On Aug. 31 at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., a Muslim organization will lead a gathering and a show of solidarity with other Muslims to bring attention to their plight in America.
The Bureau of Indigenous Muslim Affairs (BIMA) will host an open-air jumma prayer, along with other programs and events, to raise awareness on Muslim issues in America. Some of the other events include an Islamic Cultural Festival, an Islamic Issues Conference and Halal Entertainment available for all ages.
In a release, BIMA stated that this was a “nonpartisan” event and it wasn’t an endorsement of any political candidate or elected official. All they want to do is to make the powers that be aware of what Muslim Americans face in regards to discrimination and human rights issues and to make the public aware that their community is also prosperous and vibrant in spite of it all. The AmNews spoke with Yusuf Jabber, a member of the Jumma at DNC Executive Committee, about the event and what his organization hopes to accomplish from it.
“It’s not a protest,” Jabber said. “We’re not protesting the Democratic National Convention. We’re not protesting the current president of the Untied States. Regardless if the president is Democrat or Republican, we are actually just addressing some issues with legislation that has been put into law, and it affects Muslims and how we live our everyday lives.” Jabber cited the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act as example of laws that have negatively impacted Muslim American life.
Jabber believes that the aforementioned laws coupled with the war on terror have contributed to discrimination of Muslims in America. “Islamophobia,” he told the AmNews. “The American people are affected by this phobia and we as Muslims are affected as well based on how the people take this information.”
Jabber pointed to the recent shooting of Sikhs in Wisconsin. He believes that the shooter probably thought they were Muslim because of “similarities of the structure and facilities and the culture and dress of the Indian people. People are reacting negatively to this phobia, and now we have to have special law enforcement to protect our facilities.”
Jabber hopes that as many Muslim Americans as possible make the event to represent a united front and to discuss who they are, who they aren’t and where they’re going. However, only one political party’s convention will see a significant Muslim presence. When asked why he wasn’t holding similar events at the Republican National Convention, Jabber stated that he was more concerned with who’s in currently in power.
“The president just happens to be part of the Democratic Party,” he said. “So if the [same] issues are brought up, and the president happened to be a Republican, we would’ve been there as well.”
