Nasser Weddady Remarks at 2009 Annual Benefit

Good evening and welcome! Thank you coming out tonight to the "East Meets West" annual benefit.

My name is Nasser Weddady and I am the civil rights outreach director of the American Islamic Congress.

Three years ago I moved to Boston from the Midwest, excited to live in a cosmopolitan community.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived at my local T station to catch the train to work. I looked up and saw a series of bumper stickers posted across the station.

The stickers had two words on them: “Muslims Suck.”

This was my welcome to Boston: “Muslims Suck.”

I watched for weeks as no one took the stickers down.

I was angry and hurt. But the stickers also got me to think more deeply about the challenges facing our community.

I realized that there are stereotypes about Muslims that have been internalized -- by both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Because of images in the media and because of concerns about extremism, there is a stereotype about what Muslims look like and how they think. A community of over a billion people is reduced to a caricature.

As a result, some in our community find that being “Muslim” becomes a kind of burden. I understand this feeling - but I don’t believe in letting the actions of others define who I am.

What we need is the space to explore Muslim cultural identity. Beyond geo-politics and theology, Muslims and non-Muslims need to be able to embrace and explore the incredible diversity within the Muslim community. We should celebrate that diversity as a source of strength and pride.

Tonight’s event is part of that celebration.

A year ago, the American Islamic Congress decided to dedicate part of our time away from international human rights work to make an impact here in our local community.

That effort began in March with a public series on Muslim diversity, generously sponsored by the Boston Foundation. Speakers with roots in Senegal, Bangladesh, Albania, Indonesia, Iraq, and beyond discussed commonalities and differences. Local Muslim musicians, painters, and poets – with roots around the world – shared their artistry.

Non-Muslims got a primer on Muslim cultural diversity – and I should add, so did Muslims. It was great to learn about unusual Sufi sects in Senegal, the divides within the Chinese Muslim community, and the Bosnian community’s unique traditions.

Out of all this came AIC’s New England Council. We wanted a way to unite the fascinating speakers who had brought so much color to the diversity series. And we wanted to keep promoting cultural, social, and civic events. Here is a sample of the Council’s has done in only a few months:

• Farha Hasan hosted Hollywood producer and award-winning novelist Kamran Pasha for a dynamic public discussion about art and identity.
• Afra Haji was inspired to screen - for the first time in public – three of her documentaries at Harvard as part of the Boston Muslim Film Festival.
• Sana Nasir organized a henna night at the Enormous Room in Cambridge.
• Dr. Fatai Illupeju hosted presentation at BU by an amazing interfaith coalition providing vital medical care to women in Niger.
• Adnan Zubcevic opened up the Bosnian community’s annual Eid celebrations – they call the holidays “bayram” – to the entire Muslim community.
• Addi Ouadderou, Jamal Ait Hammou, and Djamel Bakkai helped organize an interfaith celebration of the Mimouna holiday with North African Jews at MIT.
• Ala Khaki lectured at prominent local prep schools on reform efforts in Iran, and Mohamed El-Jahmi was the keynote speaker at Amnesty International’s recent New England conference.

I could keep going with examples, but I want to conclude with the highlight: The Council’s Ramadan drive to help alleviate hunger here in Boston. In early September, we held an interfaith iftar to collect cans of food for the Pine Street Inn, the state’s largest homeless shelter. Over 150 people packed a café on Newbury Street and contributed over 500 cans.

A few days later, nearly 80 people gathered at the State House for the first-ever Massachusetts civic ceremony marking Ramadan. The governor issued a proclamation, and both the House and Senate passed resolutions saluting the hunger drive. Many council members spoke, including Zamzam Syed, who introduced a leader of the Pine Street Inn, along with great student speakers from our Project Nur chapters at local universities.

Standing at the State House surrounded by fellow Muslims – and non-Muslim supporters – I felt at home here in Boston.

To be a Bostonian means to be part of a 400-year tradition of standing up for liberty. It means appreciating the preciousness of freedom. And it means that we too have our part in the tradition of the “shining city upon a hill.”

That’s why tonight’s benefit is raising money to support the Cairo Human Rights Film Festival, which is organized by AIC’s Egypt office and begins next week. When the festival first launched last year, it was covered by Time Magazine and Al Jazeera – there had never been a human rights film festival in Egypt before.

So as we have fun tonight with henna, a fashion show, and gourmet food – we remember that it is all for a greater cause. We are standing up for our values here in Boston and around the world. We are making a statement that Muslim-Americans don’t just talk, but take action – to advance human dignity, to promote women’s equality, and to defend free expression.

The American Islamic Congress is committed to sending a message to anyone who thinks that “Muslims Suck.” It is the opposite: Muslims rock!

Here we are, a group of proud and diverse Muslims eager to contribute to our community and to promote positive change around the world.

So thank you to all of you for your support. Your voice matters. Your presence here tonight matters. We have to stand up and be counted. Thank you!