On Aug. 17, 1790, President George Washington and his then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson visited Newport, R.I., where they met representatives of several religious denominations. A few days after that visit, President Washington wrote a letter to the Jewish community in that city. Borrowing from the Old Testament, he wrote, “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants — while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”
We, American Muslims, have been feeling the shade of our vine and fig tree disappearing; we have been feeling the shade of safety receding. In late November 2016, a person, in a clear act of hate, took a sledgehammer to the granite sign in front of my mosque, the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) in Redmond. On Dec. 9, in a powerful act of solidarity, more than 50 interfaith, community and political leaders placed their handprints in the cement base and restored the sign. That ceremony and the outpouring of community support uplifted us all. But sadly, on Dec. 17, less than a week after that ceremony and only a few hours after we had concluded a very successful career fair attended by 250 young adults, a person under the cover of darkness took what appears to be a crowbar and viciously damaged our newly restored sign. The hate crime was captured by video surveillance.
MAPS has invited the perpetrator(s) of these hate crimes to come and meet the congregants — knowing a Muslim co-citizen is the best first step to eradicating Islamophobia. American Muslims have been citizens of this land since before its founding. Fifteen percent to 30 percent of enslaved Africans brought to American shores were Muslim. American Muslims fought in the Revolutionary and Civil wars, World wars I and II and every war since. Today, more than 10,000 American Muslims serve proudly in our nation’s armed forces. And more than 50,000 American Muslims are medical doctors saving lives every day.
The congregants at our mosque are startup entrepreneurs in Bellevue, technology executives in Redmond, engineers in Everett, lawyers in Seattle, the many doctors and nurses at area hospitals, teachers in public schools, taxi drivers plying the highways, janitors at SeaTac Airport, checkout counter girls at the local grocery stores and baristas at the local coffee shops. American Muslims are your everyday neighbors.
MAPS serves the spiritual needs of 5,000 families who trace their roots to more than 40 countries. It is a place where life events, such as births, weddings, graduations and funerals, are celebrated and honored. Children attend the on-site schools; adults of all faiths participate in the extensive educational programs. MAPS houses a library, a beauty salon, a clothing boutique, a café and a coffee bistro. Charitable giving being a pillar of Islam, the center financially assists more than 1,000 families every year and provides a platform for community service. Hundreds of volunteers run the free monthly health clinic, operate dental vans, donate blood, feed the homeless, work with tent cities, distribute blankets and ORCA cards, prepare school meals, teach the young, comfort the elderly, visit the sick, clean roadways, grow sustainable gardens, repair trails and parks.
If the founding fathers imagined America as this experiment where diverse people can come together and be more than the sum of their parts, aspire for a good greater than themselves and be of selfless benefit to their fellow citizens, then we at MAPS embody that vision. American Muslims are America.
In the Newport letter, Washington makes the case for a United States that “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” In these times when hate crimes are on the rise and when American Muslims and many other minority groups are anxious, the question remains: will Americans restore the shade of safety over their co-citizens who feel threatened? Will America uphold Washington’s promise?
Riad Chummun serves as the treasurer and board director of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS). He resides in Sammamish and works at Intellectual Ventures.
