Letter to the Anti-War Movement from the Syrian American Community

Note: Various Syrian American organizations wrote this letter. I agree with the message and decided to share it too.

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But it is not too late for the rest of Syrian children

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Letter to the Anti-War Movement from the Syrian American Community

Skepticism towards President Obama’s decision to launch a limited military campaign against the Syrian regime is understandable. Ten years after the Iraq war, Syrian Americans have consistently been an integral part of the anti-war movement in the United States for the past few decades. Syrian Americans took part in the strong opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and stood side by side with the anti-war movement against drone strikes on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. As citizens with origins in a region that has terribly seen the results of war for the past century, Syrian Americans are no strangers to the dangers that war can bring and have been some of the greatest voices against it. It is for this reason that when the usage of force is supported it must be in a limited and proportional way, to save civilian lives, legally justified, and a last resort.

While based upon good intentions, the anti-war movement today is in danger of standing with forces that support a continuing of the conflict in Syria. The conflict in Syria has reached a new level after the Syrian regime carried out large-scale chemical weapons attacks on August 21, 2013, killing more than 1,400 people in the suburbs of Damascus. This large scale use of chemical weapons is a serious and dangerous escalation, a bold sign of the regime’s disregard of US warnings, and a clear indication of the regime’s willingness and capacity to engage in future attacks on an even greater scale. This attack came one full year after President Barack Obama on August 20^th, 2012 said that the usage of chemical weapons on a large scale would be a red line which would require intervention in the Syrian conflict.

War is always a last resort and any type of military action should be proportional and legally justified. The Syrian crisis has gone on for over two and a half years and diplomatic attempts to resolve the conflict have been exhausted and consistently failed as thousands of people are killed by escalating violence:

·         The Arab League sent in monitors in December 2011 under General Ahmad al-Dabi to deter the Syrian government from shooting at peaceful protestors. This monitoring mission failed, the Syrian regime never accepted the allowing of a full monitoring team into the country, and monitors were not able to prevent massacres in front of their very eyes. The monitoring mission eventually failed and went home on January 28^th 2012.

·          The United Nations appointed Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan in February 2012 who tried to enforce a ceasefire and send a United Nations monitoring mission to the country, which was approved on April 21^st 2012. The ceasefire immediately broke down on May 25^th 2012 when government forces massacred Syrian civilians in Houla, Syria killing 108 people including 34 women and 49 children. The monitors were not able to stop further massacres in front of their very eyes and left the country on August 18^th 2012.

·         After the failure of both the Arab League and United Nations plans, attempts were made to make a diplomatic deal with Russia to oust Assad through a political solution. On June 30^th 2012, the United States and Russia agreed upon a “Geneva Accord” which would solve the Syrian crisis through a peace deal between both the rebels and the government. In September 2012, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, visited Iran attempting to make a “Quartet” of countries including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey to provide a diplomatic solution for the Syrian conflict which had completely failed. Again in the summer of 2013, the United States attempted to revive the idea of talks with Russia towards pushing both sides to a political solution announcing a Geneva II peace conference between the government and the rebels which never got off the ground. Only last month in August 2013, Saudi intelligence chief Bandar bin Sultan offered Russia’s President Vladamir Putin a $17 billion dollar arms deal and preferred energy contracts in return for ceasing support for the Assad regime and was rejected.

Unlike past conflicts, such as the war in Iraq, the Syria intervention is not a unilateral American adventure but is being actively pushed by foreign countries including Muslim countries. The United Kingdom, France, and Turkey have called upon the international community to act, while the Arab League on September 1^st issued a statement calling on international intervention to punish the Assad regime for its chemical weapons attacks against civilians. These countries have called for even further action than is being considered. The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, a conference of the 57 Islamic states in the world, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has called for a no-fly-zone to be instituted in Syria. The response will be undergone through legal channels. President Obama is asking the Congress of the United States to authorize the use of force, and the evidence has been in public view and will be debated for weeks. We are not rushing into war.

Unlike Iraq, the Syrian people have pushed for intervention as well.  The sight of thousands of Syrians protesting in the streets on hundreds of YouTube videos throughout the past two and a half years should disabuse any of the notion that this is not something that the Syrian people want. As early as September 9^th 2011, the Syrian people held a nationwide Friday protest called “The Friday of International Protection,” on October 28^th 2011 they held “Friday of the No-Fly-Zone,” and have called for international protection of civilians since the beginning of the conflict.

Finally, the response is proportional. The options for consideration to respond to the Syrian regime’s usage of chemical weapons include cruise missile strikes that will not involve boots on the ground. As Secretary of State John Kerry noted on August 30^th, the response will not look like Iraq and Afghanistan nor will it even look like Libya.

Although you may still remain skeptical for acting, non-acting only needlessly costs more civilian lives. Only yesterday in Syria, September 1^st, the Syrian regime launched 43 airstrikes on the country killing dozens of civilians. As Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, and other non-government organizations have documented the usage of air power by the Syrian regime against its civilian population is a war crime. Syria is already being bombed but by its own government. The usage of chemical weapons by the regime to kill over 1400 civilians is a significant escalation and truly a red line that goes against basic international norms. By not acting, the Assad regime and other dictatorships around the world will only be emboldened to use these weapons in large amounts against their civilian populations when their regimes are challenged.

American Muslims discovering politics (OC Register)

By JIM HINCH

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

6/2/2013

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/muslims-510876-political-party.html

For many election cycles, the Arab American Caucus of the California Democratic Party gathered in small conference rooms at party conventions, listened to speeches, made a few endorsements, and went home.

This year, something different happened. "The room was packed," said Rashad Al-Dabbagh of Anaheim, who attended the state party convention in April as a member of the Arab caucus.

Seventy people crammed two rooms at the Sacramento Convention Center for the caucus' Saturday evening meeting on April 13, including a record 28 Muslims recently elected as state party delegates.

Women in hijabs were seen wandering the convention floor, often stopped by state party officials "asking, 'How can we help you?'" recalled Hussam Ayloush, one of the recently elected delegates.

So many people wanted to become leaders of the caucus that, for the first time in memory, the election for leadership positions was contested.

And two Muslim members of the caucus, the recently elected mayor of the city of Bell and a school board member in Anaheim, actually held public office, another first.

The meeting, said Al-Dabbagh, was visible proof that California's Muslim community, a political sleeping giant, is beginning to awaken.

"The community is beginning... to find its political voice," said Al-Dabbagh, an activist who has worked for several Orange County political campaigns. "It will find its place. It's just a matter of time."

Islam is America's fastest growing faith, with the number of Muslims more than doubling since 2000, according to the 2010 U.S. Religion Census, a decennial survey conducted by an ecumenical coalition of religious statisticians. As many as 12 million Americans identify themselves as Muslim, according to different estimates.

Yet, until recently, Muslims were also the least politically active faith community. Only 65 percent of American Muslims are registered to vote, compared with 91 percent of Protestants and Jews, according to a 2011 Gallup poll.

First-generation Muslim immigrants often come from countries with autocratic governments where political participation is either discouraged or considered pointless or even dangerous.

"You're not ever going to change anything," Rohnda Ammouri, an Anaheim political consultant, recalls being told by elderly business owners in the city's Little Arabia neighborhood when she asked for political donations.

Muslims are also far younger on average than members of other faiths (almost 20 years younger than the average Protestant), and many are immigrants who have not yet become citizens.

Recently, however, an emerging generation of American-born Muslims has begun flexing its political muscle, especially in regions of the country, such as California, New York and the upper Midwest, with large Muslim populations.

In California, home to roughly one million Muslims, the heart of that emergence is in Orange County. Nine of the 28 recently elected delegates to the state Democratic Party are from Orange County, where the Muslim population has been estimated at around 200,000. It's not known what percentage of California Muslims is registered to vote.

Orange County's prominence among Muslim political activists is largely due to the work of Hussam Ayloush, who heads the Anaheim office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Ayloush, who lives in Corona, said he had long been troubled by what he termed his community's political "apathy." So last year he embarked on an effort to recruit local Muslims to become Democratic Party delegates.

Delegates are elected biannually in each of the state's 80 Assembly districts. They help shape party policy by endorsing candidates and ballot measures and representing local interests at state conventions.

Ayloush told recruits that becoming a delegate was a manageable first step toward greater political engagement.

"The more a community has political activists... the better we are positioned to contribute toward the betterment of our society in ways that are important for us," he said.

"There was a lot of skepticism" at first, Ayloush added. And most of the recruits, among them two doctors, a teacher and a lawyer, were new to politics.

So Ayloush, who had already served a term as a party delegate, organized meetings and conference calls during which he explained how to raise money and garner votes in the delegate election, held in January.

"There was a buzz in the community," he said.

And there was a buzz at the April convention when all the new delegates elected in January showed up.

"We're starting to see the younger generation coming of age," said Henry Vandermeir, who this year was elected chair of Orange County's Democratic Party. "We (Democrats) feel we have the better message for them to come over to us."

Roughly 85 percent of Muslims voted for Pres. Barack Obama in last year's election, according to post-electing polling.

However, the alliance between Muslims and Democrats is actually a recent phenomenon, the product of an unusually rapid turnaround in American politics, said Louis Desipio, a political science professor at UC Irvine.

Fifteen years ago Muslims "identified with Republicans," Desipio said. A large majority of Muslims voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. And members of Bush's political team made efforts to cultivate a network of high-income Muslim donors.

Muslims, many of whom are socially conservative small business owners, doctors and engineers, appeared a natural fit for the GOP.

But that changed soon after Sept. 11. In the months and years following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., and as America went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, American Muslims felt unfairly demonized by Republican politicians. Republican support of Israel and opposition to immigration reform further alienated voters.

Meanwhile, "Democrats realized that by being the party of inclusiveness in today's California they win," said Desipio.

Ammouri, the Anaheim political consultant, said she grew up in Modesto as part of a Republican household of Palestinian Americans.

In 2000, when she was 13, her grandfather took her to hear vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney speak. Then the two of them went to Republican Party headquarters to volunteer at a phone bank. The local party gave her a college scholarship.

"Now I'm not a Republican at all," Ammouri said. Neither are her parents.

"It's just gotten more radically right," she said. "And I feel like they've excluded me as an Arab American, as a Muslim American and as a woman. So many Republican officials talk about Muslims in a way I couldn't agree with."

Al-Dabbagh said that even though Muslims share a common faith, their political goals vary, reflecting the community's socio-economic diversity and various national origins.

Foreign policy is one area of near-universal agreement. Muslims want greater support for Palestinians, an end to drone strikes on civilians and greater support for rebels in Syria's civil war.

But those are all long-range goals, Al-Dabbagh said. For now, it's enough that Muslims are getting involved and laying the groundwork to run for office and become a stronger presence in state politics.

"We want to make sure our voice is heard," he said.

Contact the writer: jhinch@ocregister or on Twitter @jimkhinch

Record Number of Muslim Delegates Participate in CA Democratic Party Convention

By: Sabiha Khan

American Muslim activist and California Democratic Party Delegate

A record number of American Muslim delegates to the Democratic Party attended and participated in the California Democratic (CADEM) Party Convention in Sacramento, California held on April 12-14. In the beginning of the year, more than thirty five delegates from a diverse background, six of whom were elected to the Executive Board, were either elected or chosen to represent their California Assembly District at the Convention.

Hailing from Northern to Southern California and cities in between, the California American Muslim Democratic Party delegates attended workshops on voter registration, voted and passed resolutions, voted on party and caucus officers and networked with party activists and elected officials. 

A version of one resolution submitted by the Progressive Caucus and supported by the California Muslim Delegate group was passed unanimously at the convention. The official committee resolution strongly called on the Obama administration to end the use of drone strikes and extrajudicial executions.

The American Muslim delegates also attended the launching and formation of the first ever Muslim American Caucus for the California Young Democrats. One delegate, S. Nadia Hussain, was elected to be its first secretary.  She was also elected to the board of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. 

Also at the convention, a number of American Muslim delegates were elected to the board of the Arab American Democratic Caucus: Sarah Moussa as Chair, Basim Elkarra as Northern California Vice Chair, Rashad Al-Dabbagh as Southern California Vice Chair, Fatima Dadabhoy as Treasurer and, Iyad Afalqa as Secretary. 

The diversity of the American Muslim community was reflected in the background of the delegates themselves: men and women ranging in age from 23 to 63 years old;  people from all professions including entrepreneurs, homemakers, doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers and engineers to name a few; and South Asian, Arab, Latino, and Anglo-American ethnicity. Noteworthy also were two sets of siblings; brothers Affad and Affan Shaikh and sisters Fatima and Ambereen Dadabhoy.

The California Democratic Party (CDP) is governed by the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) which has approximately 3000 delegates.  Some delegates are appointed by elected officials, but about one third are elected every odd numbered year through elections divided by assembly district.  Twelve individuals (six women and six men) from each assembly district are elected as delegates to serve a two year term to the DSCC.

An elected delegate is able to vote on candidate endorsements, help shape the platform of the CDP, approve the rules by which the CDP functions, vote on resolutions of concern to various communities, and choose CDP representatives to the Democratic National Party. Delegates are also responsible for attending the annual statewide convention. 

 Additionally, one representative from every 12 delegates is voted to the executive board.  The executive board (E-Board) has all the duties and powers of the CDP when it is not in session (at the Democratic National Convention). E-Board members are required to attend three quarterly E-Board meetings each year, as well as the statewide convention.

The next California Democratic Party Convention will be held in 2014 in Los Angeles. Among the issues to be decided on at next year’s convention is the CDP’s platform.  

BOSTON BOMBINGS: Role of suspects’ Muslim beliefs unclear

Posted on | April 22, 2013

Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
AP Photo/The Lowell Sun & Robin Young, File

It’s still unclear whether religion was a motivation for the Boston Marathon bombings.

But as evidence emerges that Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have held extremist Muslim beliefs, speculation is rife as to whether those apparent beliefs led him and his brother Dzhokhar to plant the bombs that killed three people and injured more than 180 others, and to then kill a police officer.
From the beginning, U.S. Muslim organizations and leaders have condemned the bombings and emphasized that violence against innocent people violates the basic tenets of Islam.

“A person who claims an Islamic basis for such a heinous crime is no more faithful to the teachings of Islam than a KKK member who claims a biblical basis in committing bigoted crimes,” Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told me on Friday.

“Islam’s teachings are very clear in protecting the sanctity of life,” the Corona resident said. “Anyone who claims to be a Muslim cannot act in opposition to those teachings.”

Prayers for the victims of the Boston bombings and condemnations of the attacks were heard over the past few days in mosques across the country and at vigils organized by Muslims.

One Boston-area imam, Talal Eid, said he would refuse to perform funeral rites for someone who killed innocent people. The Quran says such people go to hell, he said.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev clashed with members of a Massachusetts mosque earlier this year. In January, he disrupted a service when he loudly objected to Martin Luther King Jr. being compared with the Prophet Mohammed.

One worshipper said Tsarnaev was angry because King was not a Muslim.
After the outburst, Yusufi Vali, a spokesman for the mosque, told The Boston Globe “The congregation shouted him out of the mosque.”

The FBI said that in 2011, a foreign government – later identified as Russia – asked for information on Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

“The FBI reviewed its records and determined that in early 2011, a foreign government asked the FBI for information about Tamerlan Tsarnaev,” the FBI said. “The request stated that it was based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified underground groups.”

The FBI found no evidence of terrorist activity.

There have already been assaults against Muslims in the Boston and New York areas.

Akbar Ahmed, the chairman of Islamic studies at American University in Washington, D.C., said anti-Muslim attitudes can alienate Muslims. He said in an essay on the National Geographic website that he believes the Tsarnaev brothers’ struggle in defining their identity led to the bombings. He also said Muslim community leaders need to work more to help young people deal with Islamophobia and guide them so they don’t fall prey to those who advocate violence.

The Tsarnaev brothers’ religious background has thrust Islam into the debate in Washington over how to react to the Boston bombings.

Rep. Peter King, a New York State Republican who has held hearings on “radical Islam” – hearing that were condemned by many Muslim and civil-liberties groups for singling out Muslims – said the bombings illustrated the need for greater surveillance of Muslims. King added that 99 percent of U.S. Muslims are good people, but that greater monitoring of Muslims is necessary because people such as the alleged Boston bombers have succeeded in staying “under the radar screen.”

King appeared Sunday on Fox News Sunday with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who appeared to accuse King of anti-Muslim attitudes.

“With respect to whether we are doing enough in the Muslim community, I think we should take a look at that,” she said. “But I don’t think we need to go and develop some real disdain and hatred on television about it.”

Feinstein then added, “This came at this point from two individuals. That’s what we really do know. We do not know what their connections are. So I think we ought to find out before we begin to charge them with all kinds of associations.”