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Houston Chronicle – February 18, 2007
Minnesota:
Congressman's Imam is leading interfaith efforts
On the evening after Minnesota's Democratic primary in September, Makram El-Amin picked up his ringing cell phone to hear the raspy, exhausted voice of Keith Ellison. The men had known each other for a decade, long enough for El-Amin to become the imam of a mosque in their North Minneapolis neighborhood and Ellison to win a seat as the area's state representative.
Now Ellison had survived a bruising campaign for the Democratic nomination for Congress and was headed into a general election. It was bound to include even more scrutiny and vitriol from opponents, based on his past in the Nation of Islam and his present as a Sunni Muslim. So Ellison was calling, as El-Amin recounted the other day, not as a politician but as a congregant, seeking pastoral counsel.
"Be the person you've been all along," El-Amin recalls telling Ellison. "Be a public servant, not an Islamic spokesman. Keep the interest of all the people in the forefront. That's what Muhammad himself would do."
Two months later, Ellison won election, becoming the first Muslim member of Congress. As for El-Amin, he was transformed into a congressman's imam, putting an Islamic imprint on the role of spiritual adviser played by such figures as the Rev. Billy Graham and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
In Minneapolis, El-Amin has made a reputation for engaging across racial and denominational lines. None of that, it must be said, has stopped him from receiving pointed questions about Islam and terrorism or Islam.
"I'm not offended that the American people want to know what we believe and why we believe," he said. "That's sensible. It's the mischaracterization that's irresponsible. If someone asks me why the reward for martyrdom is heaven with unlimited virgins, I have to tell him that's a complete myth."…….
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4562471.html
E-Press – February 15, 2007
Islam in the African-American community
Sarah Cardoni
Students and teachers trickled into the dimly lit room, full of empty desks and chairs, and a podium in the northeast corner. As the clock ticked closer to noon, in walked a tall, well-dressed man carrying a briefcase.
After glancing at the clock, he promptly began, “In the name of God, most gracious full.”
Rashad Baadqir began his seminar “Islam Within the African-American Community” with a story of his own youth in Los Angeles. He came from a loving Christian home, but later found himself drawn to Islam by the actions and words of activist Malcolm X.
Baadqir spoke of Islam’s presence in America beginning when Africans were enslaved and brought to the U.S. Although very few slaves were allowed to keep their beliefs, the majority weren’t allowed to practice their religion and, over time, lost all knowledge of Islam.
“Many of us feel that you kind of come to the acceptance that you are a prayer to the African-Americans of earlier generations,” says Baadqir.
Islam among African-Americans has increased since the end of slavery. A recent study by the International Strategy and Policy Institute, a Muslim American based group in Chicago, showed that 64 percent of the Americans who convert to Islam today are African-American, and out of the 5 – 7 million Muslims in America, 33 percent are African-American, making them the single largest racial group of American Muslims.
Baadqir encouraged his audience to think more carefully about the racial and cultural issues that go on around them, and how those issues affect the diverse communities that we live in.
Dr. Pamela Lindell, a resource coordinator and professor of anthropology at City College, couldn’t agree more.
“We’re always looking for interesting speakers that can help the community learn about different cultures and religions,” says Lindell. “I thought it would be very informative, that it would be a good opportunity to learn about Islam and the African-American Community.”
Rashad Baadqir has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in organizational management, and now works in private practice as a multicultural competency consultant. He is the author of “The Browning of Europe,” and has been a member of several community and professional organizations, and participated in a variety of forums, seminars, and workshops all on cultural and religious diversity.
http://www.scc.losrios.edu/express/sp07/070215/070215Baadqir.html
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