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Emerging from
the Rubble: A Letter from New York City Page 47 New York City’s nearly one million
Muslims were on the frontlines of the backlash that followed the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. As Muslim bodies were pulled
from the wreckage of the World Trade Centre, along with those of
thousands of others - police and security forces rushed into Muslim
neighbourhoods and the finger pointing, recrimination and arrests
began. New Yorkers Zeeshan Suhail and
Muntasir Sattar explore the state of their community five years
later and report that they are still struggling to heal the
wounds.
The parade began 21 years ago and features thousands of Muslims, who either construct floats, steer them through the streets, march in the procession or watch on the sidewalks to celebrate Muslim culture in NYC - something other cultural communities do annually around the same time of the year. While neither of us has actually attended the event (we actually never even knew about it), we are told it reminds participants of a Hajj-like experience. Our time in New York, after more than a decade in foreign locales, is itself very much like a Hajj experience, where we are constantly interacting with Muslims of every colour and background in private and public institutions: Bosnians, Hispanics, Indonesians, Yemenis, Senegalese, Gambians, and yes, converts, African-Americans, Arabs and South Asians. Yet despite collaborative efforts by activists and students, Muslims in New York remain fragmented. Few Muslims stray from their ‘villages’ in the city. Efforts such as the Muslim Day Parade distinctly demonstrate Muslim attempts to move between communities. The Great Muslim Adventure Day - during which 15,000 Muslims enjoyed a day out at an amusement park in nearby New Jersey - also demonstrates cross-communal interaction and, in this case, the simple desire to be openly, proudly Muslim in ordinary American spaces. It is significant because they pray and eat halal food in a public space where Muslims can ordinarily do neither. It might be cliché, but now, five years after the attacks of September 11th, there is a sense of urgency in our political and social involvement. Voter drives and concern for ‘getting out the Muslim vote’ are examples. Forced to stand up to eradicate false stereotypes and Islamophobia, to secure their civil rights, to transmit their beliefs to the next generation, activists are inundated with community work. Achievements include the successful advocacy to not hold state-wide school tests on Eid, formal collaborative work with the American Civil Liberties Union to secure Muslims’ rights, interfaith projects such as the Brooklyn Peace Walk and organising anti-war protests with other largely non-Muslim peace movements. Bobby Khan of the Coney Island Avenue project seeks to secure immigrant rights and consistently works with large coalitions to do so as an advocate. Omar Muhammadi, a civil rights lawyer and also head of the advocacy organization, the Council on American Islamic Relations, was appointed as a human rights commissioner by the Mayor. New York Muslims mat recently have checked out noted gallery exhibitions featuring Muslim photographers, or may have wandered down to the MOMA to check out an exhibition on modern Muslim art, or some may prefer more classical tastes on display at the hotly anticipated exhibition on Islam’s presence in Venice at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A Muslim may worship or socialize at a Bengali, Caribbean, Spanish or Turkish mosque. The music and film scene is always lively. Qawwali, hip-hop, poetry cafés and film from the Muslim world mark out Muslim diversity, enjoyed, celebrated and enjoyed by all. It is not remarkable that New York’s Muslims can eat halal food at an amusement park or pray in mid-town Manhattan. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate their identity, to pray in one many magnificent mosques (including the Islamic Centre of New York, which has prominently been built in Midtown Manhattan), to march and parade together in public space. Since Muslim immigrants began arriving in significant numbers almost 70 years ago, they’ve carved out their own vibrant spaces to share, and enact their faith alongside their neighbours - 8 million New Yorkers. Prior to 9/11, being American was thought to be about the pursuit of happiness and contentment by using the freedoms enshrined in the constitution, upheld not just by the laws that governed the land for decades but also by everyday people. Today, five years later, being American is also about committing or being subject to blatant human rights violations, the political double standards of the “war on terror” and Islamophobia. While this thought might paint a grim picture of the state of affairs for Muslims in a post-9/11 America, it is also a reality we must live with. Guantanamo Bay is populated by Muslims of every hue and colour. Muslims are looked at suspiciously in subways and buses. Muslims are questioned routinely when travelling in and out of the country. It is not unusual for elders in the Muslim community to admonish youngsters to not mix frequently with non-Muslims. Some are also discouraged to not join Muslim organizations or involve themselves in overly “ethnic” activities. Most ludicrous of all, though, is the injunction to not march on streets and protest or demonstrate when civil liberties and human rights are under fire. How ironic. One would think that five years after a catastrophe like 9/11 where no one emerged unscathed, things would start to improve, wounds would start to heal. Instead, Muslims now live in a perpetual climate of fear. While other Americans routinely practice their freedoms, Muslim Americans shy away from doing so for fear of retribution. Sadly, the fear is often justified. Not only are average Americans increasingly becoming critical of their Muslim brethren, but now politicians are also playing an active role in isolating a community that was only just beginning to feel comfortable in expressing itself. The most notable example that comes to mind is of Brooklyn-native New York State Assemblyman, Dov Hikind, who advocated for legislation that would formally ethnically and racially profile Muslims for law enforcement purposes. When the New York City subway system instituted a policy whereby passengers’ belongings would be randomly searched, Hikind urged the searches be limited to individuals of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent. According to Hikind, “They look a certain way, they are young, and they come from a certain part of the world.” Hikind is one of many politicians who are actively pursuing such policies, perhaps for publicity, but more plausibly, for a “safer America". Muslim Americans are now looked upon as a threat to national security. Visa processing takes longer, legal documents take more time to be sorted through and background checks are more strenuous and time-consuming all because of our religious affiliation. Is this really the same America that pledges equality for all? Coney Island, which was the hub of social and professional activities for Pakistanis and Arabs, is now trying to recover from the secret detentions and round-ups that engulfed families in the wake of 9/11. Law enforcement authorities would come at odd hours, ask awkward questions and, within moments, deem entire families unsuitable for further residence in the US. Within days, businesses were shut down and families were disintegrated, only to reunite - if ever - in dismal circumstances. One would hope that a culturally vibrant neighbourhood like Midwood or Coney Island in Brooklyn would perhaps see a revival within years. That people would return and repopulate it and maybe bring it back to the same economically prosperous state it was in prior to September 11th. Alas, this is but a dream. Instead, Muslims from within the community are paid by government authorities to sit in cafes and local businesses and report people who indulge in political conversations, especially about home politics or of the Middle East in general. So now, not only are lawmakers trying to make life horrible for Muslims, those within our community are being economically blackmailed into indulging in activities that might make them more secure, but others worse off. It is in such a state of sheer chaos that Muslims must quickly assess what their existence in modern day America means and what the future holds for them. Sadly, for Muslim Americans, the U.S. is no longer the bastion of human rights, civil liberties and all things good. Muslims in New York are certainly in the public eye - and not for all the right reasons. Their educational practices are dissected, their roles in the military investigated and their young scrutinised. Through it all, this community has not only survived, but thrived. The aftermath of 9/11 may have caused many serious problems, but it has also provided ample opportunities for self-reflection and introspection. Muslim Americans have emerged stronger and ever more resilient and continue to look both within and outside their communities for assistance and support. Muslim New Yorkers have unquestionably come a long way. In a city known for its brash, no-nonsense attitude - New York City Muslims are more than just survivors. Zeeshan Suhail and Muntasir Sattar work on the Muslims in New York City project at Columbia University. |