moment. Hopefully, this will lead to future similar endeavors. My main takeaway was that all these Muslim leaders were willing to put aside their petty differences and actually work together for the betterment of the Muslim community in the West, said Abid.
Comments powered by CComment