By Faras Aamir
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Muslims in the United States have been under some heat in this year’s political campaign, but local mosques around the Baltimore area are not addressing the controversy.
With attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and more recently in Brussels, some presidential candidates have pointed the finger at Muslims as a threat to the nation based off of the religious backgrounds of the attackers.
Donald Trump has suggested things such as a ban of Muslim immigrants coming into the country and issuing Muslim-Americans ID cards. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has said he would like for Muslim neighborhoods to be patrolled.
Several leaders at local mosques said in interviews this week that many mosques have remained silent on these controversies because as nonprofit organizations, they are not legally permitted to take political positions.
José Acevedo, an educator at the Islamic Society of Baltimore in Windsor Mill, said religious leaders at mosques can only encourage members to vote and participate in politics. He said they cannot advocate for or go against any particular party or candidate. Doing so would strip the mosque of its non-profit status, he said.
“People are educated enough to make their own decisions,” said Dr. Rehan Khan, the president of Al-Falaah Mosque in Abingdon. “Islam does not say to give attention to these kinds of things or people. As Muslims, we are supposed to focus on what our message and teachings are.”
If there are concerns within the community of political representation of Muslims, members of Al-Falaah Mosque are encouraged through email to get involved at different levels in politics, Khan said.
Umair Chaudhry, a Towson University Muslim Student Association alumnus who attends both ISB and Al-Falaah from time to time, said in an interview that a mosque is a religious place, so talking about politics has no place there. He said this is especially true because when those same people are gathered elsewhere, they will talk about them anyway.
“I am not concerned watching political debates because candidates often say extreme things and are not able to pull them off,” Chaudhry said. “I am concerned, however, because when the fear is strong enough against a group of people and we have a charismatic leader, it kind of becomes similar to what Hitler instilled against Jewish people.”
Boonyamin Animasham, the president of Randallstown Islamic Center, said that even though their community is in the process of finding a physical place for congregation, they still get together to attend political speeches so they can listen to what is going on.
“We just pray for peace for the world,” Animasham said. “Alhamdulillah (praise to God) we have not been faced with any adversities with non-Muslims.”
Not all Muslims agree with the way mosques are handling political issues.
Muzzamil Choudry, a member of Al-Nur Mosque in White Marsh, said that mosques need to educate people on how to handle these issues and controversies.
“A lot of times you hear people say Muslims don’t speak out, but we need to let people know that we have a huge part to play,” Choudry said. “I take politics seriously. Even the smallest changes add up over time like what started as a war in Iraq to a war in Syria is now turning into a whole war on Muslims.”
Although members of different Muslim communities have a range of opinions on the involvement of politics in mosques, the leadership seems to have a consensus on keeping the conversation primarily around religion.