By Simone Götesson
The American Muslim Voice Foundation launched a new campaign on Monday aimed at fostering a greater understanding of Muslim culture in the U.S.
During a press conference to promote “National Invite Your Neighbors To Dinner Day,” the California-based group, whose slogan is moving Americans “from fear to friendship,” said the objective of their campaign is to bring Muslims into the mainstream.
“We need a solution for everybody. For us [Muslims] to be protected, everybody has to be protected,” said the group’s founder, Samina Sundas. “Media, public and government officials want Muslims to be a part of the country, but they don’t accept us as Americans.”
Because of a recent congressional hearing, the role Muslims play in helping law enforcement authorities combat terrorism has come into focus. Those who supported the hearing, held by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.), argued that Muslims have failed to denounce the rise of terror plots orchestrated by radical Islamists. However, the hearing angered several Muslim organizations, who argued that Muslims have cooperated adequately with law enforcement in the years following the 9/11 attacks.
AMV officials said their campaign is necessary to break down negative perceptions of Islam by increasing dialogue between non-Muslim Americans and Muslim-Americans. Officials from other Muslim advocacy groups were also present at today’s press conference, and spoke in support of the campaign.
“We need to understand the differences that unite us, rather than the differences that divide us,” said Robert Marro with the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS). “If you sit down with your neighbors, share a meal, talk to them and find out who they are, I think it will be hard to hate someone you’ve shared a meal with,” he said.
Jim Winkler, General Secretary, United Methodist General Board of Church & Society, Rebecca J Slater, Representative from Congressman Pete Stark’s office, Ibrahim Hopper, Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Shahid Buttar, Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, and Bobbi Stewart of Washington D.C. Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) were among others who attended the press conference.