06 August 2009

July 4 Event Showcases Muslim-American Service, Patriotism

Muslim-American professionals group promotes community involvement

By Ahmed Mohamed
Staff Writer

Washington — Americans of all backgrounds celebrate freedom, democracy and patriotism each July 4, Independence Day.

On this past July 4, the Council for Advancement of Muslim-American Professionals (CAMP) sponsored an event to honor the patriotism of Muslim Americans who serve their country in a variety of ways.

“We really wanted to create an event that paired the word ‘Muslim’ with ‘patriotism,’ especially around the 4th of July,” Hazami Barmada, president of CAMP DC, told America.gov. “The idea [came about] of doing a cruise on the 4th of July, watching ... fireworks, with Muslim-American Congressman André Carson [of Indiana] and inviting people from all different backgrounds.”

The group contacted the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Muslim Congressional Staff Association and the Muslim American Veterans Association, Barmada said, because “each addressed the issue of patriotism and political and civic engagement from different lenses.”

Also invited, she said, were young professionals, “to give them an opportunity to learn about these organizations, but also to give these organizations a chance to learn about the Muslims who are young and engaged and have large aspirations to engage and connect.”

Barmada also talked about the American Muslim Interactive Network (AMIN), of which she is the founder and president. “I believe the name accurately describes what we aim to do, which is to be an interactive group, interactive internally as Muslims trying to nurture a network of socially, culturally and professionally diverse Muslims.”

The groups, Barmada said, want to “put a face to Islam in mainstream America” by showing the professional, political and civic engagements of Muslims and highlighting to the American public “the diversity that exists within the Muslim community, whether it is professional diversity, cultural diversity ... language, different upbringings, or different socio-economic status.”

Some of AMIN’s initiatives, Barmada said, are “intercultural and intracultural, interfaith and intrafaith relations, and trying to get more Muslim voices out there in the community.” She said they also wanted “engagement, whether it is political, social or cultural, and also volunteerism.”

The group hosts events on the importance of engagement by Muslim Americans in the political process, but not necessarily as politicians. “There are a lot of other ways that influence policy and how it affects other people.” In such discussions, Barmada said, many participants asked how they, as Muslims, engage in the political process.

“One of the initiatives we also discussed was engaging youth in the process of politics and how you really reach out to youth to be advocates for whatever cause,” she said, “not only as Muslims but as professionals who happen to be Muslims.”

“We do not have to set aside our differences, because our differences make us unique. We can be respected and admired for our differences and we can agree or disagree with respect.”

“It is important to talk about the individual experience, and put the humanity back into diversity, back into how to interact as Americans, as a very diverse group of people,” Barmada said.