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National Immigration Forum
Date: November 16, 2001
To: Forum Associates and interested advocates
From: Forum Policy Staff
Re: More Stories Relating to the Aftermath of the Events of
September 11
----------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
1. "Families of undocumented victims find help scarce,"
CNNfn
2. "Not a foreign experience," The Capital-Journal,
November 3, 2001
3. "Foreign nationals in S. Florida joining military in
large numbers," Sun Sentinel, November 9, 2001
4. "Reaching out," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 9,
2001
5. "Broward Sikhs reach out to Sept. 11 victims, donate
$8,500, Sun Sentinel, November 12, 2001
6. "What constitutes a real American?," Cortez Journal,
November 8, 2001
7. "The Clouds Were His Home," Newsday, November 15, 2001
8. "636 take oath as U.S. citizens," St. Petersburg Times,
November 15, 2001
9. "Muslims look inward to reach out," The News & Observer,
November 16, 2001
----------------------------------------------------
Families of undocumented victims find help scarce
>From Peter Viles
CNNfn
NEW YORK (CNN) --Among the thousands who died September 11 at the World
Trade Center were many illegal aliens, whose families face serious
obstacles in obtaining relief from charities.
The seemingly endless paperwork that must be filled out to receive aid
is particularly hard for the relatives of victims who did not have
official documentation that they worked in the twin towers or even in
New York.
One such case is that of Jose Morales. His common-law wife, Felix
Martinez, said Morales was working in the towers when they collapsed.
She said he cleaned a restaurant but does not know exactly where.
"She knew that he was working in the tower, and on September 11, he
phoned Felix's cousin to tell her that he was in the tower and he was
OK," said social worker Camina Makar. "He said, 'I'll call you back
later.' When he didn't, Felix's cousin called her in Mexico and said,
'This is what happened.' So she came right away."
Until June she and Morales lived with their four children in a small
rural village in the southern Mexican state of Puebla. The week of
September 11, she said she flew to the border, crossed over illegally
and traveled by van to New York in hopes of finding her husband.
"I tried immediately to come here, so I arranged things and came over
and tried to look for him with the help of my cousin, and I started to
work," Martinez said, speaking through a translator. "I didn't know what
to do. I still don't know what to do."
The mystery has few clues. Morales had no Social Security number and
worked illegally so he had no pay stubs. Now in the United States
illegally herself, Martinez does not speak English.
New York authorities who are helping the families of victims have been
flexible in opening case files. They have accepted sworn affidavits
where there is no documentation. Lauris Wren, a specialist in such
cases, explains some of the difficulties.
"They don't know where he was working specifically," said Wren, a
representative of the New York Bar Association. "They don't know under
what name he was working. They don't have an address where he was
living. So they can't, say, get DNA samples to give to the police from
brushes and combs."
Authorities have not opened a file on Morales' case yet. It simply
remains too sketchy. Beyond the missing paperwork, these cases raise a
number of questions: If someone was in this country illegally, is the
family entitled to the same aid and benefits as families of tax-paying
citizens?
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has made it clear he believes that those
families are entitled to something.
"If you are undocumented or if your family member or friend that you are
seeking to find or find a death certificate for, get a death certificate
for, you are safe," Giuliani said. "Nothing is going to be done to you,
and in fact, we would like you to register."
For now, there is no answer for Martinez, or for the charities and
agencies working to help families and victims. They face enormous
obstacles seeking moving aid for those who need it most, even when the
victims are U.S. citizens and the paper trail is visible.
Tepeyac, an outreach group working with immigrant families, said some of
those families have come forward and are receiving charitable aid. But
group officials said they suspect many families in this country
illegally are afraid to come forward.
=============================
Not a foreign experience
They yearned to breathe free. They also yearned for peace, prosperity
and health. Just like the rest of us. And many of them got their
wishes...until the tragedies of Sept. 11 again left them yearning. Just
like the rest of us.
11/3/2001
By Paul Eakins
The Capital-Journal
Tears well up in the eyes of Gloria Martínez when she talks about the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Although Martínez lived most of her life in Mexico, she has spent the
past 14 years in the United States, moving to Topeka in search of a
better future for her family. Like people across America, Martínez was
greatly affected by the tragedies in New York, Washington, D.C., and
Pennsylvania.
Like others, she feels a sense of loss and uncertainty about the future.
But immigrants like Martínez have other trepidations. Most came to the
United States to find a new, safer, more prosperous life.
Now, Martínez fears for her children, and like many other Hispanic
immigrants, for her adopted country.
"We are afraid. We are worried," Martínez said, speaking in Spanish.
"This country has given much to us Latinos. We love it."
Many immigrants came from countries that had been torn by war -- where
corruption and violence were the norm. Seeing America's greatest city
attacked has shaken them, according to Pat Herrera-Thomas, a clinical
social worker.
It is even more difficult when they are far from their families and
friends.
"People that do not have support systems or people that have been
traumatized before show more symptoms" of effects from the attacks, she
said.
One of her clients, Herrera-Thomas said, "called and said she had been
shaking for the last three days" after the attacks.
She discovered that her client was reliving violence she had experienced
in the Central American country from which she came.
Newcomers far from their families and communities have few resources to
turn to.
"This first generation, they only have often their spouse and children,"
Herrera-Thomas said.
In their home communities, they would talk to their priests and
relatives to deal with their emotions, she said. In this country, many
immigrants don't have that support system.
Here, people still can talk to their ministers, and Spanish-speaking
counselors like Herrera-Thomas are available, she said. But for many
immigrants, such services are something new.
"It is not that they're only not aware of the services that are here,
but they don't know how to access them," she said. "This is why
sometimes I believe our services in Topeka are underutilized."
Some of Herrera-Thomas's clients have expressed fears about their safety
in the United States after the airplane hijackings and the new threat of
anthrax.
Martínez said she has heard the same thing from some of the customers at
her store, La Favorita, in East Topeka.
"Many people have said it's much safer in Mexico than here," Martínez
said.
But America is her home, she said, and she doesn't intend to leave.
The United States also has been home for 20 years for an immigrant of
Chinese ancestry who had lived in Vietnam. The immigrant, who asked that
his name not be used, has lived in Topeka for about five years and said
many Asian immigrants were horrified by the Sept. 11 attacks. But the
war now facing America is much different from the Vietnam War he saw as
a child.
"The war over there is waged differently," he said. "It wasn't waged
secretly."
The immigrant said most people he knows still feel safe in the United
States, but many fear for the safety of their families in other
countries. He has family in Vietnam and is afraid they could be affected
by a global conflict.
"If the war gets out of hand, they could go to war in those countries,"
he said.
Some immigrants, such as Exequiel Renteria, of Topeka, are afraid not
only for their safety, but also for their economic well-being.
Renteria said many people are concerned about job security. For those
who may not have their immigration paperwork in order, getting a new job
has become much more difficult. Employers scrutinize immigrant workers
more closely now, he said.
"I don't know anyone that's lost their jobs after the attacks," he said,
"but it's much more difficult to find work now."
And for those who are considering coming to America from other
countries, it may not be as easy as it once was.
Since the attacks, the Bush administration has ordered a review of
immigration laws, and security has increased along U.S. borders. Even
the common trip across the U.S.-Mexican border has become a
time-consuming process, with long lines and inspections.
"There are many people that want to come here from Mexico and other
countries," Renteria said, "and it's much more difficult now."
=========================
Foreign nationals in S. Florida joining military in large numbers By
Jody A. Benjamin Sun-Sentinel November 9, 2001
When 20-year-old Victor Orozco signed up for the U.S. Marines in August,
it was to pursue his dream since middle school of becoming a
firefighter.
But in the wake of the Sept. 11 attack, there’s also an edge of
patriotism driving the Nicaragua native to fight for America.
The law allows green card holders like Orozco to enlist. The fact that
Orozco, of Miami, doesn’t yet carry a U.S. passport does not diminish
his desire to defend his adopted home, he said.
“Most people, all they can do is put flags on their cars to show their
patriotism,’’ said Orozco, a cashier at Publix who expects to be called
up for boot camp by January. “I’m going to have the chance to do more. …
This country has offered me a lot of opportunity, so I wouldn’t mind
fighting for it.’’
South Florida, home to one of the largest immigrant populations in the
nation, has sent large numbers of non-citizen green card holders to the
U.S. military for years.
The weeks since Sept. 11, which have seen a spike in recruitment, are no
exception, according to recruiters, who say it is too soon to report
specific numbers.
“The reality of recruiting down here is that a lot of the people we see
have green cards. Go visit recruiters in Iowa and you’ll find less of
it,’’ said Sgt. Ron Ferguson, himself a Bahamas native who joined the
Air Force 18 years ago and now recruits for that service.
“They’re looking for a job, they’re looking for an opportunity just like
anybody else,” he said.
Seeking opportunity
Yet the increased interest may not translate into a higher number of
recruits.
“There has been an increase in interest but there’s not been an increase
of qualified applicants,’’ said Michael Breen, public affairs officer
for the local Navy Recruiting District in Sunrise. “Usually, qualified
applicants don’t walk through our door. We have to go out and find
them.”
In South Florida, many of those found qualified by the Navy and other
military branches are not yet citizens, drawing from the area’s big
concentrations of residents from Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Within the pain and hurt from Sept. 11 people have been saying things
like immigrants are coming to invade us and we should close our borders,
but you cannot generalize,’’ said Jose Lagos, of Honduran Unity, which
has fielded calls of people with temporary status interested in joining
the military.
“Our contributions are not only in the economy and in society but also
in the military,’’ said Lagos.
About 34 percent of Navy recruits from Miami-Dade County were
non-citizens last year; as were about 22 percent of those from Broward
and Palm Beach County, according to Navy statistics.
In the Marines, 38.5 percent of those enlisting from South Florida
between October 2000 and September 2001 were non-U.S. citizens. The
region accounted for 14.6 percent of all non-citizens who joined the
Marines nationwide.
In the Army, the Miami battalion, which stretches from Vero Beach to the
Florida Keys, has been second only to New York City in the number of
non-citizen recruits for the last several years.
>From October 2000 to September 2001, 332 Miami battalion recruits were
non-citizens, or about 17 percent of the total 1,931.
During the same period, 589 of 2,184 recruits enlisting from the New
York area were non-citizens. Los Angeles sent the third-highest number
of non-citizens of any region in the nation: 237 of 1,909 recruits.
Proper paperwork
Many potential recruits from South Florida end up being disqualified
because they do not have the required immigration status. They must
either be a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, lawfully admitted for
permanent residence.
“We see lots of people who qualify academically, but they don’t have a
green card,’’ said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Albert Gomez. “I wish we could
take somebody in who is not a green card holder, but we can’t. They
definitely have an allegiance to the U.S., but they have a lack of
papers.”
The reasons non-citizens join the military often mirror those of
native-born recruits, say experts: a chance at education and a brighter
economic future, the opportunity to better support their families.
And there is one other benefit. Military service is one way to speed up
the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, cutting the required wait to
apply from five to three years of legal residency.
Some say the tendency to enlist shows a willingness to be accepted into
the larger U.S. society.
“Among immigrants, there is a strong motive to enter the mainstream of
society,’’ said University of Miami law professor Bernard Perlmutter.
“Part of that spirit is manifested in the number of individuals signing
up for the U.S. military.”
Security checks
But even those who qualify face restrictions. They are generally not
allowed security clearance to perform certain duties, such as
reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. In ROTC, they do not qualify
for up to $17,000 in college tuition until they become citizens.
If they come from what the military deems to be a hostile country like
Afghanistan or Iraq, they need to go through additional security checks.
Those restrictions are fine with Chris Ocampo, a native of Colombia who
joined the Marines 19 months ago. Back then, Ocampo was delivering
sandwiches for Chicken Kitchen when he decided to take the Marines up on
their offer of college tuition.
Now that there is a war, Ocampo, who moved to the United States six
years ago, said he doesn’t regret the choice. The lance corporal doubts
he will see combat.
“But I don’t mind if I do,’’ he said. “I’m ready for it.”
Jody A. Benjamin can be reached at jbenjamin@sun-sentinel.com or
954-356-4530.
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
=====================
Editorial – Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) – 11/09/01
Reaching out
Tarrant County's largest mosque opens its doors to the public in an
effort to educate while developing lines of communication and
understanding.
Saturday's open house at Tarrant County's largest mosque represents a
unique opportunity to forge understanding and friendship between those
of the Islamic faith and other community members.
Members of the Islamic Society of Arlington will open their 600-member
mosque from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, providing tours of the unique
structure, brief lectures introducing Islam, opportunities to ask
questions, snacks and printed materials about Islam.
The Arlington Central Mosque is located at 1700 S. Center St., just a
few blocks south of the University of Texas at Arlington.
The mosque, originally built in 1989 but since expanded, was the
inspiration of a small Muslim community at the university. For almost a
decade it was one of the few mosques in Tarrant County. Its membership
now includes immigrants from every corner of the Muslim world, including
India, Pakistan, the Middle East and North Africa.
When hijacked planes slammed into the Pentagon and World Trade Center
towers on Sept. 11, mosque members - many relatively new U.S. citizens
or citizens-to-be - quickly denounced the attacks and collected a
$40,000 contribution for victims.
When a Richardson mosque conducted a similar open house recently, 2,000
visitors showed up. Attendance at the Arlington mosque could easily
exceed that number.
Mosque members - our American Muslim neighbors - deserve commendation
for trying to reach out to the community. Other residents could do the
same by showing up for the open house - modest dress required, please.
=======================
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward Sikhs reach out to Sept. 11 victims, donate $8,500
By Nicole T. Lesson
Staff Writer
November 12, 2001
DAVIE · At a time when America is pulling together, the Sikh Society of
Florida joined the patriotism on Sunday and donated $8,500 to the United
Way Sept. 11th Fund during its worship service.
"We think this is very tragic, an unspeakable event, that happened,"
said Major Pannu, president of the Sikh Society at 16000 SW 60th St. "We
wanted to show our feelings and emotions for America and the victims'
families."
Sikh men, many of whom wear turbans and sport long beards, sometimes
face animosity associated with anti-terrorist angst.
"I have not had anything happen toward me personally, but I have heard
there have been some verbal assaults to others," said RajSingh Jolly, a
University of Miami student who is a relative of a Sikh man killed for
his appearance on Sept. 15 in Arizona. "The donation is an affirmation
of our unity with the community and nation."
The Sikh congregation asked Donna Shalala, president of the university,
to accept the donation.
Shalala, an Arab-American, spoke before 300 Sikh worshipers Sunday,
greeting them in their native Punjabi language and telling them that
immigrants make up America and education is the key to increase
tolerance.
"We are a country of immigrants; the strength of America is
immigration," said Shalala, Health and Human Services secretary during
the Clinton administration. "Education cannot be strong or excellent
unless it provides for children from all over the country."
On Oct. 26, the Sikh Gurudwara, or temple, in Davie was the victim of a
suspected hate crime when temple members found a live pig tied to a pole
on the grounds.
The pranksters are thought to have confused the group with Muslims, who
do not eat pork.
The incident has not deterred the Sikh community from reaching out.
"We have given a lot of contributions; it is part of our religion to
help others," said member Jagmeet Singh, a Killian High sophomore who
wears his turban to school. "For people who don't understand my turban,
I educate them and then they understand."
"We are part of America," said temple member Narinder Sarohia of Miami.
"I understand people's frustrations not knowing the differences of
Muslims and Sikhs, so we need the education."
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
========================
Cortez Journel Online
What constitutes a real American?
November 8, 2001
Straight Talk
By Muriel Sluyter
Greetings, Gentle Reader,
During the war in which the Russians invaded Afghanistan, young Dana
Rohrabacher, now a California congressman, joined a mujahideen unit
fighting in the general area of Jalalabad.
He says, "We at one point in that march came across a camp of tents.
They were white tents and you could see them in the distance, and I was
told at that point that I must not speak English for at least another
three hours, because the people in those tents were Saudi Arabians under
a crazy commander named Bin Laden, and that bin Laden was so crazy he
wanted to kill Americans as much as he wanted to kill Russians. Thus, I
must keep my mouth shut or we would be attacked by those forces under
bin Laden."
Rohrabacher says he was bearded at the time, looked like the others in
his unit and did precisely as he was told, keeping his mouth shut.
That’s how he lived long enough to become a congressman. Interesting,
huh?
Here’s another interesting story: Zewdalem Kebede, an immigrant from
Ethiopia, goes to San Diego State University. On Sept. 22 of this year,
he was studying in the school library, in which there were several Saudi
Arabian students. They were speaking Arabic.
Mr. Kebede says, "They started talking about the Sept. 11 action, and
with that action they were very pleased. They were happy." Since he
speaks fluent Arabic and understood everything they were saying, he
interrupted their conversation, in Arabic, to avoid embarrassing them in
front of other students.
"Guys, what you are talking about is unfair. How do you feel happy when
those five- to 6,000 people are buried in two or three buildings? You
are proud. You should have to feel shame."
A Saudi student responded angrily in English, accusing Kebede of
objecting to their speaking in Arabic. Since no one else present spoke
Arabic, it was an easy accusation to make.
Thirty minutes late, campus police came to get Mr. Kebede. A complaint
had been filed against him by the Saudi students. They had charged him
with being verbally abusive.
Furious, Mr. Kebede told his story in one of this classes. As a result,
the university dropped the charges, but sent him a letter threatening
disciplinary action. It said, "You are admonished to conduct yourself as
a responsible member of the campus community in the future."
Mr. Kebede says all he was guilty of was loving his new country. "Is
that a crime?" he asked.
Now to Arizona. When Arizona State removed an American flag from the
cafeteria in order to avoid offending international students, an
immigrant from Syria, Oubai Shahbandar introduced a bill in the student
senate to have it returned. The bill was defeated by students, but when
other adults of Arizona heard of the school’s action, they turned on the
heat. Alumni threatened to pull financial support and the school caved.
The flag went back up in the cafeteria.
These two young immigrants showed their schools’ authorities what it
means to be real Americans. Perhaps our schools should be run by new
immigrants, who have lived where almost everything is tenuous, even life
itself. They could make our colleges something of which Americans could
be proud once again, rather than the hotbeds of political activity.
Our inexperienced young people would be taught by dedicated Americans,
those who know what life is like without the constitutional protections
we enjoy. In such an environment, they could learn what constitutes a
real American.
Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal. All rights reserved.
====================
Newsday
The Clouds Were His Home
By Nick Iyer
STAFF WRITER
November 15, 2001
There were days when rain fell on lower Manhattan, but it snowed on Roko
Camaj. And there were days when Camaj's job meant having his head in the
clouds.
The 60-year-old Albanian immigrant was a window washer for American
Building Maintenance, a company contracted by the World Trade Center,
where he had worked for 27 years, his daughter Tereza Camaj said.
Roko Camaj was killed in the Sept.11 terrorist attacks on the towers. He
phoned his wife sometime after the second plane hit and said he was on
the 105th floor of Tower Two with a few hundred people who were waiting
to be evacuated, his daughter said. "He told us not to worry," Tereza
said. "He said, 'We're all in God's hands.' "
Camaj emigrated to the United States from Montenegro with his wife,
Katrina, in 1969. The couple's first daughter, Angelina, was born a day
after Camaj and his wife arrived, Tereza said. The culture shock, added
to the limited support systems the couple had, and the language barrier,
made their new lives in the United States intimidating, at first, Tereza
said.
But Camaj kept many of the specifics of his hardships from his children.
"He never wanted us to know the extent of the hardships he went
through," Tereza said.
The couple had shared housing with friends and family until 1970 when
"they were on their own entirely," Tereza said. The couple lived in
Manhattan until 1991, when they moved to Manhasset. Tereza had gained
admission to the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Brookville,
and so the move to Long Island seemed logical. "After they saw the
house, and they knew where I was going to college, everything just fell
into place," she said.
Two years later, Camaj phoned his family and told them that he wasn't
fit to come home in the condition that he was in. After being trapped on
the 107th floor of the World Trade Center for 2 1/2 hours after a car
bomb exploded there in 1993, Camaj, with a dampened cloth over his mouth
to protect him from suffocation, made his way down the stairs. His body,
except for the area around his nose and mouth that was covered by cloth,
was blackened from the smoke and ashes that filled the stairway.
"He called us and said that he didn't want us to see him," Tereza said.
After cleaning himself off, Camaj went home, several hours before he was
expected to return. There would be no personal or sick day for Camaj
after that incident. Camaj returned to work the next day.
"He said he wasn't worried, at all, about going back to work, because he
thought security was so tight," his daughter said. Camaj's dedication to
work was something that he learned from the long days and hard work on
his family's farm. "My parents have a huge amount of work ethic," Tereza
said.
Camaj was the subject of a children's book in 1995. His work duties were
described in Keith Elliot Greenberg's "Window Washer: At Work Above the
Clouds," part of a series titled "Risky Business," about dangerous
professions.
"His picture was practically on every single page," his daughter said.
But "he was used to the attention." Camaj had been interviewed by
newspaper and television reporters and was featured on international
news programs. "It was almost part of the job at that point," his
daughter said of her father being available to the media.
When Camaj wasn't suspended hundreds of feet above the streets of
Manhattan or giving interviews about it, he would sometimes take
Angelina's son, Luke, his grandson, for walks along Northern Boulevard
near his home and watch as cars of all shapes, sizes and colors whizzed
by. "He loved being a grandfather in a time of his life where he could
enjoy being a grandfather," Tereza said.
The family has attended several memorial services since Sept. 11. Family
members visited Ground Zero on Oct. 28, an experience that Tereza Camaj
called "almost surreal." As
1-year-old Luke could be heard in the background, Tereza Camaj paused
and said: "What can you really do to cope with something like this? We
were a very close family. My dad was a family man. That defined him, and
that's what we're going to try and keep up."
Copyright © 2001, Newsday, Inc.
====================
636 take oath as U.S. citizens
The Tampa ceremonies show that immigrants continue to become citizens in
hopes of a better life.
By BABITA PERSAUD
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 15, 2001
The Tampa ceremonies show that immigrants continue to become citizens in
hopes of a better life.
TAMPA -- The newest batch of American citizens were asked to
double-check the sex identification on their certificates because, said
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization officer Ken Vasquez, "It would be
easier to get a sex change operation than to have INS correct it."
That humor, along with the 316 naturalizations Wednesday morning, were
comforting signs some things have returned to normal since Sept. 11.
Immigrants are still becoming citizens for the same reasons: a better
way of life, religious freedom, or simply because "we elected to live
here and we would like to have the same rights everyone else has," said
Ehab Amin, 42, of Egypt.
The monthly naturalization ceremony at the Tampa Convention Center was
typical of ceremonies past, said Kristen Holland, an INS spokeswoman.
Another 320 were inducted in the afternoon.
Sixty countries were represented.
"Argentina! Bangladesh! Belgium!" called the announcer as new citizens
stood up. A Turkish woman did a jig when her country was called. A
Ukrainian woman smiled into a camera held by her husband.
"We truly have a mini-United Nations right here in this room," said
James Minton of the INS. Guest speaker Alina Ortiz, district manager of
the local Social Security office, told the audience of her coming to
America from Cuba, a process that included a language mix-up of cottage
cheese and cream cheese.
"Amazing how the smallest things could be so problematic," Ortiz said.
Ghada Eldin, a pediatrician and mother of two, came to America when her
husband, a Spring Hill cardiologist, decided to return to his native
Egypt for a wife.
They met for a day, argued, and a week later he called and proposed,
Eldin said. They are now active in Spring Hill's Muslim community.
"Americans really appreciate their country," Eldin, 33, said. "I saw
this before and after Sept. 11."
Moshe Begiyev, 50, came to America from Uzbekistan for religious
freedom. He is Jewish and fled when Uzbekistan separated from Russia.
His journey brought him from Moscow to New York to Sarasota.
First, he worked at a flea market; now, he works at a plastic
manufacturing company. His grown children, born in Uzbekistan, look as
American as a Gap commercial. They were naturalized a few years ago. Now
it was dad's turn.
Marina Begiyev, 23, said of her father: "We are proud of him."
=========================
Muslims look inward to reach out
The News & Observer
By YONAT SHIMRON, Staff Writer
Published: Friday, November 16, 2001 3:14 a.m. EST
Ever since Sept. 11, Debbie Jaunich's life has gotten a lot busier. In
addition to rearing five children and working as a bookkeeper in her
husband's baby furniture store, she's trying to keep up with a rush of
speaking engagements about her faith: Islam.
On Sunday, she participated in a Muslim-Christian dialogue at a Baptist
church. On Monday, she met with a group of Moravians to plan a similar
forum. On Wednesday, she talked to four seventh-grade classrooms at West
Cary Middle School.
"Right now, it's very hard to keep up," said Jaunich, 39, of Raleigh.
"There's a tremendous amount of people looking for information about
Islam. We're obliged to teach. It's a part of your faith -- if somebody
asks, you tell them."
Today, with the start of Ramadan, Muslims across the Triangle will begin
to step back as they begin a monthlong fast, one of the tenets of the
faith. During this period of introspection and drawing closer to God,
they also may reflect on how far they've come.
In the two months since the terrorist attacks, the Islamic Center of
Raleigh has changed its focus. It is now encouraging efforts to build
bridges with other faiths and with the Triangle community. But the
transition has not always been smooth.
In September, when the local interfaith community mounted its
largest-ever service of healing after the attacks, few Muslims showed
up. And although Muslims in many cities across the nation have held
"open houses" encouraging non-Muslims to see what a mosque looks like,
the Raleigh center has shied away from that.
"It's a learning experience for a lot of us," said Lebeed Alkadhi, who
leads the center's outreach committee. "We are new to a lot of the
things going on. We haven't done this kind of work before."
As the largest of the Triangle's half dozen mosques, the Islamic Center
of Raleigh is in the eye of the storm. The center, which regularly draws
1,700 people to Friday noontime prayers, is recruiting volunteers who
are putting together a program on "Islam 101" and creating sophisticated
Power Point presentations.
Church leaders appreciate the effort and say nothing is more important.
"Muslims and Christians remain veiled," said the Rev. Dee Froeber,
minister to internationals at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Raleigh.
"We don't really understand or know each other. I want to know what we
have in common and where we disagree."
There are an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 Muslims in the Triangle, local
scholars said. Most are first-generation immigrants, but there are many
native-born, including a large contingent of African-American converts.
Many chose the Triangle for the same reasons others did: a good economy,
lots of high-tech jobs and fair weather. Although the majority of
Muslims work as engineers and computer programmers, there is a growing
number of business- and working-class Muslims. Many drive cabs; others
run convenience stores and sandwich shops.
Despite the growth of other mosques in the region, the Islamic Center in
Raleigh remains pre-eminent. Two years ago, it completed a $1.5 million
worship center on Ligon Street, and it is already running out of room.
Recently, it bought land in Morrisville for a mosque. And leaders say a
North Raleigh site is probably down the road. Adjacent to the center is
the Al-Iman School, a private Muslim day school for 250 children in
preschool through eighth grade.
Like other faith groups, the Muslim community is hardly monolithic.
Immigrants and converts don't always see eye to eye, and there are
disagreements over the extent to which Muslims should be internally or
externally focused.
As a result, the community sends inconsistent messages. For example,
many Muslims objected to the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan,
fearing that a war would harm civilians and ignite a more extremist
Islam. But after airing their views in the media, the community was
inundated with negative phone calls questioning its loyalty to the
United States. In response, the center's leaders directed their
spokesman not to talk about politics and policy.
"There is a reservation in some circles that we are transgressing our
role," said Ekram Haque, the spokesman. "It's very hard not to say
something in live interviews that might be misconstrued. Politics is a
very treacherous game, and they don't want to play it," he said,
referring to the center's leadership. "We are a spiritual place where
people come for prayers."
This debate over engagement vs. nonengagement only adds to the
cautiousness Muslims feel in public anyway.
"It was difficult initially to get people to come to a forum where they
would be asked questions," said Susan Crotty, the office manager at Holy
Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill, which held a question-and-answer
session with Raleigh Muslims on Sunday. "I understand their hesitancy. I
didn't want them to be brought into a situation in which they would feel
castigated. I wanted them to feel comfortable. I was really persistent
with them. That's how I got them out here."
But some in the Muslim community said they think engagement is the only
road to take if Muslims are going to become good citizens.
"It would be wrong if we limit ourselves to only religious services,"
said Eyad Hindi, a Raleigh software engineer who would like Muslims to
get involved in issues such as voter registration, school safety and
U.S. foreign policy, to name a few.
"We should be a component driving public policy," Hindi said. "I think
Muslim participation in public life would be a positive force."
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Maurice Belanger
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National Immigration Forum
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