Muslims Eyeing Public Office

By Joie Tyrrell and John M. Gonzales

Nathaniel Ham ran for the HalfHollow Hills Central School District Board for the first time two years ago, winning with a sense of obligation to local parents and their children.

But Ham, who also goes by the Muslim name Najeeb Hameed, had a national and worldwide community in mind as well.

"The idea is that we have an obligation to better ourselves," Ham said of himself and the millions of Muslims in the United States.

It's candidates and public officials like Ham whom the American Muslim Alliance would like to see increase in number. There are an estimated 1 billion Muslims in the world, but in America they are just beginning to assert themselves politically, the Freemont, Calif.-based coalition of some 78 chapters in 27 states said.

That untapped potential was the focus of a two-day national conference ending yesterday at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Center in Hempstead Village, where 500 Muslims from around the country learned about public service and how to participate. Ham was one of the speakers, leading a workshop titled "Running for Public Office."

"The purpose of the convention is very simple," said Dr. Faroque A. Khan, chief of medicine at Nassau County Medical Center and chairman of the New York State American Muslim Alliance. "It is to empower the growing Muslim community, to educate them about the political process, increase awareness and participation in the political process in the United States."

A goal was set by the Alliance to elect a Muslim member of Congress by the year 2000. Another objective is to have 2,000 Muslims running for office at all levels of government by then. There are currently 300 Muslims holding office across the nation, conference organizers said.

By joining in the political process, Muslims can help debunk stereotypes against them, which have been reinforced across the arc of history, from Shakespeare to Hollywood films, said Agha Saeed, national chairman of the Alliance.

"We have our differences," Saeed said, pointing out that there are dozens of national identities among the Muslims of Africa, Asia and Europe.

Saeed said Muslims have a disproportionate number of professionals such as doctors and scientists among their numbers and that political empowerment among their educated and affluent ranks could help disprove negative stereotypes.

Hesham N. Reda, director of the Washington, D.C., office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, pointed to what he said were unfair stops at airport security areas. "In certain situations, our rights are not always respected," he said. "There are very legitimate issues and motivation to be involved in the political process."

Part of the focus of the convention also was to teach the dynamics of how the United States functions politically. Dr. Parvez Mir of Laurel Hollow said many Muslims come to the United States from countries run by dictators or royalty and are unfamiliar with a democratic system.

Learning about the United States and participating in the process also helps them assimilate, said Sanaa Nadim of Kings Park, the Muslim chaplain of students at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

"There are over 6 million Muslims in the United States who have no political voice," Nadim said. "At this time, American Muslims are coming to the fact that America is our homeland. And we must participate in policy-making in the country where we live."

(This article, Muslims Eyeing Public Office, by Joie Tyrrell and John M. Gonzales, appeared in the October 5, 1998, Newsday. Permission has been obtained for republication/translation of the text (including for IIP's home-page on the Internet) by U.S. Embassy Public Affairs and press outside the U.S. On title page, credit authors and carry: "Copyright 1998, Newsday Inc. All rights reserved."