Colorado’s Muslim community is looking at the Democratic National Convention as a milestone in its endeavors to participate in the political process.
Tomorrow, the American Muslim Democratic Caucus (am-mdc.org) will hold a reception to launch its agenda on the national scene. The AMCD started out as a network of several state-level organizations, and chose the DNC to bring attention to the growing effort of American Muslims to engage in the political process.
Local Muslim Boy Scouts will be presenting state and national flags, and the national anthem will be sung by the daughter of a local Hispanic Muslim convert.
The Muslim community in Colorado started with a smattering of immigrant families, college students here on visa from Middle Eastern countries, and African-American converts. When I became part of the Denver Muslim community in 1995, there was little-to-no social or political activism outside of grass-roots efforts found in the small African-American community whose mosque was tucked tucked across the street from Manual High School for nearly a decade.
Public or media interest in Islam was tinged with typical political perspectives, debates and stereotypes centered mainly around the Middle East, with no focus on our local communities — with the exception of Nuggets star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s notoriety due to his refusal to stand for the national anthem in 1996.
Then came the horrific shock of Sept. 11, 2001. That tragedy not only posed a harsh spotlight of anger and trepidation aimed toward Muslims in Colorado but also a challenge to Muslims as to how to represent a faith adhered to by many and misunderstood by many more.
Polls show that as many as 80 percent of Muslims don’t regularly attend a mosque. In order to address the challenge as well the waning presence of the mosque as a centerpiece in the everyday lives of Muslims in Colorado and the nation, groups like Muslims Intent on Learning & Activism, the Muslim American Society (MAS), and the Colorado Muslim Council have tried to instill the spirit of volunteerism in the community.
Soon, there came mosque sponsorship of the 9Health Fair, participation with Habitat for Humanity, and the first-ever Muslim-run charity project, the Ansar Food Pantry, run in conjunction with Metro CareRing.
In the political realm, Colorado is now home to two Muslim candidates running for state congressional offices.
The DNC in Denver brings to light the issue of just how Muslims can (or should) engage in the political process. With regard the presumptive nominee himself, Muslims want to press the issue of the perception that Barack Obama has shunned the Muslim community in an over-cautious campaign stance, and thus furthering all-too-common distrust and discrimination of Muslims.
(Both the local and national Democratic Party, while promoting interfaith relations, has sought the participation of Muslim leaders and organizations).
In spite of current dilemmas and past problems of rare political or social activism, the past 7 years have seen Muslims in Colorado become galvanized toward the future challenge of promoting a Muslim American identity. This year’s convention — with its historical backdrop of hosting the first Muslim members of Congress and the first African-American presidential nominee — will be fertile ground for cultivating this identity.
Taj Ashaheed was a member of the 2006 Colorado Voices panel for The Denver Post, and is executive director of the Colorado Muslim Council.
