Source: San Francisco Chronicle
On March 13, 2006 the San Francisco Chronicle ran an opinion piece by Dr. Parvez Ahmed, board chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Dr. Ahmed writes, "The recent hysteria surrounding the approval of a Dubai firm to manage parts of several American ports demonstrates how fear of Islam, or 'Islamophobia,' can overpower rational discourse and harm our nation's true interests.
What would normally have been a routine business deal with a stable ally turned into a political fiasco that sent a 'no Arabs or Muslims need apply' message to our partners in the Middle East and beyond... Islamophobia, like anti-Semitism or other forms of bigotry, should be of concern to all Americans. It was Islamophobia that prompted 44 percent of Americans surveyed in a 2004 Cornell University study to believe that some curtailment of American Muslim civil liberties may be necessary.
There is a silver lining to all this bad news. Those Americans who had a chance to meet with or interact with Muslims often tend to have more enlightened attitudes. Surveys repeatedly show that people who feel they do understand Islam are much more likely to view it positively.
Our nation's experiences since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, coupled with recent research, should spur American religious and political leaders to make fighting Islamophobia a top priority. Otherwise, we risk becoming stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle of mutual mistrust and hostility.
The best way to fight anti-Muslim prejudice and to prevent an often-predicted "clash of civilizations" is for people of goodwill in this country and around the world to open their houses of worship, homes and hearts to each other."