From Salmy Hashim

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Bernama) -- America has the potential to become the "second Mecca" for Muslims where a vibrant exchange of Islamic ideas and activities can take place between people originating from many parts of the world. 

Malaysian Prof Osman Bakar, who heads the Islamic Studies Department at Georgetown University, says: "The United States is the freest country in the world. Historically, Islam flourishes in a society where there's freedom". 

"The brains from the Muslim world are coming here," said the professor who was deputy vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur before assigned here. 

Muslim scholars, political activists as well as women leaders who could not speak out in their home countries found their freedom to speak when they reach the US. 

This explains why Islamic think-tanks are flourishing in the US. They are active and in the forefront in explaining the issues. They include the Institute of International Islamic Thought (IIIT); the Centre for Studies of Islam and Democracy (CSID); the American Muslim Council; the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Muslim American Society (MAS); Muslim Public Affairs Council; and the United Association for Studies and Research. 

While the Muslim population has grown to about six million in the United States, Muslims here, Shiite or Sunni, face the challenge of prejudice -- viewed with suspicion by the authorities because of their background, and rejected by employers who need security clearance prior to employment. 

American Muslims clearly remember the day when a federal building was bombed in Oklahoma. Fingers, especially the media's, were quick to point out to "Muslim terrorists". 

It turned out that the culprit was a white American extremist who was displaying his anger towards the US government. The Muslim community deny their role in the heinous crime and instead turned their anger into positive energy by volunteering to help victims and their families. 

Nevertheless, the number of Muslims is growing, mostly immigrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Cambodia, and some from Pakistan, Kashmir, Indonesia and West Asia. Mosques are sprouting from California to New York creating traffic congestions on Friday afternoons when Muslim men perform their Friday prayers or during the annual Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha celebrations. 

Prof Osman said that with their varied background and culture, Muslims here have one common language -- the English Language -- to communicate with each other, to exchange ideas on how to unite and improve the community, and to project a more positive view of Islam. 

To a certain extent, they are making some headway. Former President Bill Clinton quoted a verse from the Quran in his speech in front of then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the White House. President George W. Bush, in his inaugural address acknowledged the Muslim community by mentioning the word "mosques". 

Stamps commemorating Eid will soon be issued by the US Postal Service and efforts are underway to include Muslim holidays and the Ramadan in calendars. The mainstream media regularly cover Ramadan and Eid events across the country. 

Muslims are becoming politically active. At the last presidential election, "get out the vote" drives were launched by Muslim leaders to encourage Muslim voters to vote for Bush and to reject Al Gore. 

Muslim groups from across the nation then came together to draw out a list of recommendations for the new president that include calling for an end to economic sanctions on Iraq, a ban on racial profiling by police and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the hiring of more Muslims in key government positions. 

Last week, six national American Muslim organisations called on President Bush to end America's unconditional support of "Israeli apartheid" and to block the use of American weapons in attacks on Palestinians. 

They called on Bush to stop US military aid to Israel and to stop abusing the US veto power in the United Nations "which allows Israeli aggression to continue unhindered, tarnishes America's image and damages American interests abroad". 

Meanwhile, in Illinois, where there are more than 400,000 Muslims, the state senate last week passed the Halal Food Act, to safeguard the interests of the Muslim consumers. The Bill still needs to be passed by the Illinois House of Representatives and signed by the governor to be made into law. 

A similar act has already been passed in the state of New Jersey, while Minnesota is the second state to introduce the Halal Food Bill. The Minnesota Bill is still awaiting final approval from the legislature and the governor. 

Imam Yahya Hendi, the first Muslim chaplain to be appointed by a university in the US, is optimistic about the progress of Islam and Muslims in the US, but feels that progress being made may be slow. 

"It is difficult to bring about a well-coordinated and coherent agenda because Muslims are scattered all over the US making them minorities wherever they are," says Hendi, who is from Georgetown University, a private Catholic university here in Washington. 

Georgetown currently boasts of an active Centre for Christian-Muslim Understanding, provides a surau for its more than 400 Muslim students and faculty members, provides funding to the university's Muslim Student Association, and organises Muslim retreats to encourage spiritual activities on campus. -- BERNAMA