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(UMAA) with 3~OOO participants, epresented a new trend in American Musli~e. Until now~ the
discourse on Islam in America was dominated, from the Muslim side. by the "Wahhabi lobby" - groups
toeing the extremist line of the Saudi regime.
The "Wahhabi lobby" includes such entities as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and
the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). These groups have skewed discussion of Islam and
Muslims in this country, by presenting America as an aggres~ive power internationally and as an
enemy of Muslims.
Shia Muslims living in America see the world in very differef}t t~rms. Agha Shaukat Jafri, a Shia
community leader in New York and organizer of the UMAA convention~ said~ "We see America as our
homeland and ourselves as American Muslims. We consider ourselves an integral part of its body
politic. We condemn all forms of terrorism, and we consider these so-called Muslim fighters, who
carry out terror, as enemies ofour faith. i '
He described the reception for Wolfowitz as "very warm." He added: 'We should thank the Bush
administration for liberating the Shias of Iraq. I think Dr. Wolfowitz understands our viewpoint and our
deep opposition to extremism. We were thrilled to have him attend and to hear his words."
Others, including non-Muslims, who attended the event were struck by the enthusiasm shown to Paul
Wolfowitz. But Jafri put the emphasis in the right place: liThe convention inaugurated a n~w period in
the history of American Muslims, of heightened awareness of our responsibilities to the country we
live in and hope for the future flourishing of Islam and democracy. At our convention next year, we
would like to have President Bush as a guest."
And why did a story like this go unreported in the rest of our media?
Stephen Schwartz is author of "The Two Faces ofIslam: The House ofSa'ud From Tradition to
Te"or, "published by Doubleday, and director ofthe Islam and Democracy Program at the
Foundation for the Defense ofDemocracies.
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