19 November 2001

Pakistani-Americans Talk to Pakistanis about Muslim Life in the U.S.

Washington -- Eight American citizens, all originally from Pakistan, are traveling back to the land of their birth during the week of November 18-24 to talk about their life as Muslims in the United States. They will visit the communities where they grew up to tell Pakistanis about their own experiences in America, and to share their appreciation for the religious freedom they enjoy.

The group of eight said that following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, they received worried phone calls from Pakistani friends and relations who feared that Muslims in the United States might be in danger, or might not be able to practice their faith freely. The Pakistani-Americans wanted to reassure friends and family in Pakistan. They said they had a positive message about America that Pakistanis needed to hear, and rather than wait for somebody else to do it, they said they decided to go themselves. They are scheduled to talk to the press and opinion leaders in major cities in Pakistan during their weeklong stay.

The members of the group said they are "proud to be Americans," and that they also love their native country. The delegation, which is privately funded, consists of Saghir Tahir, a member of the New Hampshire legislature; Agha Afzal Khan, a real estate investor from Jersey City, New York; Khali-Ur-Rehman, an editor and publisher from Shirley, New York; Naheed Khan a real estate developer from Pacifica, California; Vakil Ansari, Director of the Allen House Company in Huntington, New York; Asad Abidi, a marketing specialist from Westbury, New York; Nisar Chaudhry, a businessman from Chicago, Illinois; and Nasim Akhtar.

Saghir Tahir, a New Hampshire state legislator, said he thought it was a good thing that Americans were learning more about Islam, and about Muslims, but he asked himself, "Who is teaching Pakistanis about how good America is?"

"There's been a relationship between the U.S. government and the government of Pakistan, but there has never been much people-to-people contact," Tahir said. "We're going to tell Pakistanis how good a life, we as Muslims, live here in the U.S. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, human rights, justice for all - this is exactly what Islam is."

"The freedom to practice your religion is guaranteed in the United States better than anywhere else," one of the delegation said. "This is the America we want them to know."

One member of the group said tolerance is an important aspect of religious freedom. One member of the group said, "The best thing about American life and being an American is that you can disagree and still respect each other."

Vakil Ansari noted that when he came to the United States in 1977, there were two mosques in his region. Now, he said, there are over a hundred. "This is freedom of religion," he said.

Ansari said that after the September 11 terrorist attacks, people in his neighborhood sought him out to see if he was all right, and to ask if there was anything they could do. This was in contrast to press reports in Pakistan that Muslims were frightened and in danger.

Tahir said he would like to see Pakistan develop the same level of tolerance and respect that he experiences in the United States, and he sees education as the key to that achievement. As a boy, he said, he spent an hour every morning in the madrassa, learning the Koran, and then went to school, where he studied mathematics and science for the rest of the day. "We need education," he said.