Chicago Muslims answer call to public service after 9/11 - Chicago Tribune

For many Chicago Muslims, Sept. 11, 2001, set off a powerful alarm, cautioning them that they couldn't take their status in America for granted.

It was an admonition not to grow complacent or isolated. Regardless of the oppression immigrants had left behind or the storybook childhoods those born in America had lived, the terrorist attacks signaled that their freedom and faith were imperiled.

In the 10 years since that day, the most foreboding forces have come from within the nation they call home. A recent study by a Washington think tank shed light on a multimillion-dollar campaign to fuel fear about Islam, which in turn has inspired lawmakers in at least 25 states to call for a ban on Shariah, the Muslim code of conduct that includes religious law.

In some cases, experts say, American Muslims have become their own worst enemies, retreating rather than entering the public sphere to battle misconceptions and prejudice. But in the Chicago area, a concentration of Muslim activists, scholars and leaders have worked to make a difference. Many of them are ordinary citizens who heard the call that Tuesday morning.

'As American as apple pie'

Abdul Malik Mujahid, 59, heads one of the oldest Islamic multimedia companies in the U.S. Founded in 1988, his nonprofit organization, called Sound Vision, has pioneered Islamic music in the English language, Islamic cartoons and other content for Muslim families.

Since Sept. 11, that content has shifted to address a backlash he calls the "Great Shariah Freakout."

Sitting in his Bridgeview office recently, Mujahid typed "sharia" ? an alternate spelling of Shariah ? into Google to point out the headlines: "Stop Sharia Law-USA," "Top 10 reasons why Sharia is bad for our society" and "Why Sharia Law Must be Opposed."

"It's not even a household term in Muslim homes," he said, referring to Shariah law.

Laws, or Islamic jurisprudence, are a small component of Shariah, covered in about 150 of the 6,000 verses in the Quran, Islam's holy book. The rest of Shariah refers to the way Muslims practice their faith. In addition to governing rituals such as prayers, fasting and cleanliness, Shariah demands that Muslims be peaceful citizens who comply with the law of the land.

For the many Muslims and non-Muslims who don't know what all the fuss is about, Mujahid has recruited two dozen scholars to explain on a website called Sharia 101. He hopes to unveil the site soon because the issue will no doubt become a focus in the 2012 presidential election. A ban is the only issue on which Republican hopefuls seem to agree, he said.

"This whole campaign is not designed to change law," Mujahid said. "It's designed to create hate. We'd like to have an informed discourse about Shariah and freedom of religion in our country."

Mujahid acknowledges that the timing must be right for that conversation. He hopes that 10 years later, America can do some soul-searching and recall what made it a great nation before the terrorist attacks.

"We need to recognize that diversity is as American as apple pie," he said.

'Dear God. Please don't let it be Arabs'

Nothing is more American than Friday night lights and football, said Rashid Ghazi, a filmmaker who has spent most of his life growing up and raising children of his own in the north suburbs.

Ghazi's documentary about a predominantly Muslim high school football team fasting during the holy month of Ramadan premieres in three suburban AMC theaters Friday night.

"I felt there was a lot of misperception about who Muslim Americans are in this country after Sept. 11," said Ghazi, 44, of Glenview. "The people who you hear most about are the Ayatollah Khomeini, Saddam Hussein, (Osama) bin Laden. Muslims around the world want nothing to do with these guys. My fellow Americans had never stepped inside the home of a Muslim American. These are the small voices that hardly ever get heard."

In the film, "Fordson," Ghazi, a sports marketing executive who manages high school sports broadcasts, invites viewers into the homes of Muslim football players and their families at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Mich.

Though Ghazi said he initially shied away from a Sept. 11 release date, the thought of Muslim fans inviting friends of all faiths made sense. After all, the stereotypes spurred by the terrorist attacks had been the film's inspiration.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEk7Hv0xhiJeUyDYse2eL4OowuOuw&url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sept-11-muslims-20110909,0,5882166.story

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