By Summayah Ahmed

Dr. Muzammil Ahmed,  Chairman, addressing the audience.

On August 22nd in Detroit, the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan hosted the “Ramadan Fight Against Hunger” celebration recognizing the efforts of dozens of Muslim volunteers and organizations who collectively fed over 25,000 people this Ramadan. The Ramadan Fight Against Hunger was a joint project in partnership with United Way of Southeastern Michigan, MMCC, Zaman International, Muslim Family Services, Gleaners Food Bank, and many local mosques. The MMCC has been serving the community since 1988 and is formally known as CIOM and ISCOM.

Panelists who spoke at the event included Michael Duggan, CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, Najah Bazzy, the president of Zaman International, Michael Brennan, CEO of United Way of Southeastern Michigan, and Muzammil Ahmed, chairperson of MMCC.  The panelists congratulated the community for providing essential services to Michigan’s impoverished areas. Brennan thanked the efforts of the Muslim community and looked forward to ongoing collaboration.

Syed Mohiuddin said, “It is amazing to see how many Muslims in Michigan are working to help their neighbors.  We want to recognize their efforts and be inspired by their activities.” According to the United Way, 1 in 5 Michigan residents are struggling to find affordable and nutritious food.  Michigan has been amongst the hardest hit states economically.

There were many efforts recognized at the Fight Against Hunger event.  The volunteers from the Tawheed Center in Farmington Hills packed 6 trucks with food boxes filled with food items such as cereal, sugar, pastas, and other non perishable goods. According to Muqsid Syed, the Tawheed Center volunteers provided over 15,000 meals to local families.

Zaman International, a Michigan based charitable organization, packed ethnically appropriate food items in baskets which were distributed to over 300 families. They collected 14,180 lbs of food and raised over $30,000 to purchase meat and other perishable items for distribution.  Najah Bazzy said her organizations collaboration with other local groups allowed them to significantly increase their food capacity this Ramadan.

Many local mosques and youth groups also conducted food drives. The youth group in the Canton mosque, MCWS, led by 11th grader Hassan Ahmed, orchestrated a food drive that collected over 2,000 pounds of food goods.  Coordinators Anas Alkatib of MMCC and Sabrina Ali also took kids to food pantries for packing and serving the food. Nimra Hasan, 10th graders stated, “it really was awesome to help people while we are fasting. I think Ramadan really makes you realize how lucky we are and how much we need to give it up.”

Other mosques participating in the food drive were the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Muslim Center of Ann Arbor mosque, IAGD of Rochester Hills, Unity Center of Bloomfield Hills, IONA of Warren, and the Muslim Community Center and the Islamic Center of Detroit.  Over 2 tons of food were collected this Ramadan by these mosques.

Several mosques and services had their own soup kitchens or Ramadan dinners provided for the community. The Detroit Muslim Mission and Masjid Walli Muhammad, the original mosque where Malcolm X preached, have been feeding underprivileged neighbors for many years.  Other efforts recognized at the event included those of Impact : Muslims Making a Difference. These volunteers fed Masjid al-Haqq in Detroit once a week by collecting donated hot meals and delivering it in the evening for local congregants and neighbors.

More information on the Michigan Fight Against Hunger can be found at www.mimuslimcouncil.com.

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

File:  Shabazz Muhammad.

UCLA star freshman basketball player Shabazz Muhammad missed out on an exhibition tour of China last week, according to a source familiar with the situation. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigation is reportedly investigating financial dealings between Muhammad’s family and friends. He remained behind, attending classes at UCLA, while the team went to China for a three-game tour that began on August 22nd.

NCAA officials have spoken with Muhammad, but have yet to talk with his family. The decision was made to have Muhammad stay home while the investigation is in progress, the source said. The principal reason for leaving him behind is because the NCAA allows a window of 40 days for an athlete to continue practicing while his situation is under review; that clock would have started in August if Muhammad had gone through the pre-China practices.

The NCAA is looking into whether Muhammad received improper benefits, to pay for unofficial trips to schools, from Benjamin Lincoln, CBSSports.com reported in February. Lincoln’s brother, Geoff Lincoln, is an assistant at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School, where Muhammad played.

The NCAA is also investigating financial help from Ken Kavanagh, a New York financial planner who helped fund Muhammad’s summer team, the Las Vegas-based Dream Vision Foundation. Kavanagh has said he is a longtime friend of the family. CBSSports.com reported that the NCAA contacted schools in February to make them aware of its interest.

UCLA isn’t really permitted to speak on the subject of Muhammad. But UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland commented on how Muhammad looked in their initial practice sessions, “He went through a couple of the earlier skill workouts that we were allowed to do, and that was very exciting,” Howland said. “You could see the motor, aggressiveness. The bottom line is I’m sad and disappointed for him that he’s not able to go on this trip. Yet we’re cooperating with everything we can with the NCAA and the ongoing investigation, as are he and his family. And we’re confident it’ll work out.”

Very little is being said thus far about potential penalties should the investigation turn up concrete infractions, but the NCAA seldom spares anyone when it comes to the issue of improper benefits. There in fact looms the distinct possibility that Muhammad is stripped of all collegiate eligibility. But even in that worst case scenario, Muhammad’s basketball career would seem to be in good standing, as he is projected to be a top five National Basketball Association draft pick even without any collegiate experience.

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

In just a week’s time legendary Liverpool Football Club bolstered its midfield with two Muslim reinforcements, Moroccan-Dutch attacking midfielder Oussama Assaidi, and Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin. Assaidi was purchased from Dutch club Heerenveen, while Sahin was brought over as part of a one year loan from Spanish giants Real Madrid. Sahin becomes the first Turkish player in the illustrious history of Liverpool football.

The 23-year-old Sahin’s season-long loan move from Real was confirmed by the Reds on Saturday and he was in the stands at Anfield the next day to watch his new club draw 2-2 with English league champions Manchester City.

With Liverpool putting in their most encouraging performance yet since Brendan Rodgers’ appointment as manager in the summer, Sahin was impressed by what he saw in that game and the Turkey international feels a top-four spot should be the target for Liverpool in 2012-13.

“If you watch the game against Manchester City, you see that the style the team is playing is very good and of course, Liverpool has to play in the Champions League,’ Sahin said. ‘A big club like Liverpool has to play every year in the Champions League and we will do everything to get in the top four. Also there is the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, and with the potential we have here, we can do some good things.”

Liverpool, who could only manage a disappointing eighth-placed finish last season, brought in Rodgers after he achieved success at Swansea with a dynamic football philosophy. It is a style of play the club’s owners hope he can make work for the Reds and one Sahin believes he is well suited to.

‘The project with Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers is the best for my situation I think – that is why I am here,’ he said. ‘I think the style I play is the same as how the manager wants the team to play. I have settled in very well and I hope it will be the same on the pitch and that we will have a great season.”

Sahin was strongly linked with Arsenal before making the switch to Liverpool, but he is in no doubt that he has made the right decision. “Everything people told me about Liverpool is there, what I see now,” said Sahin, who has revealed Real’s ex-Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso urged him to make the move. “It is a very big club with a huge history and I think I have made the right choice.”

Sahin joined Real last summer after catching the eye during a successful spell with German side Borussia Dortmund, with whom he won the Bundesliga title in 2010-11. Once again he was a member of a championship-winning squad in 2011-12 as Real claimed the Primera Division crown, but Sahin suffered with injuries and with there also being plenty of competition in midfield at the Spanish club, in the end, his involvement amounted to only a handful of first-team appearances. This term, he is hoping to be far more a part of the action.

“This is very important for me after the injury I got last year,” Sahin said. “We became champions at Real Madrid, but I didn’t play so many games, so for me it was important to come to a club where I had the chance to play at the highest level. I think in this case Liverpool is the best club for me right now.”

Asked about the prospect of him making a permanent transfer to Anfield, Sahin said: “In football you never know. I am here for this season and then you never know what will be happening in a few months. I am looking forward to playing this year here and after, we will see.”

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National “Hand Hygiene Leadership Award” Presented to Dr. Blal Zafar

Blal Zafar, MD, a hospitalist at River Park Hospital in McMinnville, Tenn., was one of six physicians in the country to receive the Lathem Physician Leadership Award in Hand Hygiene from Proventix Systems of Birmingham, according to a press note from the Capella Health Care system.

The 2012 recipients are recognized as dedicated leaders of change within their facilities and provide outstanding examples of excellence in leadership and hand hygiene to patients, visitors and staff members.

Created in honor of Dr. Mickey Lathem of Birmingham’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center, the Lathem Award recognizes high-quality, compassionate care to patients through exemplary hand hygiene practices. He or she demonstrates quality through personal compliance and vocal, active leadership. This year’s winners continue to provide guidance in hand hygiene and ensure routine interaction with their staff while providing education and reminders of the importance of hand washing to reduce and prevent infections.

Effective hand hygiene helps combat healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that, in the United States, affect about one in every 20 patients, and kill and estimated 100,000 people each year. Physicians and healthcare workers recognize that proper hand-hygiene can have a substantial impact on the reduction of infections and result in increased safety for patients, healthcare workers and themselves. Leadership, like that provided by this year’s Lathem Award recipients, is a critical key to combating HAIs and saving lives.
Nominations for the Lathem Award were made by colleagues who observed the nominee’s leadership and quality practices.

Renowned Muslim Canadian artist is no more

TORONTO,CA–Dr. Ibrahim Shalaby, a prominent Muslim artist in the North American Art scene, passed away on August 27, 2012. His death is being deeply mourned by all those who came in contact with him. A permanent participant in Muslim art festivals and events he used to leave his admirers in awe and wonder with his live demonstrations.

His art was also popular in the Middle East. Dr. Shalaby, was born in Amman in 1956 and was of Palestinian origin. Despite living in North America he always longed for Jerusalem and this yearning is well captured in many of his works.

Bangladeshi students hold Eid celebration at UT

ARLINGTON,TX–The Bangladeshi Students Association at the University of Texas-Arlington hosted a well attended Eid celebration. To many students away from home this proved to be a great to connect with the larger community.

Members of the student organization played violin and the guitar in a unique arrangement called ‘ called “Viva La Bhalobhasha Hoedown’ reported the Shorthorn student newspaper.

Extension granted to Lombard mosque

CHICAGO,IL–The Dupage County Board, through an overwhelming majority decision, gave the Muslim Comminity Association Western Suburbs an extra eight months to finish their mosque construction project. The Muslim association members had requested a 12 month extension. They had cited their inability to raise funds until they had received county permission and weather related factors as reasons behind the delay.

The board in its its decision stated that the eight months extension is ample time to complete the project. However, the Muslim association can request a further extension provided that they show some movement on the project.

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By Adil James, TMO

Children help a man fly a large kite at Cass Lake Park.

Cass Lake Park–’Eidul Fitr actually arrived over a week previously, but the ICA scheduled its ‘Eid picnic well into the month of Shawwal at a beautiful lake campground in Waterford.

Lake Cass is a large sprawling lakefront play area, with three distinct beaches, accessible in that it is in a central part of northern Oakland County.  It is frequented by thousands of people, many who bring kayaks, sailboats, motor boats, jetskis and waterskis to play in.

The ICA community celebrated ‘Eidul Fitr with a large picnic gathering at this beautiful spot with about 250 celebrants, halal hotdogs and hamburgers and kabobs, among many other tasty treats.  They had arranged a large bounce-house for the children, very close to Cass Lake (which is a relatively large local lake), with a view of kayaks and playboats.

One of the organizers, Hala Alkhabtib, said that “usually we do ‘Eid events indoors (at a big community center in West Bloomfield), but since this year ‘Eid is in the summer we did it outdoors.”
The ICA is a growing community, the formative core of what is now Bloomfield’s Unity Center, the Huda School, Beverly Hills Academy, and more.

“ICA is designed to help the community in its educational, social, and community needs. We have been here for 25-30 years, and we are growing,” said Dr. Samer Nasry, the ICA President.

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By Khaled Almaeena

A group of friends, concerned about their country, were discussing the state of affairs in our country. 

“Why are we so behind?” I asked. Someone else commented that both Germany and Japan were leveled to the ground in World War II, yet today they are economic giants.

“Don’t forget Korea,” I said — where the war ended in 1953, eight years later. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Taiwan also figured in our list of those who have come up fast, defying man-made and natural disasters. “And these countries are highly respected,” I said.

Well, to my mind, these people have progressed because of their strict work ethic. They are sincere and they produce. They don’t go about beating their chests announcing their patriotism. They get on with doing what they think is best for their communities. And that’s why investors from all over the world flock to them.

“They are also competitive,” added one of the participants in the discussion. He referred to several Arab World Competitiveness Reports. The reports identified lack of reforms, outdated regulations and dormant policies as likely reasons for slow growth. To make matters worse there was a decline in foreign direct investment.

“The reason,” I interrupted, “is the lack of conditions that would attract private investments. Glossy brochures, CDs and conferences will not assist in getting investments. First you have to remove the barriers and regulations that hinder investment and prevent its growth.”

According to the World Bank, it takes a lot of money and a higher average number of days to set up a business here. I have known businessmen who spoke of four times that number here. It seems some bureaucrats take sadistic delight in torturing businessmen and potential investors. Add to this vague laws, opaque regulations, interference from different departments and closure of shops without prior warning. These can dampen the brightest spirit and break the strongest will.

I write this because I am upset. I write this because I have just come from a country where Microsoft has invested over a $100 million. While we are focusing on Saudization of cab drivers and employing more Saudis as security guards at shopping malls, others are setting up institutions where young people are now working for international companies. Saudization is not just the replacement of foreigners. It is much more than that. It is creation of jobs. It is setting up institutes where those who qualify graduate to compete in a tough work environment not because of their nationality but because of their knowledge and skill, their hard work, creativity and innovation.

The key to competitiveness is a first class education that will turn out graduates skilled to take on the challenges of the modern day world.

Let us attract real capital in terms of both money and brains. Let it mix with our youth and see the outcome – I am sure it will be positive.

Protectionism will not work. Nor will suspicion. We are a global economy whether we like it or not. So instead of focusing on petty things, let our region work to overcome the root cause of our backwardness – and let us involve all segments of society and not hide behind issues of “cultural restrictions.”  We should not be afraid to absorb new ideas and new ways.

Then I am sure we will no longer sit around discussing why we are far behind; because then, hopefully, we will be in the major league.

— The writer can be reached at kalmaeena@saudigazette.com.sa and followed at Twitter:@KhaledAlmaeena

Saudi Gazette

By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, TMO Editor-in-Chief

No, no, I should not write about it. No, no you must write about it. I was torn inside when I thought of writing about it. Why are you showing your dirty linens to the world, especially to those who are waiting for any opportunity to pounce on the community? Why do you want to be critical of your own community? Why not focus on other issues that are more relevant and important?

But then I thought of the scars that are carried by people who are traumatized by this and I felt an uncontrollable urge to write about it. The problem I am going to write about it is not on the table for discussion among Muslims. It is off limits. It is considered a taboo. People do not talk about it or do not want to talk about it. But for the sake of those innocent souls who suffer silently and then carry their wounds to the rest of their life, this subject must be dealt with, hoping that people in our religious institutions would address this problem and prepare guidelines that would ensure that such practices do not take place ever anywhere.

It is about those young and innocent children who suffer sexual abuse during their early years of education in many religious institutions throughout the Muslim world. Regardless of the country, where these schools are located, there are untold stories many young children keep to themselves throughout their lives about the abuse they suffer in the early stages of life.

I personally met several such students in the Indian-Pakistan-Bangladesh sub-continent, in Iran, in Malaysia and Indonesia and in several places in Africa as well as in the Middle East who are now young adults but who are bitter and wounded about what they went through. A teacher, a senior student or a physically stronger person turned their vulnerability to his advantage. They were coerced to take care of the sexual urges of such people. They were forced to do all sorts of acts that would please their controller. They were afraid to tell others because they were threatened of dire consequences.

How could a six year old kid literally abandoned by his parents and left at the mercy of people at the religious institutions defend himself against his attackers when they are the ones who control his future destiny?

There is no need to go into details. The details would hurt. The wounds are ugly and the stories are horrible. Suffice to say that religious institutions, by and large, have no policy to deal with this kind of wide spread abuse. When someone comes up with an accusation authorities either hush up the matter or force students to be quiet. 

While intellectuals and scholars are focused on raising funds and drawing up new curriculum, it is important that they address the issue of sexual abuse of children in a bold manner. I am referring to those in the age group of 5 and under18 coming from poor and vulnerable families often abandoned by those who brought them in this world. I am talking about those who were inducted in the Islamic education system as the families were unable to afford their livelihood. I am talking about those who are afraid to complain about anything as it might jeopardize their future.

It is good to say that Islam promotes an ethics that prohibits this kind of abuse. But how should one deal when this abuse takes place and what measures one must adopt to ensure that they do not recur. 

This is an issue that we have ignored and neglected for ages. No one wants to talk about it. But we must ask the religious scholars and clergy running these institutions to look into the matter seriously. Each institution must find its internal mechanism to deal with the problem. But there must be some overall guidelines for institution not only to deal with the perpetrators but to rehabilitate the victim. The scars and the shame that one carries haunt him throughout the life influencing his behavior and attitude towards life. And it often leads to an unending chain of abuse.

There are several cases that can be published with names of the institutions and individuals, but it would not serve any purpose except initiating furious allegations with no end in sight. But silence is no more an option. The Quran talks about the day when all the secrets would be open: “that day when all things would be tested.” (86:9) That day has arrived.

Before the issue goes out of control and things become unmanageable, it is better to look into the issue seriously and take appropriate measures to deal with them openly and honestly keeping in mind the future of the generations that would one day lead us in religious matters.

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By Geoffrey Cook, TMO

El Cerrito (Calif.)–One of my overriding fantasies is to win the Nobel Prize for literature and peace.  Well, that is not to be, but I  hope that  I can add something to both of these areas with my pen – especially to peace.

Sometime ago I had written to an extremely important United States Senator with an especial interest in the Himalayan region of Asia –  that is to say over the Kashmir imbroglio, too, which – after the Arab-Israeli crisis — is the second most dangerous flash point on our earth.

This Senator passed on my ideas to the U.S. State Department who referred the letter to the, then, Desk Officer for South Asia.  After the better part of a decade, in cataloguing my papers for a major institutional repository in the Eastern half of the North American continent, I have come across this proposal again, and deeming it to be still a propos I would like to release it to the general public in an enlarged form for further discussion since it is poignantly an Islamic issue upon this Eids.

Since the fall from grace of the right-wing Hindu Chauvinist BJP (the Bharata Janata Party) in India there are glimmers of hope for settlement on this question within the Indo-Pakistani nuclear theater.
As a journalist and a South Asian scholar based in the U.S.A., I have written for Indian and Pakistani plus American publications on the subject of Kashmir.  This has given me access to representatives of the Kashmiri people on both sides of the LoC (Line of Control) as well as the rebels in the Vale (the Indian State Kashmir) plus Hindu Pundits (i.e., Brahmins); representatives and diplomats from the two counties in conflict. 

As an academically trained historian and South Asian regional specialist, it has occurred to me that there very well might be a historical precedent as a basis for resolving this crisis.  Succinctly, revert back to the constitutional status under the British Indian State.  Further, at Independence the Raja of Kashmir had opted for Independence, but tribal irregulars from the  Northwest Provinces and British intervention created the first Indo-Pakistani War which, in turn, produced a division of the princely State of Kashmir into the de facto Pakistani Territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the Indian State of Jamu and Kashmir (J &K).  A small portion of Pakistani administrated Kashmir, the Shaksgam tract was ceded to China in 1963 and now forms the Uygur Autonomous Region or Xinjiang.  This area of the People’s Republic is the only Muslim-majority portion of China, and they have rebelled against Beijing.  China, also, controls 10% of the Indian State (Aksai Chin) of Jammu and Kashmir acquired through the Sino-Indian War of 1962.  Both Pakistani and Indian Kashmir have territories such as Purig, Gilgit-Balistan, Kargil and Ladakh.   In several areas attached to the two Kashmirs are unique sub-nationalities.   There is a yearning for independence or attachment to an independent Tibet within some.    Thus, there are not two countries vying for Kashmir, but three.  Most importantly there are the Kashmiris themselves as well as the sub-nationalities within those mountains.

Then, there is Jammu which forms a good deal of the Indian State, and part of it is in Pakistani AJK.    Jammu is largely Hindu with a sizable Sikh minority.  Any settlement of the Kashmir question has to ascertain the wishes of the people of Jammu or whether they would prefer to remain part of the Indian  federation or to remain part of the political entity of Kashmir itself.

Thus, back to my purpose:  that Kashmir reverts back to a “princely” State (of course now it would be a republic or an autonomous region).  This region of the two Kashmirs, if it became autonomous from both India and Pakistan, would join together sovereign  in internal affairs, but both would remain divided within their part of the larger States in its external status.

In 1948 after the first Indo-Pakistani War, the U.N. (United Nations)  demanded a plebiscite to determine the wishes of the people of Kashmir on whether they wished to be part of Pakistan or India.  Due to the intransigence of the then Prime Minister in New Delhi, Jaharial Nehru, who was born  in Allahabad in the British Indian State during the Nineteenth Century, but  his antecedents derived from a Kashmiri Pandit (high Brahmin) family, and this may have influenced his policy toward the larger Kashmir which has an overwhelmingly Muslim population. 

I perceive a possible resolution of the conundrum by initiatives of the United Sates and other interested nations (excluding China because they are part of the problem) of initiating shuttle diplomacy between Pakistan and India and secondarily with China.  Ultimately, call for an international conference for resolving the question.  This, hopefully, would lead to the plebiscite called for from New York  forty-four years ago, but now a third option should be included – not only accession to India or Pakistan, but autonomy or independence.  Also, in any plebiscite, Jammu’s determination should be separated from Kashmir ‘s desires because the two Kashmirs seem to be significantly different in religion and ethnicity than that of Jammu.  Basically, it must be determined if Jammu wishes to be bound to the State or territory of the future Kashmir or whether they wish a different political destiny.

The foremost point to my proposal (which should be whittled down through negotiation) is the intransience of New Delhi who refuses to budge from the Simla Agreement of 1972 between India and Pakistan that all bilateral issues must be resolved bi-laterally which precludes any third party diplomacy between the two.  Well, I call upon India to allow trustworthy partners to act as interlopers.  If this is tenuous domestically to conduct this “shuttle” diplomacy secretly until it can safely become acceptable to their electorate.

Personally, from my objective study, I believe the Kashmiris will opt for independence or autonomy.  Islamabad has stated this would be acceptable to them upon the determination of the Kashmiris themselves.

Whatever the outcome of a vote Kashmir itself should become de-militarized.   Pakistani and Indian troops and border militias should move back from direct confrontation with each other back to defensible positions outside Kashmir, but adjacent to their borders with it.  United Nations’ blue helmets should divide the two armies, then. 

If autonomy is selected or just to have India ”save face,”  Governors (actually political agents) should be elected or appointed.  Azad Kashmir  could still be part of Pakistan and the Vale would theoretically be attached to India, but together they would form a self-governing entity internally.

There is much to be worked on this proposal to make it acceptable, but there are tremendous advantages in solving this predicament that arose out of the 1947 Partition of the Subcontinent.  It must take into account of the facts on the ground, but a resolution could have great benefits for Islamabad and New Delhi together. 

Primarily, it would lessen the tension between the two countries – especially the nuclear threat that almost became tragically viral a decade ago.  It should lessen the threat of terrorism within the Center  and rebellion on the peripheries of Bharat, for the majority of terrorism involves the bleeding sore of Kashmir, and, if the crisis is amended, there would be little acerbation and support for that sort of action among the people of Pakistan. 

Further , a political entity that straddles between the two could have tremendous economic benefit for both.  It would permit traffic between the two countries.  Pakistan already has secure gas pipelines with Iran.  India desperately must have that cleaner energy (it is dependent on filthy coal which is destroying their grand heritage)to fully compete with the other economic Asian “tiger,” and the best route for that pipeline is through Pakistan, and for that to happen a stable peace between the two must be achieved!

This modest proposal is only a kernel for a possible solution.

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By Laila Abdelaziz, Our Special Correspondent Reporting Live from the Tampa Convention

Mitt Romney takes stage to address the American Legion in Indiana August 29, 2012.  REUTERS/Snyder

Tampa, Fl–The 2012 Republican National Convention convened in Tampa, Florida this past Tuesday, August 28, 2012. Originally scheduled to kickoff on Monday, August 27th, Republican officials decided to “play it safe” and delay the convention due to Tropical Storm Isaac.

What was originally scheduled to take place over the course of four days in Tampa, Florida’s Tampa Bay Times Forum, was quickly reorganized and condensed into three.

The Republican National Convention is the official presidential nominating convention of the U.S. Republican Party, as well as the presentation of the party platform.

On the first day of the convention, the party made it clear to Americans what the message of the 2012 Republican Party was: Mitt Romney is relatable and Republican ideas for solving the nation’s problems are better than Democrats’.

Beating President Obama’s agenda, showcasing the party’s rising female stars in an attempt to close the gender gap, and lobbying the Latino vote have seemed to be the priorities of the Republican National Convention so far. It is clear that the location of the party’s convention was a strategic move to engage the Latino community in one of the nation’s most important swing states. 

For the American Muslim community, especially the centralized and growing 25-30,000 American Muslims living in the Tampa Bay area, the 2012 Republican National Convention hasn’t been a channel for engagement and participation.

It is true that the American Muslim community constitutes a small percentage of voters on the national level, but the American Muslim vote is in fact largely concentrated in key swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Add on to that the American Muslim community hasn’t been approached or engaged by the Republican Party, it will be interesting to see how this centralized community will vote in November in key swing states that have significant effects on who wins the presidency of the Unite States.

The political climate and rhetoric of Tea Party favorites like  Allen West and Michelle Bachman will most likely rally American Muslims (who, in a poll conducted by ISPU, generally vote in bloc) to continue disengaging from the Republican Party.

Representative Allen West of Florida’s 22nd congressional district, has targeted the American Muslim community multiple times from telling a Muslim questioner “Don’t try to blow sunshine up by butt” at a February town hall meeting to accusing Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) of being the “antithesis of the principles on which this country was established” because he is Muslim. West has continuously defended his remarks.

Similarly, Representative Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) recently wrote letters to various government officials opening a line of inquiry claiming the State Department has created policies supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, in the letters Rep. Bachmann went so far as to cite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s aide, Huma Abedin, as a Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator.

Senator John McCain (R. Ariz.) quickly stood to Abedin’s defense and, on the Senate floor, declared, “These allegations about Huma and the report from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”

The bigoted rhetoric towards American Muslims from Tea Party favorites and other Republican leadership hasn’t stopped, and as the Republican National Convention assembles in Tampa, Florida it is clear that the American Muslim community is purposefully disengaged and disconnected.

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