15 October 2001

Imam, Scholar Seeks to Clarify Image of America for Muslims Abroad

Washington -- While many of the world's 1,200 million Muslims are being subjected to a steady barrage of distortions about America by Afghanistan's Taliban regime, Imam Yahaya Hendi of Georgetown University says Muslims should know the American people for what they are: "very warm and loving" and respectful of all religions.

Hendi, a Palestine-born Islamic scholar who has been the chaplain of the roughly 350 Muslim students at Washington's Georgetown University for the past three years, said: "From my experience living here, the American people are open-minded and very eager to talk to people not of their own cultures. This is compared to what I know about other nations -- honestly."

Speaking in his campus ministry office in Georgetown's Gothic-style Healy Building, Hendi, now a U.S. citizen, told the Washington File October 12, "I have traveled a lot and it is living in America that helps me be what I want to be."

The Muslim cleric said: "I feel not only proud to be an American -- to carry an American passport and travel worldwide -- I feel that I can be myself, a fully practicing Muslim, particularly in America. This means I wake up in the morning without fear and come home at the end of the day without fear."

But terrorists have now taken advantage of that freedom to bring death and fear to Americans of all faiths after their September 11 assaults by hijacked airliners on the World Trade Center in New York City and on the Pentagon building near Washington, killing as many as 5,500 people from more than 80 nations.

The U.S. government has identified the religious extremist Usama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network as the prime suspects behind the slaughter, which the imam termed "an absolute manifestation of evil by people who have evil hearts, evil minds and who have no respect for international law and for the dignity of human beings."

Hendi's forthright comments came after Afghanistan's Taliban regime made an appeal to Muslims worldwide to help it militarily defend its decision not to hand over bin Laden to U.S. authorities.

On October 14, following a weeklong air campaign against the Taliban regime during which food drops were made to the Afghan people, President Bush again called on the Taliban to stop harboring bin Laden, declaring: "We know he's guilty. Turn him over."

While the Taliban regime was busy oppressing a large segment of its own society -- its women -- Hendi said, America's six million Muslims were free to practice their faith without fear and unhindered by government. "It is the freedom of religion and other protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution that is what I have been enjoying, and I don't want to lose that. I urge people overseas to not hate and carry arms against America."

The imam also praised Georgetown University's Jesuit tradition of "inclusive" education, which, he said, "has laid down a solid foundation of tolerance. So, I think this is probably one of the safest and most nurturing environments in the world for Muslim students because it not only enhances, it encourages peoples of different faiths to be what they want to be and to practice their own religions."

Referring to his "interfaith" work following the attacks, Hendi said, "I have not in my life [before] seen communities from different religious backgrounds coming together sincerely, joining hands, and praying with one another, for the healing of the nation and for peace in the world.

"You feel it, you see it, it's there. I have never before seen thousands of Christian churches calling on Muslims to go in and teach about Islam like I've seen in the last month. I have not seen Muslims inviting Christians and Jews to go into the Islamic centers to teach about who they are, like I've just seen."

Like the churches, Hendi said, non-Muslim Americans "are reaching out to their Muslim neighbors to find out about who they are and how they can be of help. I've seen hundreds of non-Muslim families going out of their way to drop off flowers at their Muslim neighbors' homes, saying: 'We're here for you. You're part of this nation and we will never allow any harm to come to you."

Hendi said President Bush had a lot to do with supporting an atmosphere of tolerance toward Muslim Americans with acts like his visit to Washington's mosque and Islamic Center the week after the attacks. "I was at the meeting at the mosque and I praised him for making that very important visit" that reassured Muslim Americans, the cleric said. "He was, after all, only the second president ever to visit and speak at the mosque -- Eisenhower was the first -- and I think he [Bush] did exceptionally well."

The imam also said: "I was very impressed with the president's speech to the joint session of Congress, where he made the distinction between Islam and terrorism. He made it very clear that Islam was a religion of peace and must be seen as such. Because of that speech many congressmen and senators stepped up and said very clearly and assertively to the American people: 'We must not single out Muslims and Arabs for this act.'"

In conclusion, Hendi said he wanted readers to know that "America is more united now than ever before. Its politicians are more united now than ever before, and so what I have been saying in many of my lectures and presentations is that those who have perpetrated this terror may have tried to destroy the foundations of our buildings but they have failed and will never destroy our unity, religious faith, and commitment to one single American family."

As part of his chaplain duties at Georgetown University, Hendi supervises an Islam awareness week; Koran study and discussions on Islam; Ramadan dinners and Tarawih prayers; and religious retreats, pizza nights, and student community service projects. He also supervises worship services, including daily noon and sunset prayer in a special prayer room set aside by the university, Salatul Jum'ah Friday prayers, and Qiyam and Tahajjud prayers.

The prolific writer and lecturer has recently finished two books that are being prepared for publication: "The Women of the Koran" and "Jesus in the Koran."