Muslim Students Weigh Questions Of Allegiance
washingtonpost.com
By Marc Fisher
Tuesday, October 16, 2001; Page B01
Is it reasonable to ask students at the Muslim Community School in Potomac whether there is a conflict between being an American and being a Muslim? It certainly seemed fair after six young people, all born in this country, all American citizens, told me that no, they did not believe that Osama bin Laden was necessarily the bad guy the president says he is, and no, they did not think the United States should be attacking Afghanistan, and, no, they might not be able to serve their country if it meant taking up arms against fellow Muslims.
"What does it really mean to be an American?" asked seventh-grader Miriam. "Being American is just being born in this country."
"If I had to choose sides, I'd stay with being Muslim," said eighth-grader Ibrahim. "Being an American means nothing to me. I'm not even proud of telling my cousins in Pakistan that I'm American."
Tenth-grader Fatemeh said the question about loyalty was proof of the bias Muslim Americans now face. "I'm an American, born and raised here," she said, with a thrilling indignation. "Why shouldn't I feel part of the patriotism? By being American, you represent freedom and democracy."
Eleventh-grader Kamal added: "I love being American. This is a country of freedom. But I do feel ambivalent: I feel good that Americans have come together, that we can stick together through tough times. But maybe we might have done things to their country that weren't right, that led to this.
"Fighting a person who has the same beliefs would be tough," added Kamal, the son of an American convert to Islam and a Moroccan man. "I guess there is a conflict between being loyal to the government and being loyal to your faith."
"Let me jump in," said Salahudeen Kareem, principal of the Muslim Community School -- a 17-year-old, 150-student private school serving pre-kindergarten through 11th grade. "Allegiance to national authority is one thing, but the one who gives us life is more entitled to that authority. This is the story of religion through all time. When national laws and values go counter to what the Creator believes, we are 100 percent against it."
Which seemed like a principled position for someone of deep faith. But then Kareem immediately launched into a riff about watching Palestinian children dying and the United States providing aid to Israel.
Almost no matter what they were asked, the students' answers often included something about how the United States should focus not just on bin Laden's terror network but on "the real terrorists," which is their code for Israel, which they refer to as "the illegitimate Zionist regime." Whether questions were about patriotism or faith or the difficulty of maintaining Muslim practices in a society that embraces open sexuality, the teenagers' thoughtful answers somehow found their way back to bashing Israel.
These students' ambivalence about their country does not appear to be typical of Arab Americans. A Zogby International poll last week found Arab Americans even more enthusiastic than the rest of the country about "an all-out war against countries which harbor or aid terrorists," with 69 percent of Arab Americans favoring that course, compared with 61 percent of all Americans.
And several leading American Muslim clerics issued a legal opinion last week stating that Muslims are obliged to abide by U.S. law "and should stand together with other Americans to protect the security interests of their country," according to the American Muslim Council.
So what was different here in Potomac?
The Muslim Community School shares space and directors with the Islamic Education Center, which runs religious and language classes and has close ties to the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, and, according to U.S. officials, is "entirely controlled by the government of Iran."
Several leaders of Muslim groups in Washington did not want to be quoted criticizing an Islamic institution, but privately said that the Potomac school's political leanings are heavily influenced by Iran and are at odds with what's taught at other Islamic schools in the region.
That view was bolstered by the sharp contrast between the school's students, who seemed to have the natural curiosities and passions of teenagers, and their principal, who seemed to have an angry agenda.
Eighth-grader Zahra was troubled by the rhetoric she hears from President Bush and others. "People say, 'You're either with us or you're with the terrorists,' and that's not right," she said. "Ever since Sept. 11, the Muslims here haven't had freedom anymore. People have been stereotyping and pointing fingers. No matter who has done this, it couldn't have been Muslim. That person who did this wouldn't be Muslim anymore." Yes, she said, the terrorists who hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may have claimed to be Muslims, but since Islam forbids the killing of innocents, those killers are by definition not Muslims.
Her principal, however, was unwilling to denounce bin Laden because he does not trust the U.S. government to judge the evidence. "Being cautious doesn't mean we are turncoats," said Kareem, who is 50 and grew up in the District. "It means we want to wait until there are sufficient facts. I don't know Osama bin Laden. But whatever is said about him, I want it said about the Israeli prime minister. If we're going after terrorism, let's go at it at the roots, not the branches."
This is how minds are shaped.
The principal said he has a powerful emphasis on the Middle East in his curriculum because "it's an issue of life and death, and we're trying to empower the kids to be truthful and be honest. There is more that is the same among peoples than there is that is different. We all brush our teeth."
Yet a notice posted to all students and staff said, "Today's ice cream snack is in honor of Shaheed Mohamed Jamal Al-Durra," a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who last year was killed by Israeli Defense Force bullets in a firefight with Palestinian policemen. "We will always remember those who are responsible for taking his innocent, young life," the school notice said.
And a "media relations guide sheet" distributed at the school advised telling visiting reporters that "there is as much evidence pointing away from" bin Laden as there is "circumstantial 'evidence' pointing toward" him.
And this same principal wrote an essay about Israel in a school newsletter issued before the terrorist attacks: "This state with its cursed population . . . is founded on a racist, warped, cancerous ideology which says Jews are better than all other people."
Is the Muslim Community School teaching hate? Kareem said that was impossible, that Islam is a faith of peace. "Our kids are not insensitive or uncaring," he said. "It's not that they are targeting somebody. These are the reference points we are exposing them to, because we don't see ourselves in nation-state terms. We are our own nation."
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