By Dina Rashed – IOL Chicago Correspondent

CHICAGO, July 2, (IslamOnline ) - A delegation of distinguished Muslim scholars representing the Muslim World League organization is currently visiting the four major American cities of New York, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles in a goodwill mission to build bridges with American officials, leaders of religious groups. Its mission is to bring better understanding between Islam, Muslims and the American people to reverse some of the negative effects facing American Muslim communities intensified by the September 11th tragedy.

The delegation headed by H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, Secretary General of the MWL concluded its visit to the New York city, and is currently in Chicago, IL carrying out several meetings with members of the FBI and other law enforcement officials. They are also meeting with members of the Academia, Interfaith communities and Muslim community leaders of various Islamic centers.

“The purpose of the delegation is to extend a hand of friendship and to create a dialogue among Muslims and non-Muslims and to reach out to organizations in the U.S. which has shared values between various nations and particularly in relation to Islam,” were the opening remarks of Dr. Al-Turki as translated from Arabic by Dr. Ahmad Turkistani, a member of the delegation and the Director of the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America. “Islam is a universal message, that is open to all people regardless of their background,” stressed Dr. Al-Turki addressing attendees of the press conference that was held in Chicago on Monday morning.

Answering IslamOnline’s question on the progress of communication with officials of law enforcement authorities, Dr. Ahmad Kamal Abulmagd Commissioner of the Civilizational Dialogue in the Arab League, said that there has been a constant contact since day one of the delegation’s arrival, as several meetings were held with New York officials. He added that another meeting with Chicago’s city officials was concluded early Monday morning where they met with the Regional Head of FBI and representatives from Chicago’s INS, State Attorney’s office.

“It was a two way dialogue where both sides listened to suggestions about how to minimize the negative challenges facing Muslim communities,” said Abulmagd pointing out that such meetings are expected to continue throughout their tour.

“We were assured that all citizens of the U.S. will be treated equally regardless of their religion, color or race. We are assured that Muslims should not bear a collective guilt because of the events of September 11th ,” added Dr.Al-Sheick Ahmad Lemu, President of the Islamic Educational Endowment in Nigeria and another delegate.

Dr. Lemu then raised the issue of the responsibility of the American press towards American Muslims, and wondered why there is a tendency in several media reports to generalize and associate Islam and all the Muslims with negative actions that could be undertaken by few individuals who happen to be Muslims. He said that it is the responsibility of the media to cover Islam as portrayed and thought of by the majority of Muslims and not what a few consider to be Islamic teachings.

Dr. Abulmagd indicated that it is part of their mission to contact the American media and to carry out a similar dialogue. The delegation has met with the New York Times editorial board, and they are also scheduled to meet with the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board, he said. “We are hopeful but we are not dreamers we realize that this is a drop in a sea of efforts. But the more dialogue there is the better a chance to spread the truth, because the media shapes the hearts and the minds of millions of people even the highly educated people,” he said.

But another member of the delegation was more critical of the representation of Muslims in American media. “Unfortunately we live in a world of entertainment where exciting news is better received by the audience than the good news,” said Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who criticized the American media for what he said to be a monopoly on righteousness. He explained that the media reports and the news highlight the positive stories of people of other religious backgrounds more than stories involving Muslims therefore building an assumption that such groups hold a monopoly over the good deeds as if Islam and Muslims have no right to be ethical or righteous.

Using the term fundamentalist to describe Muslims at large, several delegates rebuffed its irresponsible use in the American media. Dr. Abulmagd explained that the word has specific connotation as it came about in the English terminology within a particular Christian context and that its translation in the Arabic language does not bear the same meanings or connotations, therefore its use is misleading and confusing.

“The word fundamentalist as understood by the common people now and not the scholars, is understood as something intolerant, something irrational and something leaning to violence, and all of these things are not Islamic. Islam is not intolerant, Islam is not irrational and Islam is not leaning to violence, that’s why we have a problem with this term,” said Dr. Muzamil Siddiqi, former President of ISNA and currently President of the Orange County Islamic Center in California.

Commenting on the role of Muslims in American society, Mr. Ahmad Al-Hattab, Deputy Secretary General of Islamic Society of North America, emphasized the fact that Muslims living in America are loyal citizens of this country, and that Islam does not represent a threat to this nation. “It is becoming more and more a part and particle of the American soil, the American culture and heritage,” he said, “The impact of Muslims in this country is so positive; whenever we establish a new Islamic Center or a new Islamic school, by statistical figures, the crime rate decline in these areas. Muslims of this country are joining hands to their fellows Christians, Jews and any sincere members of this society to build a much better future.”

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, though not affiliated with the MWL has acted as dynamic vehicle behind organizing the delegation’s meetings in Chicago.

“Today we are pleased to have this delegation of internationally respected scholars and clerics who are recognized all over the Muslim World. They are the voice of Islamic tolerance and of moderation, this is the voice of moderate Islam, this is the voice of universal peace that Islam represent,” Said Kareem Irfan, President of the Council.

Irfan added that the overture and efforts of the delegation in building bridges between different faiths and cultures within this country and outside should be a model to further efforts in the rest of the world.

“We do appreciate the wonderful work that has been done by the Council. They need our support and we need their effort because they are the bread and butter of the campaign to undo the negative effects, they live here they can relate, they can dedicate and they are part of the American society. They hold a great responsibility that they carry it with dedication and intelligence,” said Abulmagd.

The delegation also include Dr. Mohammad Bayoummi,, H.E. Kamil Al-Shareef, former minister of Islamic Endowment in Jordan and currently the Secretary General of the International Islamic Males for Da’wa and Relief, Dr. Salman Al-Hassan Al-Nadawi, President of the Muslim Youth Society in India, Dr. Jamal Badawi, President of the Media Foundation in Canada, Dr. Ja’far Shiekh Idris, President of the American Open Univeristy in Washington D.C.

The MWL delegation, which arrived on June 25th, will conclude its tour by July 15th, carrying out more meetings in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.