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Story by Cathleen Crane
During his speech "Islam in America" Friday, Imam Yahya Hendi said that Muslims in America are ready and willing to help in the War on Terrorism.
Imam Yahya Hendi of Georgetown University spoke on Muslim-Americans' changing role in American society in the Student Union Friday, November 2. Hendi is the first Muslim Chaplain at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The Muslim Student Association invited Hendi to speak as part of Islam Awareness Week and Diversity Week at UCF.
"The World Trade Center attack was not just on American Christians, it was on Muslims also," Hendi said. "Any harm caused to any American causes harm to Muslims because of who we are and what we stand for. We are here and we are part of the American mosaic."
Hendi believes that because of their knowledge of both America and Islam, Muslims can be a bridge between America and Islamic countries. According to Hendi, Muslims in America could: add to how terrorism is defined, identify our enemy, determine the political, economic and social aftermath of war in Afghanistan, help shape American foreign policy in order to bring justice to terrorists.
In addition to discussing the role of modern Muslims, Hendi provided a historic overview of Muslims. He also discussed the issues they have faced defining their identity in America.
The first Muslim to come to America was Muhammad Bukbeer in 1328. He arrived in Florida from West Africa before Christopher Columbus made it to the New World.
Four waves of Muslim immigrants eventually followed Bukbeer, starting in 1650 and ending around 1920. Hendi said these Muslims came to America in search of Western knowledge and to flee oppressive dictatorships in Arab and Muslim countries.
These immigrants subscribed to the "Myth of Return", Hendi said. The basis of this myth is the early immigrants' belief that they would eventually return home. Because of this myth, early Muslims did not institutionalize or organize and immigrant children struggled with their identities. They did not know whether to consider themselves Muslim-Americans or American-Muslims. Hendi said this identity conflict minimized Muslims' political participation in America.
Hendi said that today the myth is gone. Older immigrants will die and their children do not know "back home." Now that the myth is dispelled, Muslims' identity and commitment as Americans is solidified, Hendi said. "We're not going anywhere."
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Story and photos by Cathleen Crane. Web design by Eric Stevenson.
