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| Rabbi Marc Schneier, Imam Shamsi Ali and Muhammad on stage. Muhammad spoke about what it is like to be an American Muslim cartoon character. (Picture from globalgrind.com) |
So yesterday, Muhammad and I attended the "Today, I Am a Muslim Too" rally at Times Square, New York. The rally was in protest of Congressman Peter King's hearing titled "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response." The organizers and participants of this rally felt that this hearing will single out and further alienate the Muslim community, which is already participating with law enforcement to prevent terrorism in the United States.
It was raining pretty badly, so we were afraid no one would show up. After I finally found parking (took like half an hour!), we walked to where the rally was taking place. To our surprise, the area was packed! According to some reports there were 300 participants, while others stated there were almost a thousand. Celebrities like Russel Simons, Jim Jones and Adrian Grenier were in attendance as well.
Once we entered the area of the rally, we inched through the people and umbrellas to get a better view. At first we couldn't hear or see much and would just applause when others would applause (lol), but once we were closer, we realized that important stuff was being said by important people. Some of the speakers were celebrities, others were politicians and others were mothers of men and women who died trying to save civilians during the attacks of 9/11. The speakers weren't just Muslims, but were of a variety of races, ethnicities, religions and classes.
What was more surprising that the diversity of speakers was the diversity of participants. If you try hard enough, you can probably find speakers of any background speak about anything. But the people who were standing in the crowd, in the rain, even before Muhammad and I came were those who were truly passionate about what we were rallying for. You may not believe this, but I would say that about 1/3 of the participants were not Muslim. I used to think that we alone in this fight against bigotry, but I guess I was wrong. I am truly appreciative of their support.
If this rally at all represents what being an American is about, I think we have a bright future to look forward to.
