{"id":50,"date":"2008-08-06T11:44:40","date_gmt":"2008-08-06T11:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/progressiverevival\/2008\/08\/zero-tolerance-for-muslim-part.html"},"modified":"2008-08-06T11:44:40","modified_gmt":"2008-08-06T11:44:40","slug":"zero-tolerance-for-muslim-part","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/08\/zero-tolerance-for-muslim-part.html","title":{"rendered":"Zero tolerance for Muslim participation in politics?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to understand just how difficult it can be for Muslims to participate in public service, look no further than my friend Mazen Asbahi. \u00a0An accomplished attorney and long-time Democratic volunteer, he took on the position of Sen. Obama’s national coordinator for Muslim and Arab affairs last week. \u00a0Unfortunately, he resigned<\/a> yesterday out of fear that his appointment would be a distraction to the campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The source of his worry? \u00a0The fact that he had served on a board of directors, for a few weeks, with an imam considered by some to be an extremist, as well as his being an officer of the Muslim Students Association while he was in college. \u00a0Mazen himself was not accused of being an extremist, or even of supporting extremist groups and\/or causes. \u00a0Yet this was enough to ensure his quick departure from the campaign, after only a week of work.<\/div>\n
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Think about this for a moment. \u00a0No reasonable person would link the reputation or activities of one board member to another, especially (as was the case with Mazen) when you had no say in the nomination or election of that other board member. \u00a0And being an officer in a Muslim student group – nearly all of which operate independently of the national MSA – is only a liability if that particular student group is accused of wrongdoing, which Mazen’s MSA wasn’t.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Mazen is a loyal Democrat who has worked tirelessly to help mobilize millions of Muslim and Arab votes this coming November, and he has by all accounts a stellar professional reputation. \u00a0But two very tenuous “links” – if you want to call them that – were enough to erase an entire adult lifetime of achievement and cast an unfair suspicion over him that will follow him through the rest of his life (thank you, Google).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
When I spoke to him last week, he was excited about the possibility of bringing more Muslims and Arabs into the political system, to prove that our communities can be a net positive contributor to the societies in which we live. \u00a0I cannot imagine another qualified Muslim daring to follow in his footsteps, only to be subjected to second\/third\/fourth-degree of separation accusations and (as we like to say in political circles) “be thrown under the bus”.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The very people who fight to push Muslims out of the public square are also the ones clamoring for our communities to get out in the streets and prove our loyalty to the US. \u00a0If only they could see the contradiction for themselves.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want to understand just how difficult it can be for Muslims to participate in public service, look no further than my friend Mazen Asbahi. \u00a0An accomplished attorney and long-time Democratic volunteer, he took on the position of Sen. Obama’s national coordinator for Muslim and Arab affairs last week. \u00a0Unfortunately, he resigned yesterday out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election-08"],"yoast_head":"\nZero tolerance for Muslim participation in politics? - Progressive Revival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/08\/zero-tolerance-for-muslim-part.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zero tolerance for Muslim participation in politics? - Progressive Revival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you want to understand just how difficult it can be for Muslims to participate in public service, look no further than my friend Mazen Asbahi. \u00a0An accomplished attorney and long-time Democratic volunteer, he took on the position of Sen. 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Named one of ten \"Muslim visionaries\" by Islamica Magazine, Shahed's work and writings have been featured in magazines (Newsweek), newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune), radio shows (BBC News, National Public Radio, and major websites (BeliefNet.com). Television appearances include \"Nightline with Ted Koppel\", CNN Headline News, the \"Today Show\", and \"Hannity & Colmes\". Shahed is the founder of Halalfire Media, a network of Islamic-themed websites with nearly 6 million visitors annually. Along with altmuslim.com, signature properties include zabihah.com, salatomatic.com, halalapalooza.com, and unitedmuslims.org. He has also served as a board member for the United Muslims of America, the Muslim Public Service Network, and the Muslim Youth Camp of California. 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