by Ayesha Ahmad, IOL Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (IslamOnline) - The 39th annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention, closed Monday, September 2, 2002, as thousands of Muslims from all over the country began to return home. A message of self-reflection and inclusive activism for the American Muslim community was offered.

A wide variety of speakers touched on these messages, from the popular scholar Hamza Yusuf, whose lectures over-attended often forced security officials to close the doors early, to congressmen and academicians speaking at ISNA for the first time.

The third day of the conference opened with the usual 11 parallel sessions, with former ISNA president Shaikh Abdallah Idris Ali and Muslim Students' Association president Altaf Husain among the speakers addressing the "Quest for Islamic Legitimacy." Other sessions during the same period dealt with everything from family and education to Islamic finance and refugee issues.

In Sunday's second main session, regarding the emotional and psychological aspects of the impact of September 11, both Imams Siraj Wahhaj and Hamza Yusuf urged Muslims to take an active role in working for and with the world around them, and avoid selfish isolationism.

Yusuf said that Muslims need to change the way they talk about non-Muslims, for one step. "We must redress the way we have spoken about other religions," he said. "When we denigrate other religions of others, we are not glorifying God who created those people, we are glorifying ourselves."

He expressed tremendous hope for Muslims around the world in that despite all the obstacles they face, they are still "good people."

"My experience in the Muslim world has been one of … joy and wonder, with some of the most beautiful people," he said. "That's my experience, that we're a good people, we are still a people who say 'Alhamdulillah'."

The tendency of some to speak with anger about non-Muslims only alienates people who could help us, he said. "There are a many ways that we can speak our truth and not compromise the truth, and still win people over."

Imam Siraj Wahhaj, meanwhile, urged Muslims to take action against the suffering of people all over the world. Reading a list of what he called "actual facts" - of life expectancy and infant mortality rates in various countries around the world - he said that Muslims should be part of the effort to change these tragic facts, and that perhaps in a few decades, Muslims themselves would be held up as examples for the rest of the world to follow.

Other speakers in this session included Dr. Ingrid Mattson, an Islamic Studies professor at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut and the first female vice president of ISNA, and Faroque Khan, from the Islamic Center of Long Island in New York.

After an afternoon session in which ISNA officials answered audience members' questions about the organization and about Islam in America in general, several early evening parallel sessions looked at issues ranging from domestic violence to U.S. foreign policy, as well as internet security and a how-to session on awareness of civil rights.

One session in particular looked at the portrayal of Islam in Western media, its impact and possible solutions to the problematic aspects. Aslam Abdullah, the editor of the Minaret Muslim magazine, gave a historical perspective, saying that, "groups define others on the basis of their [own] interests."

He said the impact of the portrayal of Muslims as violent, oppressive of women, and backwards, was so profound that some Muslims end up believing that is exactly how they are and should be. The dehumanization of Muslims, the globalization of hate and the radicalization of power all contribute to the problem, but Muslims need to form alliances with non-radical Christians and Jews, and work - as Yusuf had said earlier - for the betterment of social ills.

U.S. Congressman Jim Moody also encouraged grassroots work, telling the Muslim audience to become involved in issues such as civil and human rights both in the U.S. and the rest of the world. He also urged Muslims to avoid letting "your pride in Islam turn into hatred for Jews," saying that they should form alliances based on shared core values instead.

And Delinda Hanley, news editor for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, pinned the blame for the negative portrayal of Muslims on politics, specifically those involved with the pro-Israel lobby and reporting on the Middle East crisis.

Her advice to Muslims was to go further than simply writing letters to editors in response to negative articles - "Encourage your children to be journalists, screenwriters, directors and publishers," she said. "There are already many Muslim lawyers, doctors and teachers. We need your writers now."

ISNA's final large session looked at relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, with speakers advising Muslims on the best ways to interact with others.

John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University with the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, said that although Muslims have come a long way, much work remained in countering exclusivist, extremist ideologies that spring up among Muslims. Although they are usually in the minority, he said, "it is still seen as a reflection of the community."

He urged Muslims to "reaffirm the Islamic roots of pluralism" and take advantage of the open society we have in America. "Some of the best Islamic thinking takes place" here, he said.

Well-known scholar Jamal Badawi offered a PowerPoint presentation with specific tips towards dialoguing with other communities - such as stressing the common points of different religions - and pitfalls to avoid, including errors in interpretation of the Qur'an.

William Baker, president of Christians and Muslims for Peace, began by apologizing for the Crusades and for Franklin Graham - the son of evangelical preacher Billy Graham - who denounced the religion of Islam after September 11. He explained his experiences in learning about Islam and in visiting Palestine, describing himself as "the only Christian Muslim you'll ever meet."

On the last night of the convention, ISNA offered a "family entertainment night" that included performances from the Indonesian group "Qatrunada" and local Islamic performers Native Deen.

A large number of attendees were already gone by Monday morning, when ISNA officials held one last session to look at the future of the organization and of Muslims in American. Some attendees expressed dismay at the number of youth who spent the day in conference and the nights going out in a less Islamic atmosphere.

Hisham Sarsour, a youth organizer from the Islamic Center of Raleigh, North Carolina, suggested that a good portion of ISNA's convention should be devoted to otherwise occupying these young Muslims. "Parents need to be educated on the problems we are facing," he told IslamOnline.

Saying there were a good variety of programs available, he added concern that so many of the 32,000 conference-goers were not actually going to the sessions.

Another attendee, Raheela Yunus from Greenville, NC, said she appreciated the symbolism of the conference being in Washington, DC, after September 11, and the range of sessions that dealt with issues related to that.

"I've learned a lot about how active we've become compared to previous years," she said. "We've sort of envisioned ourselves as Americans and we're actively trying to become a part of this nation, of American society."