NEW YORK – Ramadan is a time when Muslims come together to worship, socialize, and discuss important issues affecting their daily lives. In the United States, the Muslim organization Muslim ARC and the Suffolk County Police Department met with Muslims during the holy month, to provide opportunities to learn about countering racism and hate.
The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC) hosted two anti-racism workshops as part of the Islamic Center at NYU’s Pre-Iftar program.
“Imam Khalid Latif contacted us with an interest in doing a series of workshops similar to the Take on Hate six part series in the fall and a two part Ramadan series at the Islamic Center of NYU,” MuslimARC programming director Margari Hill told AboutIslam.net.
“We modified the Take on Hate to highlight Islamic principles and the basis of Muslim Anti-racism, which many Muslim scholars such as Zaik Shakir, Omar Suleiman, Muslema Purmul, and Abdullah Ali have elaborated on in their work to address racism in Muslim communities.”
The first Muslim ARC workshop, “Racism 101”, highlighted systemic racism and acquiring skills to combat it.
Participants engaged in activities that helped them reflect on internalized, interpersonal and institutional racism, the perpetuation of racist policies, and their real-world consequences.
“This is something that is life-long work,” facilitator Chaquita Williams explained during the workshop.
“We live in a culture where we are constantly bombarded with ideas, values, and images that really influence us in the ways we think about race and the ways we think about people of different cultures” and engaging in anti-racism efforts can “help you challenge your nafs (lower desires) and purify your soul.”
Formation of Racism
The center also hosted a second workshop, “Narrative and Oppression”, which focused on historical formations of racial identities.
Activities in this workshop allowed participants to consider how systemic racism and oppression affect their personal lives as well as shaped their family histories.
During the “Interview & Record Dates” exercise, participants shared their placement on the country’s historical timeline of migration and any discrimination they or their families encountered.
The diversity of the participants revealed a spectrum of migration and subsequent challenges of oppression among Muslims in the United States.
Participants also engaged in dialogues about creating multi-racial alliances to combat oppression.
“There are a lot of ways we are affected by multiple forms of oppression and migration and radicalization,” explained Williams.
“There are a lot of different ways we are affected in our communities. We belong to multiple identities; we belong to different ethnic groups; we come from different countries, and we all have different histories in who we are and how we identify.”
The workshop series is one of numerous education programs offered by MuslimArc nationally.
Hill explained, “MuslimARC’s mission is education for liberation. Drawing from Islamic principles of racial egalitarianism and cultural pluralism, we aim to provide learning tools and resources for racial justice education and cultural proficiency to Muslims and allied community.”
Suffolk County Police Mosque Iftar
In another effort, inspector McCarthy and officer Jason Hubbard, community liaison of the Suffolk County, NY Police Department’s 7th Precinct visited the Islamic Center of Mastic-Shirley for a communal iftar and to talk to community members about hate crimes.
Before eating, inspector McCarthy spoke to Mastic-Shirley Muslims about the police department’s commitment to keeping them safe.
The inspector encouraged Muslim citizens to contact the police if they experience a hate crime and provided an example of an individual in the area who targeted Muslims in the area.
“That individual was charged with a hate crime, so you definitely and should bring that forward,” said Inspector McCarthy. McCarthy further directed the audience to talk to their clergy if they have a distrust of the police or if there is a concern of reprisal.
“Depending on the situation, we can work with a fact pattern sometimes without getting your name involved,” Inspector McCarthy explained the audience, “particularly if you are concerned as a Muslim about retaliation for bringing forth a claim.”
When asked what his precinct needed from Muslim citizens in the area, inspector McCarthy expressed to AboutIslam.net the importance of being invited by Muslims to their houses of worship and Muslim citizens getting involved in community activities the police department offers.
“I think if the Muslim community comes up and participate in the community meetings that the precincts have, it will allow people to see Muslims interacting and giving their own concerns,” he told AboutIslam.net.
Officer Jason Hubbard added that the police department could provide information to disseminate to people in the area that would “give people a better idea about the parameters for a hate crime and what it entails.”
Both inspector McCarthy and officer Hubbard affirmed they or members of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force would be available to accept invitations and talk to Muslims about hate crimes.
After talking to community members, the police officers enjoyed an iftar dinner with Imam Abdul-Lateef Poulos, Suffolk County Police Chaplain Nayyar Imam, NYPD officer Abraham Ahmed and other Muslims residing in the area.
Racism and anti-Muslim bias are realities in the daily lives of American Muslims.
However, every year, Ramadan increasingly presents opportunities for American Muslims to confer with each other and their non-Muslim allies to discover ways of resistance.