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IIIT Roundtable on Islamic Studies in American Universities

NOTES FROM THE IIIT CONFERENCE ON IFTAA AND FATWA IN THE MUSLIM WORLD AND THE WEST: THE CHALLENGES OF AUTHORITY, LEGITIMACY AND RELEVANCE #9

[This is the ninth in a series of my notes on the International Institute of Islamic Thought conference on iftaa and fatwa held in Herndon, VA. These notes are raw material for an edited report I will write on the conference and represents my perception of the discussion. The proceedings will be published by IIIT at a later time. The Minaret of Freedom Institute thanks IIIT for the grant that makes the publication of these notes possible. Responsibility for any errors in the notes is mine alone.]
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Need to make our voices heard!

August 16, 2012
Dr Zahid Bukhari

This is the season of Ramazan, one of the holiest times of the year for practicing Muslims. For one month, we fast from dawn until dusk, increase our charity work and deepen our faith through the Quran. This year, as Ramazan comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the many ways this faith is being misrepresented.

Muslim Americans are in the midst of a profound crisis. Our faith is under assault. Radical groups abroad are using Islam as a justification for wanton violence, which is strictly forbidden in the Muslim faith. And at home in the United States, Islam is being criminalized, turned into an object of suspicion and threat. In New York City, the Police Department has made a practice of spying on Muslims in their restaurants, bookstores and places of worship.

Conspiracy theorists continue to ‘accuse’ President Barack Obama of being Muslim, as if this were a bad thing, capable of disqualifying him from leading the nation. And throughout the country, a movement to ban US courts from considering Shariah in their legal decisions has been sweeping the legislatures in one state after another.
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House Testimony on “Significance of Zakah in Islam and Charitable traditions of Muslims in America”

Testimony Before a Joint Hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Non proliferation

May 4, 2005, 2:00 PM, 2128 Rayburn House Building

Hearing entitled: “Significance of Zakah in Islam and Charitable traditions of Muslims in America”

Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari
Director, American Muslim Studies Program (AMSP), Fellow, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
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American Mosque in the 21 Century: Identity, Education and Empowerment

Conversation with Leadership

March 20, 2008 – 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM – Room ICC-270

POINTS TO PONDER
These points are not intended to be complete or comprehensive, nor are they in any order of significance. They are only intended to stimulate thinking and discussion.
Mosque and Muslim Identity – at the individual level
Mosque and Muslim Communal Presence – at group level
Mosque and Governance – by-laws, leadership and conflict resolution
Mosque and Worship – congregational prayers and rituals
Mosque and Social Cohesion – counseling, bonding, social service
Mosque as Sacred Space – centrality of prayer area and facilities
Mosque and Aesthetics – architecture, functionality, space design
Mosque as Center of Learning – khutbahs, halaqas, schools, education at all levels
Mosque and Change – persuasion and education by Imam and leadership
Mosque and Relations with other Mosques – especially between suburban & inner-city
Mosque and Mobilizations – advocacy for social and political causes
Mosque and Society – symbolism, activism, representation
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A Miniature Replica of the Muslim World

An interview with Zahid H.Bukhari, Director of the American Muslim Studies program at the Georgetown University, by Rita Rudusa.

You have conducted a study of Muslims living in the US[1]. What were your key findings about the distinctive characteristics of an average American Muslim?
During the Project MAPS we came up with five characteristics of the American Muslim community. But before describing them, I would like to say, briefly, that nobody knows the exact number of American Muslims, because this question is not asked in census. There are different estimates — some say there are about six million, in 1989, The New York Times published that figure. Some scholars contest it and think there are three million. Interestingly, Hollywood also mentioned American Muslims. In the movie Syriana one of the characters says that there are ten million. So, we are between three and ten million (laughs). However, there is consensus among scholars that numbers are growing.
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A Question on Religion in the US Census

The United States Census Bureau produces quality data about almost all aspects of the nation’s people and the economy. One can find in its annual reports personal data on class, race, ethnicity, gender, age, education, profession, occupation, income level, marital status, place of birth and origin of immigrant country. Besides the details of households’ facilities, the census reports also include data on Americans’ agricultural and industrial activities and resources. However, it is quite astonishing that the information on the religion of the American people is totally absent from the national census. These socio-economic variables are especially important in understanding the human behavior. While we question most of these variables, the “R” question is conspicuously absent. Several other developed countries including England, Canada and Australia, on the other hand, include the religion question in their censuses.
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ACMCU: Bridging the Gap between the Muslim World and the West

Washington DC, the capital of the United States, is also called a city of strangers. Each election cycle brings several thousands newcomers, elected and nominated, to this city. They make policy decisions about the future of the nation during their tenure and then at the beginning of the new cycle the majority of them decide to stay in the city permanently.

The DC diamond, surrounded by a circular road, the Beltway, has its own unique attraction. Every politician of the country dreams about joining the DC circle. However, during the election process the candidates campaign on the slogan that he or she doesn’t have any connection to Washington. While the media pundits around the nation always talk about ‘who controls this city’ and ‘how it works?’

Professor Sulayman Nyang of Howard University describes Washington as a city of twelve tribes who have their own sub-cultures, maintain and developed their own streets, restaurants, languages, abbreviations, etiquettes and sets of agenda. These tribes and their off springs could be explained as follows:
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Blind Men and the Elephant: Media Outlets, Political Pundits and the Pew Study on Muslim Americans

The Pew Research Center has issued an interesting study of Muslim Americans on May 22 and it was reported widely in the American media. The thrust of the Pew study, “Muslim American: Middle Class and mostly Mainstream” is that Muslim Americans are “decidedly American in their outlook, values and attitudes.” It is, however, shocking that several media outlets and political pundits projected Pew’s overall positive picture of the American Muslim community in a very negative and biased way.

Three issues from the Pew study have become the focus of media reporting and discussion: support of suicidal bombing and al-Qaida among youth under 30 and African American Muslims; Muslim’s belief that the Arabs were not responsible for the 9/11 attack; and the low count of Muslim Americans (2.35 million). The wildly different interpretations of some of the Pew study results remind me of the classical story of the ‘blind men and the elephant’ when the blind men tried to explain the elephant by touching one part and then describing it with their own perspectives or prejudices.
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American Muslim Poll 2004

Project MAPS: Muslims in American Public Square is presenting the results of the second American Muslims Poll. The first poll was conducted through the Zogby International in the months of November and December 2001. The 2004 Poll covers the following areas:

1) Demographics: gender, generation and ethnicity, U.S. born and immigrants, income and education levels, age and occupation.
2) Religious practices: relationship with the mosque, ethnic composition of congregations, conversion to Islam, importance of religion in their life and interaction between the mosque and politics.
3) Opinion and behavior on social and political issues: party affiliation, voting in the presidential election, impact of the American Muslim Taskforce, foreign policy and other domestic issues relating to religion and public life.
4) Fallout from 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq: reaction, backlash, racial profiling, war against terrorism, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
5) Media and financial habits: sources of news, exposure to ethnic media, portrayal of Muslims and Islam in the mainstream media as well as in Hollywood, stocks ownership and being in the investor club.

The project commissioned Zogby International to conduct the Poll through phone interviews of a nationwide representative sample of the American Muslim population during the months of August and September 2004. The questionnaire was developed with by the Project MAPS team and staff of Zogby International. Several questions of 2001 poll are repeated in 2004 to have a comparative picture of the American Muslim community Project MAPS seeks to document the role and contribution of the Muslim community in the American public life. It is a research project that began in 1999 with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Pew Charitable Trusts are supporting the MAPS project as part of a larger examination of seven major religious groups in the United States and their place in public life. The Project is housed at Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU).

Click here for the full report. (Size: 5.76 MB)