>>I want to read to a very powerful blog post that our colleague Ibrahim Musso wrote. And this was around the time of the controversy of the Park 51 Project, the Islamic center was being built a number of blocks from the former World Trade Center where now the memorial museum are being built. And he wrote this, of course I'll make the link available to our students. He said, "Post 9/11 many people asked Muslims to apologize for 9/11. I adamantly refused. To apologize, I said to myself, was to accept responsibility and accept collective guilt for something I did not do nor what the majority of Muslims did. So I still refuse to accept responsibility for a crime I did not commit.". But he then goes on and says, "I did realize something, that I need to apologize to my fellow Americans and all victims of terror who suffered for harm committed in the name of Islam. I have to do so unconditionally irrespective of my creed, ethnicity or citizenship for the terror committed in the name of my faith, my deity, my Prophet, my community. I also make this apology to Muslim victims of terror. So what do I apologize for? I apologize for the hurt, pain and loss caused to the family members of those who are dead and to the survivors for the deeds committed by people who acted in my name as a Muslim." What do you think of what our friend Ibrahim has written? >>I read this blog three years ago and with tears. I think this is a profound and commendable wisdom of answering your question, why is this not working? Why the cry and outrage of the Muslim community is not heard by their fellow Americans? I think he's in, a very self-critical way, acknowledging that Muslim community has a lot more to do in terms of developing the message, the language which will be accessible. We are saying it but not in the form and shape that our fellow Americans can hear us. We are saying it or doing all these things, but because of our maybe immigrant background, because of not knowing the American landscape as good as we should, still it's not registering, it's not becoming a healing message. The healing is not there. We are just bombarding people with facts and justifications, maybe excuses, etcetera. But I think he is basically just saying, no, we should apologize. We should apologize for the hurt and the pain that our fellow Muslims in the name of our religion caused. And that constitutes for a genuine apology. What's wrong with that? I took that very, very seriously and I toned down my defensiveness since then after reading Ibrahim's post. And in many forms and shape I am trying to shape that apology. And I have made some progress but I think I have more work to do. >>Oh we all do. What's your feeling now many years, over a decade past 9/11? Do you feel Muslim Americans feel that they can be an integral part of American society or are you pessimistic? Where where do you stand? >>I am absolutely optimistic that we shall overcome this one too. I never realized this crisis of Islamophobia, this collective dehumanization, defamation of Islam as a religion and Muslims as people as a very unique challenge. Because they are very similar as you said the Japanese-Americans, the Jewish Americans, the Catholic Americans. They have gone through this, African-Americans, many, many times. And by the grace of God the society came around and gave the healthy response and grew out of it and was able to include this community to the social fabric of American society. And now that we think, when we pay attention to and we read again those anti-semites of the past, the homophobes and the racists of the past, we feel ashamed. But we have this sense of also pride in ourselves that we didn't listen to them. The entire nation didn't fall into the hands of this exclusive, the forces of exclusion and discrimination. Always in this part of the world the forces of inclusion, forces of pluralism and diversity has been successful and triumphant, which I believe absolutely will be the case that maybe for the first time in the last 1400 years Islam and Muslims has never been discussed and debated in the western world as it has been in the last 12 years. Even though the existing picture may not provide much for encouragement because I think American society is evenly divided vis a viz their attitude towards Islam and Muslims. In the opinion polls when people were asked whether or not they think Islam is a crucial religion, a cruel religion or an American religion, almost evenly they say yes or no to the question; whether you would feel comfortable having a mosque in your neighborhood. But those number will change, those numbers will change as the American Muslim community will continue to improve in putting the acts together and explaining themselves for the fellow Americans and try to seek for a place, honorable place in the American society for themselves. And as American society educate themselves more about Islam and Muslims, and the global realities related to American involvement in the Muslim world and etcetera, I am absolutely hopeful that once again the forces of inclusion, brotherhood and sisterhood will prevail and succeed. >>Well, I hope our conversations which has been I believe about an hour and a half worth is going to contribute to that great project both for students, young people here in the United States, but all over the world who will be taking this course. >>No doubt. And thank you for that. >>So all I can say is thank you so much for your time and your wisdom. >>Thank you very much.
