ISNA Matters Muslim Leaders Visit Auschwitz
Muslim leaders from around the globe, including ISNA president Imam Mohamed Magid, visited Auschwitz, the former Nazi concentration camp, in early May, where they prayed at the Wall of Death for those who were killed and suffered under violent anti-Semitism. The
imams, who hailed from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bosnia, Palestine, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey and the United States, were visiting as part of a Holocaust awareness tour, funded in part by the International Religious Freedom office of the United States Department of State.
ISNA Joins in MET's 20th Year Celebrations Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, ISNA National Director for Interfaith & Community Alliances, was the keynote speaker at the annual fundraising dinner and cultural evening hosted by the Portland, Ore. based Muslim Educational Trust (MET) May 18, as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations. Dr. Syeed spoke about the sense of dignity, pride and confidence that Muslims have achieved in the United States through organizations like ISNA. He said, “Prophet Muhammad’s experience of Israa and Miraj was a promise to us that our faith does not tie us to materialistic restrictions; rather it ultimately promises us a great possibility of growth and development, both spiritually and materialistically.” Dr. Syeed also talked about how the hijrah was a journey from tribalism to 12
pluralism, a journey from lack of religious freedom and lack of human rights to a place where religion is freely practiced and humans are respected. He stressed the benefits of living in a democratic society like the United States. He said that Muslim Americans should be grateful for what they have achieved and should always remember and understand how and why they achieved it.
Imam Magid remarked, “Whether in Europe today or in the Muslim world, my call to humanity: end racism for God’s sake, end anti-Semitism for God’s sake, end Islamophobia for God’s sake, end sexism for God’s sake. Enough is enough.” The visit included a tour of Warsaw’s new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, dinner with Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, and a meeting with the Polish Righteous Among the Nations. The group of imams, which included Muzammil H. Siddiqi, PhD, president of the Fiqh Council of North America and a former ISNA president, also met with Polish Muslim, Jewish and Catholic leaders. Rabbi Jack Bemporad, executive director of the New Jersey-based Center for Interreligious Understanding, leader of the visit, said, “Understanding our particular histories will help us better understand each other so that we can unite in combating prejudice against all religions.” In 2010, eight American imams took part in a similar trip.
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MET also organized three other engagements for Dr. Syeed. On May 19, Dr. Syeed was hosted by Portland’s KBOO Community Radio to speak live on their program “An Islamic Point of View” with program host Shaheed Hamid. Dr. Syeed talked about how he feels Martin Luther King’s dream is related in many ways to Prophet Muhammad’s Israa and Miraj and Hijrah. “Islam respects and recognizes pluralism as part of divine design. Whenever there is a retraction from that, you will find racism and exploitation of man by man, and we have to see how we can divert from such inequality,” Dr. Syeed said. He also spoke about the challenges of the Arab Spring and how democracy will not happen overnight, but will take time, strong will and perseverance of the people to accomplish their goal. Later that day, he met with Portland’s Muslim community leadership
Islamic Horizons July/August 2013