In an attempt to counter the growing Islamophobia in the United States, 100 Imams have called for a peace rally in New York City on April 9.
An Imam is the equivalent of a Catholic priest or Jewish rabbi in the Islamic religion. They are the leaders of their religious communities.
These leaders will be acting on the initiative of the Muslim Peace Coalition USA in this rally to oppose wars, condemn terrorism and fight Islamophobia.
Islamophobia is a major problem in America now-a-days, according to Ahmed Sleem, a pre-pharmacy senior from Alexandria, Egypt, member of the Monroe and ULM community and vice president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA).
He said that Islamophobia is the result of misunderstandings and propaganda against Muslims for at least the last 15 years.
However, the MSA is working to clear up misunde r s t andings about Muslims with their lectures and events.
Though not a member of the MSA, Christian Rubio of the Foreign Languages Department has aided in this endeavor.
He recently presented a paper on the Muslim presence and influence in Spain from 711 until today.
“For many centuries, the Iberian Peninsula was a place where Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in peace, and it’s because of [Muslims] that the Western world has received many contributions,” Rubio explained.
However, with the Peter King trials on American Muslim extremism, tensions are rising all over the United States.
In regards to this, Sleem said, “Islamophobia is similar to the Red Scare, and Peter King is another form of Joseph McCarthy.”
Congressman Keith Ellison stated that Homeland Security investigated the ‘IRA not Irish,’ the ‘Mafia not Italians,’ and the ‘KKK not Christians.’”
