Muslim leaders plan educational sessions

Stacy J. Willis

Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 9:58 a.m.

Khalid Khan is holding a T-shirt printed with an American flag -- a shirt made in Pakistan and silk-screened in his Las Vegas textile business by a female employee who wears a hijab, or Muslim head scarf.

The multicultural images of Khan's business speaks in some way to his changing role as a local Muslim leader -- Khan is president of the Islamic Society of Nevada.

Since Sept. 11, his leadership role has grown into something more than overseeing 500 worshippers on Fridays at Jama mosque.

Now he is compelled to offer himself as a model U.S. citizen, talk with grace about international politics, educate non-Muslims about 1,400 years of Islamic culture and even explain his personal life: Where was he born? Why did he leave? Is his family still in the Middle East?

And he is asked the more suspicious questions: Why did the FBI visit his mosque? ("To make sure we are protected.") Did Mohamad Atta come to his mosque? ("No, and I recognize unfamiliar faces.")

"I am not offended," he said. "Someone needs to educate. I think it is a very slow process, but it will make a big effect on the American public over time."

On Saturday, Khan and leaders of three other local mosques and an Islamic school will hold a simultaneous open house to allow non-Muslims to witness worship, listen to Muslim speakers, and ask questions about Islam.

The learning curve about Islam for many non-Muslims is steep -- as is the learning curve for most Americans about Middle East politics.

"Americans don't pay attention to international politics," Ted Jelen, UNLV political science professor, said. "There are probably a number of reasons for it. One is the historical lack of strong neighbors -- we've never had much to fear in Canada or Mexico. We also have a sense of isolation and sufficiency -- and a sense of moral superiority."

"Most Americans don't bother to get out from American borders and look around," Khan said.

"Sometimes we blame the media, and sometimes we blame ourselves for not reaching out," Khan said. "The American people are very innocent. But now we need education."

All local Muslim leaders have condemned the attacks on New York and Washington. Internationally, Islam does not have a widely accepted hierarchy, such as Catholicism, nor denominational umbrella organizations that could speak for all Muslims, but the two largest U.S. Muslim organizations issued statements condemning the attacks.

Las Vegas is home to more than 6,000 Muslims -- both indigenous American Muslims and immigrant American Muslims from around the world. There are more than 5 million Muslims in the United States and more than 1.2 billion worldwide.

Muslims believe in one God and that he revealed the holy book, the Qu'ran, to the prophet Muhammad over the course of 22 years. Devout Muslims pray five times a day, fast during the month-long observation of Ramadan and, if possible, make a pilgrimage to the holy mosque in Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

Muslim social beliefs are conservative -- the faithful abstain from drinking, gambling and extramarital sex, and oppose abortion. Women wear hijabs as a sign of modesty.

There are two major branches of Islam, the Sunnis and Shiites. About 85 percent of Muslims are Sunnis, who believe that Abu Bakr, the prophet's friend, succeeded him, while Shiites believe Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, succeeded him after his death in 632 A.D. Though the two sects historically have feuded, today they worship together without much conflict in communities such as Las Vegas, where Muslims are in minority, according to Mahmoud Harmoush, director of religious affairs at the Omar Haikal Islamic Academy in Henderson.

Additionally, within the Sunni sect there are a variety of interpretations of Islam.

Generally, however, Islam is considered "inseparable" from politics -- "Islam is a complete way of life -- religious, social, political, everything," Khan said.

Khan, who moved to the United States from India more than 27 years ago, and Harmoush, who came from Syria 16 years ago, said many people in the Middle East -- both Muslim and non-Muslim -- resent the U.S. and westernization generally because it imposes liberal social values and economic challenges on their nations.

First, they cite America's longtime financial support of Israel and the U.S. media's "Israeli-biased" reporting of the conflict between Arabs and Israelis.

Second, they said the United States' temporary funding, arming, and training of groups such as the Taliban, followed by a perception that the U.S. subsequently abandons those groups and has a "lack of accountability" for regions once its interests are addressed, causes resentment.

Third, continued presence of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf after the Gulf War seem invasive to some people in the Middle East, Khan said.

Also, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the spread of Western values -- the influence of U.S. consumerism and secularism -- threatens their traditional values, Harmoush said.

In many cases,"economic globalization can be translated into deprivation of resources," Harmoush said. Additionally, he said, economic changes that have resulted from the fall of the Soviet Union have aggravated the relationship between the elite and the poor in some Muslim nations.

"It's very complicated. But it's important," Khan said.

Still, both Khan and Harmoush say that they and their families prefer the lifestyle in the U.S. to that in the Middle East. And, Harmoush said, Islam can and does co-exist with democracy.

"This is the land of opportunity," Khan said. "And Islam does not dictate a certain political structure. Just a way of life."

A few days ago, Dr. Osama Haikal walked his Henderson neighborhood handing out fliers inviting people to the Muslim open house on Saturday.

"It's very important to me for the community to feel welcome to talk," he said.

The open houses will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at each of the four following locations:

Masjid As-Sabur, 711 W. Morgan Ave., (702) 647-2500; Jami Masjid, 4730 E. Desert Inn Road, (702) 433-3431; Masjid Haseebullah, 3799 Edwards Ave., (702) 395-7013; Omar Haikal Islamic Academy, 485 El Dorado Drive, (702) 614-9002.