By Munir K. Nasser
Washington, DC
The Democratic Party came under attack by some American Jewish organizations for inviting an American Muslim scholar to read a prayer at the Democratic National Convention last week.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has protested in a statement the invitation of Maher Hathout, a leader of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, to deliver a prayer and described him as “a pro-terrorist American Muslim extremist.”
In previous statements, ZOA leaders attacked Hathout for describing the Lebanese group Hezbollah as "freedom fighters" and "legitimate." ZOA alleged that “Hezbollah is on the official US list of terrorist groups which was responsible for the 1983 bombing in Lebanon which killed 241 US Marines, as well as hundreds of attacks against Israeli civilians.”
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said the Democratic Party leadership owes the American Jewish community an apology for “inviting this hater” to its convention.
Klein added: “Maher Hathout, who praises the murderers of U.S. Marines as 'freedom fighters', and who works for those who call for the destruction of Israel and defend Holocaust-deniers, should be denounced and ostracized, not invited to address the convention of a major political party. By inviting Hathout to speak, the Democratic Party has given credibility to someone who promotes hatred and violence,” Klein said.
Salam al-Marayati, Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council denied that Maher Hathout was delivering a political speech at the Democratic Convention. He told Albawaba.com from Los Angeles that he was just reading a prayer and it was not a time to get into the politics of the Middle East. He said Zionist extremists are using this occasion as “an opportunity to intimidate and silence Muslims from speaking out in America.”
Marayati called on Gore and Lieberman to engage with the Arab and Muslim communities on issues of concern to them. He urged Gore to appoint a Muslim or an Arab to a high level position in his Administration if he wins the election.
Earlier this year, Marayati was nominated by the Clinton Administration to the membership of the Federal Commission on Terrorism, but extreme Jewish groups pressured some members of Congress to oppose his nomination, which was later withdrawn.
The following are excerpts from the interview that was conducted by telephone from his office in Los Angeles:
Q- Why Hathout was attacked by the Jewish organizations?
A- Dr. Hathout was just reading a prayer at the Convention. It was not a time to get into the politics of the Middle East. They are using it as an opportunity to intimidate and silence Muslims from speaking out in America. And they are using it to discriminate and exclude Muslims from politics. They see this as a threat for their hold on power. And that is why they are launching such attacks. It is an attempt to distract people’s attention from the legitimate contributions of Muslims in American politics.
Q- What role does your organization have at the Democratic National Convention?
A- We don’t have any official role other than to encourage and facilitate participation of all Muslims in both the Democratic and Republican parties. For us to receive such attack when this is only the beginning tells you that we are doing the right thing because the Zionist extremists consider this to be the end of their monopoly on US policy.
Q- The ZOA is asking for an apology from the Democratic Party for inviting Hathout to speak at the Convention. What is your comment on this?
A- They need to apologize for Dr. Hathout and myself for their defamation and for calling us “sympathizers with terrorists.”
Q- When he delivered his prayer, was Hathout invited by the Democratic Convention?
A- He was invited by Vice President Gore personally. The White House just called and said that Vice President Gore has decided for Dr. Hathout to give the invocation at the Convention. It was just a prayer and has nothing to do with politics of the Middle East. It has everything to do with praying to God.
Q- What did the prayer say exactly?
A- I read it to you: “Onto God the Almighty do we humbly pray. As we continue to seek what is best for our nation we pray for his bountiful blessings. We ask for the blessing of wisdoms so that the common good supersedes all special interests. We ask for the blessings of compassion so that no man, woman or child in our country or even in the world we lead will be lost or stampeded in a race that can only be won by the privileged. We ask to be given the blessings of inclusiveness to go beyond tolerance. We ask to celebrate our diversity and to be guided by God’s words in the Holy Qur’an… We ask for the blessing of integrities that stand firmly for justice, a justice that weighed by one scale, measured with one yardstick, both for the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor, the near and the far, the friend and the foe. We ask for the blessing of peace, in our hearts, our families, our schools, our neighborhoods and our country and for the world… We pray for leaders who value and appreciate the values we seek. Amen.
Q- There is nothing political about this, so what are they objecting about?
A- They are objecting about the fact that he was selected. They expected someone like Lieberman to say a Jewish prayer. That would have been fine with them.
Q- How do you characterize your relationship as Muslims with the Democratic Party and Al Gore?
A- At this point there is still concern in the Muslim community as to whether Gore will continue the legacy of Clinton in including all Muslims in the White House. He needs to speak on that issue.
Q- The Democratic Party Platform says, “Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel.” Do you read that as a contradiction with the Clinton dministration’s policy?
A- The Republicans say the same thing. Bush is even threatening to move the Embassy on taking office. At the same time they are saying we are concerned about the anti-American sentiment that is rising in the Arab world. They know why. These are the points we need to debate with the parties if they really want to reduce anti-American sentiment. At the same time, the Democratic Party platform says we need to intensify relations with the Arab and the Islamic world. Well, they need to show it here.
Q- Have you been invited to any dialogue?
A- In the campaign, no. Just the invocation at the Convention. What we want is that Gore and Liebereman engage with the Muslim and Arab community in a public setting, like town halls, and meetings with Muslims. Anything to show that they will not be pressured by these special interest groups to exclude Muslims from the political process.
Q- There are 52 Arab American delegates taking part in the Democratic Convention. Don’t you think this is a move in the right direction?
A- I think what it means is a sign of Arab and Muslim empowerment. It is really our work that got us in the Party, the work of Jim Zogby and all of the Arab and Muslim organizations. But it is up to Gore and Lieberman to show that door will not be slam shut on these delegates and that their concerns will be taken seriously.
Q- What do you think of Lieberman’s nomination as the first religious Jewish candidate for vice president?
A- As a Muslim, it is better to have somebody who is religious than somebody who is an atheist.
Q- But are you not concerned about his bias towards Israel?
A- That has nothing to do with religion. It has to do with his policies and his views on the Middle East. If he has very extremist views on the Middle East, that is a problem. That is a concern and an issue that need to be discussed. I don’t think we should give the endorsement to Gore just like that. We need to sit down with the community and have a discussion. If we give our endorsement now, without letting either Party work for it, then it is really a wasted endorsement. They need to show the desire to engage with the Muslim community. We are not asking for money, we are not asking for power, we are just saying, give us our fair share of representation. And we want dialogue.
Q- If you give your endorsement to Gore, what do you expect in return?
A- We expect an appointment at a high level position in the Administration for a Muslim or an Arab. This is not just a possibility; it would be a positive development for the Administration. If they are really concerned about the sentiment or opinions of the Muslim world towards the United States, they need to show that Muslims will participate, will be instrumental in policy making and will try to build bridges between the Unites States and Muslim countries.
Q- You were at some point at the center of debate at the time of your nomination to the Federal Commission on Terrorism. How do you feel about that?
A- That only exposed manipulation and monopoly of the Zionist extremists in the policy arena. For us, it was a badge of honor that the ZOA continued to cry wolf the whole time, even though Minority Leader in Congress Gephart himself apologized to me and sponsored a forum with us on Capitol Hill in July. We see the whole experience benefited Muslims and damaged the reputation of a number of Zionist organizations. Even liberal Jewish leaders came to our defense.
Q- How do you describe your relations with the Clinton Administration?
A- President Clinton did appoint a Muslim to an ambassadorial position and another one for the Department of Agriculture. There are several people in the foreign and domestic policy sectors who are Muslims and Arabs. The door has been always open with the White House. They have invited us to all the meetings and addressed all our concerns. They have Eid celebrations there. So you have to consider that what Clinton did was unprecedented. It was something that we feel that came out of his own personal and the First Lady’s conviction. We have to commend him on that. But again the rest is left for us – Albawaba.com.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
