CEDAR RAPIDS – Like most Muslim imams in the US, imam Hassan Selim, the leader of Cedar Rapids mosque in Iowa is worried about the impact of the presidential election on his faith, falling victim to Republicans’ anti-Muslim tirades.
“I want to practice my religion,” Imam Selim said in his small office in the city’s Islamic Center, a large, modest structure built in 1971 and featuring a blue-roofed minaret, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Wednesday, January 27.
“I want to go to the people and explain what Islam is, not what Islam is not, because that’s what we do all the time.”
Born in Egypt, Imam Selim studied at the prestigious Al-Azhar University before arriving in Iowa in 2012 to become the spiritual leader of one of America’s oldest Muslim communities.
Coming to promote the virtues of his religion, the imam found himself on the defensive in this heartland state, which on Monday kicks off the voting in America’s months-long presidential nominations process.
“You come to a point where you get sick of explaining yourself,” the 28-year-old scholar said.
Since last month’s deadly attacks in San Bernardino, California, news cameras have become commonplace in the mosque.
Inviting media, students and neighbors to the mosque, the pressure of anti-Islam rhetoric has affected the imam’s ability to stay on the defensive.
The imam is American by marriage. His two daughters were born in the United States, and he said he wants them to grow up “feeling comfortable in their skin.”
Though receiving letters of support at the mosque, the imam feels under watch when entering a restaurant.
Iowa is home to the first Arab immigrants who came to the States in 1880s from Syria and Lebanon.
In 1934, the community became the first in the nation to erect a mosque, although some places used for worship had existed earlier.
The “Mother mosque”, a small wooden white building, without a minaret, a crescent on the green dome, still stands in a residential area of Cedar Rapids.
Muslims make up 1% of America’s 322 million population, according to Pew Research center.
Anti-Muslim sentiments have reached an all-time high after the rise of the so-called Islamic State, formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Moreover, the Republican presidential candidates, such as Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, have added to increasing anti-Muslim sentiments.
Trump’s views on immigration have sparked controversy nationwide, especially his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the US.
A few weeks ago, his campaign officials removed a Muslim woman silently protesting at a Trump rally, prompting the Council on American-Islamic Relations to demand an apology from the campaign.