Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy.\" \/>\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.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"altmuslim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-04-17T20:33:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.altmuslim.com\/ee_images\/immigration_rally.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shahed Amanullah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shahed Amanullah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/\",\"name\":\"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-04-17T20:33:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2006-04-17T20:33:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945\"},\"description\":\"Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\",\"name\":\"altmuslim\",\"description\":\"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945\",\"name\":\"Shahed Amanullah\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shahed Amanullah\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/shahedamanullah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate","description":"Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate","og_description":"Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/","og_site_name":"altmuslim","article_published_time":"2006-04-17T20:33:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.altmuslim.com\/ee_images\/immigration_rally.jpg"}],"author":"Shahed Amanullah","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shahed Amanullah","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/","name":"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-04-17T20:33:00+00:00","dateModified":"2006-04-17T20:33:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945"},"description":"Despite all the immigration-related problems that have afflicted the US Muslim community, little has been contributed to the current debate on immigration policy.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2006\/04\/muslim_voices_on_the_sidelines_in_immigration_debate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Immigration: Muslim voices on the sidelines in immigration debate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/","name":"altmuslim","description":"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945","name":"Shahed Amanullah","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shahed Amanullah"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/shahedamanullah\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/530"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Except those who were deported<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

From the Silk Road to the growth of Muslim communities in Europe and America, migration has been a part of the Muslim experience ever since the hijra<\/i> \u2013 the fleeing of the early Muslim community from Mecca to Medina to avoid persecution. There is no part of the Muslim world that hasn\u2019t been touched in some way by the shifting of communities both inside and outside its borders. The Muslim American immigrant experience in particular has been a challenging one, especially since the days of 9\/11. The last few years have shown us the early targeting<\/a> and detained<\/a> (without a single terror-related conviction among them), the plight of Muslim immigrants caught<\/a> in INS red tape, the special registration<\/a> that specifically targeted Muslim visitors, the prevention<\/a> of the immigration of US scholars, and the deportation<\/a> of Muslim women who made the mistake of divorcing their US citizen husbands. Based on this, one would think that Muslims would have a lot to say on the current raging debate on immigration. But aside from a few voices<\/a> joining calls for a more humane<\/a> immigration policy as scattered endorsers<\/a> of various protests, there has been little contribution<\/a> from Muslim circles. \u201cWe are all in this together,\u201d said<\/a> Fatme Bahmad, whose husband is facing deportation. \u201cArabs and Latinos and we should all have one voice.\u201d Critics of immigration reform, however, have not hesitated to pull the \u201cMuslim card\u201d in their efforts, citing not Mexican immigrants but a potential \u201c invasion<\/a>\u201d of \u201c Islamist extremists<\/a>\u201d in order to whip up support for more draconian measures. They cite the \u201c Muslim immigrant takeover<\/a>\u201d of Europe (which has not been as successful as integrating<\/a> immigrants into their society as America has) and call current US policy a \u201c welcome mat for terrorists<\/a>.\u201d So what happens now? In the West, some Muslims have taken up the \u201cburning boats\u201d metaphor of Tarek ibn Ziyad<\/a>, the Muslim general who began the conquest of Spain by burning the boats used to cross the Mediterranean, thus preventing a retreat. The intent is to convince Muslim immigrants of the need to become full participants in their new home and abandoning their previous national identity. Those Muslims who have now made their home in America (and have by all accounts done quite well<\/a> for themselves) would do well to heed this advice and contribute to the resolution of this issue, for the betterment of all.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"