The American Muslim immigrant community should not be silent about this yet another murder of a Black American man, in this case George Floyd at the hands of the police. If American Muslim immigrants want to really champion working against racism and white supremacy then such eaders need to not only condemn this incident in the fullest terms but to condemn Arab supremacy and the historical ill treatment of Black American Muslims by American Muslim immigrants. When we see that kind of courage from immigrant Muslim leaders and pundits, then maybe we’ll take their opposition to racism seriously. Until then, as far as I’m concerned, the passionately articulated opposition of immigrant talking heads to racism and white supremacy rings hollow.
If the Minneapolis Chief of Police (who is Black) and the Mayor of Minneapolis (who is white) can issue an apology for the murder of George Floyd, then how come there is no apology from American Muslim immigrant leaders, Imams, scholars, politicians and talking heads for anti-black racism perpetrated in Muslim America, at topic that is still largely taboo? Of course every immigrant Muslim of Arab, or Asian descent is not a racist. On the contrary, there are immigrant Muslim of all nationalities and ethnicities who abhor racial bigotry and who have even been victims of it. However, the culture of racial bigotry and marginalization of Black American Muslims is an undeniable feature of Muslim America, and in many ways, parallel to the racism against Blacks that exists in America. Immigrant Muslim leaders who remain silent about either or both, will be on the wrong side of history. I stand by my words. – Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
Shaykh Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad, a veteran 20 plus year Imam, is an Associate Imam at Masjid al-Islam in Toledo Ohio. He is a Philadelphia native, a writer, a former executive committee member of the North America Imams Federation (NAIF), and the CEO of ‘Mosque Without Borders’, an organization that address Muslim issues in the United States.
He is also and the author of the book, “Double Edged Slavery“, a objective and authoritative look at the condition of African American and convert Muslims in the United States, and the book: “The Devil’s Deception of the Modern Day Salafi Sect “, a critical look at the ideological underpinning of modern Salafist extremism. The views expressed in this article are his own. He blogs at imamluqman.wordpress.com, and can be reached at imamabulaith@yahoo.com.
Imam Luqman Ahmad Mosque Without Borders 