This is not an African American problem. This is an affront to what we believe as Muslims.

Boston – The egregiousness of what happened to George Floyd must have plunged anyone with a pulse into a deep pensive mood. Those of us who lived in the Boston area for a long time should have an idea about the many challenges that plagued getting the biggest mosque in New England off the ground.
The exorbitant cost of building up to 70,000 square feet of space pales in contrast to the legal battle that followed with the David Project. The latter is a hate group whose goal was not to score a legal win, but rather bleed the Muslim community financially.
They didn’t have a legal leg to stand but they succeeded in interrupting the timely completing the construction by depleting our much-needed resources by forcing us into a legal battle.
I recall attending a meeting where the leadership sought to consult with community members from all over the states. Several members of the community seemed to agree that coalition building was the best way to proceed.
For the longest time, the Muslim community acted as it lived in a cocoon. It is as if the community lived in a gated community and saw no value in interacting with the larger community.
This is basically the same rationale that delayed the integration and wobbled the standing of the Muslim community in Europe. As American Muslims, we knew not to make the same mistake as our brethren in Europe.
The 2001 attacks gave us a rude awakening. We finally realize that we have unwittingly alienated ourselves. As a predominantly immigrant community, we found out that our newly acquired blue US passports didn’t put us at an equal footing with the rest of society.