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Saturday, November 27,1999
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Islamic Conference On Palestine Held In Chicago
CHICAGO (Islam Online) - Thousands of people attended the third annual convention of the Islamic Association for Palestine in North America that began Thursday and will end on Saturday.
Looking past the millennium, the convention was titled, "The Century of Empowerment." On Thursday, Dr. Rod Driver, a former Rhode Island state legislator, told the story of how he ran for Congress in 1998 just to get advertisements on U.S. television speaking out against U.S. support of Israeli policies against the Palestinians.
Driver had repeatedly tried to buy time on local TV stations to air the ads, but was turned down every time. So he ran for Congress knowing that he could not be refused his constitutional right to run political ads on TV. But instead of the typical campaign ads asking voters for support, he ran segments educating the public on the brutality that their tax dollars finance. Of course he lost the race, but he also received numerous threats and was the target of media character assassinations. The audience was moved by his presentation.
Dr. Agha Saeed, head of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), presented his strategy for successful Muslim participation in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. He stressed the need for as many Muslims as possible to get involved in campaigns by either assisting candidates, or running for elected offices themselves.
Other lecturers included:
- Richard Curtiss, Executive Editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
- Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanouti of the Washington, D.C. area
- Dr. Muhammad Qatanani from the Islamic Scholars Council
- Issa Nakhleh, author of the Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question
- Khaled Turani, Executive Director of American Muslims
for Jerusalem (AMJ)
- Dr. Ahmad Al-Kofanhi, Islamic scholar and former Jordanian parliamentarian
Several guests who were invited to attend the convention from Palestine were denied permission to exit the country by Israeli authorities. They included Sheikh Ra'ed Salah of the Islamic movement within Israel and Dr. Abdul Sattar Qassam, a professor of political
science at An-Najah University in Nablus.
The Dallas-based IAP is a non-profit organization working towards a just solution to the Palestinian problem through educational and social activities, as well as political and civic campaigns. It was founded in 1981, and it has since spanned the North American continent with branches in Chicago, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Toronto, and San
Francisco. It is the largest national Muslim and Arab organization working solely for Palestine.
In a statement, the group said that "Our Islamic perspective is popular among Muslims of all nationalities who want to see true peace for Palestine, and the safe return of Jerusalem to Muslim hands."
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