Source: San Jose Mercury News
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/7103330.htm
On October 25, 2003 San Jose Mercury News reported that "perhaps no group of Americans can speak about Islam and the United States with the same intimacy or authority as African-American Muslims. But their voice -- and story -- frequently is missing in the national conversation about Islam after Sept. 11, 2001. In some ways, it is a question about what is Islam, and what is Middle East politics, says Faheem Shuaibe, the imam, or spiritual leader, of the East Oakland mosque, Masjidul Waritheen. 'What role do black American Muslims play in terms of America and Muslim countries?' asks Shuaibe, whose 1,500-member congregation is the largest mostly African-American mosque in Northern California. ''They're not a factor. As long as the conversation is about geopolitics, that's fine. But when you talk about Islam in America, I'm the one to talk to.'