During the past couple of months, galvanized no doubt by the events in Palestine, the Muslims of America have engaged in a number of activities that has attracted the attention of the mainstream media. The use of the lethal force by Israel, including American supplied tanks, missiles and F-16 fighter planes, has particularly bothered the Muslim community and drawn their attention.
Repeated expression of concerns to the White House notwithstanding, the American Muslims have been unable to influence developments to lessen the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people. The pro-Israeli lobby, led by the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has evidently convinced the administration that beleaguered Israel is only defending itself against attacks by “terrorists.”
Their tactic of portraying the Palestinians as the aggressors in the current conflict earned an invitation for the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, to visit the White House. He did so in March of this year and even received a financial reward of several hundred million dollars to defray the military expenses in the ongoing battle.
At that time a number of Muslim groups organized protest demonstrations against the Sharon visit. One of these took place in the front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. In fact, the Israeli Embassy, and some of their Consulates, have been picketed a number of times this year.
Buoyed by the success of his first visit Ariel Sharon decided to return once again to Washington in June. When his visit was announced the Michigan Task Force, a coalition of Arab American and Muslim American organizations held a protest march on May 25 in Dearborn, Michigan. A large number of people participated in this act of solidarity as it was held right after the Friday noon prayers.
There were similar demonstrations and rallies in such widely dispersed localities as New York and San Francisco. All were directed against the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit as well as to remember “al-Nakba,” the day of dispossession of the Palestinians.
In May, for the first time, a “sit-in” was carried out at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, under the auspicious of several national Muslim organizations. The leaders of these bodies sat in the middle of the street waiting to be arrested but were not picked up by the police. However, it did bring attention to their cause in the media.
At the time of actual visit of Sharon the American Muslim Council (AMC) together with others held a rally across from the White House. An estimated five hundred protestors from all faiths and ethnic backgrounds “demanded the arrested of Ariel Sharon for a track record of war crimes.” A number of Muslim leaders also staged a “sit-in” in front of the White House. These individuals were arrested, which served to dramatize the event for the media, but later released.
Two separate events on television about the same time further underscored the significance of the Palestinian issue. One was the hour-long interview with Edward Said on C-SPAN’s “Booknotes” program. It was an in-depth discussion of Said’s latest book Reflections that focused on Palestine. The other was the BBC “Panorama’s” hour long program “The Accused” accusing “Sharon of playing a leading role in the 1982 slaughter of Palestinian refugees at Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon.”
In between these activities the American Muslim Council held its 10th annual convention in Washington, DC. The subject of Palestine was considered to be so important that an entire luncheon session was devoted to it with several prominent speakers, including former Congressman Paul Findley, chastising the Bush administration for the killings in West Bank and Gaza.
It was also at this gathering that Vice President Dick Cheney failed to appear for a scheduled White House briefing. The participants were disappointed that the new administration lost an opportunity for an exchange of views with the Muslim community.
The latest fiasco, for which President George Bush issued a formal apology, was the expulsion of Abdullah Al-Arian, an intern at Congressman David Bonior’s office, from the White House. The college student had accompanied a delegation of Muslim representatives to discuss Bush’s Faith-Based Initiatives. The report of this incident was widely carried in the mass media, including the major newspapers, CBS radio and ABC evening news.
Despite pitfalls along the way, the Muslim struggle to become a part of the mainstream is making them visible on the political landscape.