Seattle stands against Islamophobia

SEATTLE--Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the main organizer of the Park51 Islamic Center in lower Manhattan, gave the keynote address at a two-day conference in early May called "I Am My Brother's Keeper: Confronting Islamophobia." His visit was part of a national speaking tour, and he also spoke at several other venues in Seattle.

Imam Rauf called for the professed American value of religious tolerance. He also explained that Islamophobia hurts U.S. relations with the nearly one-quarter of the world's population that is Muslim.

During the question-and-answer period, he went through the history of the Park51 controversy, placing the blame squarely on politicians trying to score cheap points during the 2010 election. His presentation echoed themes more fully developed in his book What's Right With Islam, more than 80 copies of which were sold during the conference.

There were several workshops on religious themes during the conference, as well as on the role of Islamophobia in U.S. domestic and foreign policy.

After prayer services and musical performances, the conference ended with a call for people to sign a statement in support of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Many conference participants also signed a petition to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to demand that airlines protect the rights of all people, including Muslims, in response to the news that an airline had kicked two Muslims off a flight because the pilot refused to fly with them on board.

In spite of the national controversy around the Park51 Islamic Center, only two anti-Islamic picketers appeared, standing across the street from the conference on the first night.

The conference was mainly focused on religious reconciliation, but also addressed several political issues, and many in attendance left with newly purchased left-wing books on Palestine, Egypt, U.S. foreign policy and U.S. politics.