By Ayub Khan, IOL
Chicago
correspondent
CHICAGO
, June 4
(IslamOnline) – “The African-American community can be your best
ally if you allow them to be your ally,” said U.S. Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney at the Islamic Foundation School Sunday night, June
2.
Speaking
to a group of Muslim political activists and community leaders at the
Islamic Foundation School in
Villa Park
near
Chicago
,
Illinois
,
McKinney
, representing the
fourth
U.S.
congressional
district of Georgia, has come increasingly under attack by pro-Israeli
lobbies for her vocal support of Arabs and Muslims.
Several
weeks ago she was criticized for calling a congressional investigation
into the warnings U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration
received before the September 11 attacks.
At
the time,
McKinney
was labeled a conspiracy theorist, but says she now feels
vindicated amidst revelations that the
U.S.
administration had
some inkling of the attacks.
McKinney
emphasized the
need for the Muslim/Arab community to unite with African-Americans and
work together for social justice and freedom. “There is currently no
such unity,” she said.
Citing
the example of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) convention recently held in
Detroit
,
McKinney
lamented that in
the convention's souvenir booklet there was not much support from
Arab-American businesses, reflecting that the two communities do not
interact with one another much.
McKinney
said the
pro-Israeli lobby in
Washington
is very strong and
is now targeting people who share her beliefs of justice and freedom.
She narrated the troubles faced by her colleague, Congressman Earl
Hilliard of
Alabama
, who has been
targeted by the pro-Israeli lobby for his principled stance on the
Middle East
.
Despite
Hilliard’s good record of earnestly representing his district, he is
facing two opponents in Tuesday’s primary election.
McKinney
revealed that
Hilliard's main opponent attended the American Israeli Political
Action Committee's (AIPAC) convention and secured $500,000 in just one
month.
She
opined that Tuesday’s election would serve as a bellwether for
things to come. “If Earl goes down. I go down too. The same thing
will happen with me.”
“I
need your help,” she appealed to the audience. “It’s just not
about a congressional district. It’s about the members of congress
who have the courage to come to the Muslim community.”
“If
you want to enjoy the rights in the country then you have to fight to
keep them,” she said.
McKinney
urged the Muslims
to forge a relationship with the African-American community as it
would be of mutual benefit for both.
Community
activist Faisal Hammouda thanked
McKinney
for her courage
and presented her with a copy of The Holy Qur'an and other Islamic
literature.
Other activists including Sabri Samirah, Murtaza
Arain and Shakeela Hasan also spoke at the meeting.
