Six months after the acclaimed ‘Moderation’ conference in London, the first-ever meeting of Muslim scholars and academics from across North America starts in Washington D.C. today, Friday 17th November.
Once again, the aims of the meeting are to develop a more moderate image of Islam in the west and to improve integration of Muslim communities. The event is part of a series of ‘Moderation’ conferences and follows the successful London meeting, held in May. A major issue to be addressed in Washington is how Muslim communities can integrate into the US mainstream while maintaining their cultural and religious distinction. It is hoped that role models such as Keith Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, will confirm to Muslims and non-Muslims alike that Muslims are key to the future of the country.
The three-day conference will be attended by 120 academics and community leaders from all over the US. The focus will be on how best to balance Islamic identity with US citizenship and to highlight the great contributions made by Islam and Muslims throughout American society. Often accused of a lack of introspection and action in the face of negative publicity, the American Muslim community, like their European counterparts, will take the conclusions from the conference and look to implement positive change in their mosques, cultural centres and youth clubs.
The conference is organised and hosted by the Kuwait government’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Awqaf), whose aim is to act as an intermediary to improve understanding and relations between the Islamic world and the west as well as aid better integration of Muslims into societies in which they live. Awqaf recognises the complex problems faced by Muslims in US but firmly believes that the moderate and peaceful nature of Islam needs to be given a much higher profile than it currently receives.
The conference also intends to confront education and social issues of cultural isolation among the young to avert potential radical movements among America’s 7 million Muslims. Those attending the conference are concerned that if these important issues are not tackled head on, the gulf between Muslims and non-Muslims will widen still further with potentially damaging consequences.
Dr. Adel Al-Falah, Undersecretary for Ministry of Awqaf & Islamic Affairs – Kuwait, explained that the Islamic communities in western societies have difficulty in balancing their civic duty while preserving their Islamic identity. The conference seeks to present Moderation and find the ideal way to address issues concerning Muslims to improve their image in US politics and media.
Mr Mutlag Al Garawi, Asst. Undersecretary for Ministry of Awqaf & Islamic Affairs – Kuwait, believes that by reaching agreement on certain so-called ‘hot topics’ within Muslim communities, a clearer, united and more positive image of Islam can be portrayed. This in turn will create a better understanding of Islam among non-Muslims, which Mr Al Garawi hopes can rebuild relationships strained by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the rise of negative opinions and misunderstandings of Islam.
Ibrahim Hooper, director of CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations) said: “A large majority of Americans are neutral or sympathetic towards American Muslims. We need to work with them to build coalitions and to contribute with others in marginalising extremism both in this country and in the Muslim world.”
The conference will also promote the important role Islam and Muslims have played and still play in American society today, and that Muslims should continue to pro-actively engage in all aspects of American life.
Mr Mutlag Al Garawi of Awqaf commented: “We believe that Islam can contribute in a very positive way to US society to the benefit of both Muslims and non-Muslims…this conference is an important staging post en route to finding a way to bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in US and beyond. We are striving for positive action.”
The three-day conference will result in practical advice and actions aimed at helping American Muslims to fulfil their duty as US citizens without compromising their faith.
Ogilvy Broadcast can offer the following:
- Live or pre-recorded interviews with spokespeople from the Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf
- Live or pre-recorded interviews with delegates attending the conference
- B-roll of the conference including interviews with Awqaf Ministry spokespeople and delegates
- Photos from the conference
For further information, please contact Rabia Jones at Ogilvy Broadcast on +44 7968 836525, email rabia.jones@uk.ogilvypr.com or Nora Ababneh on +44 20 7309 1026, email nora.ababneh@uk.ogilvypr.com.
ISLAM IN EUROPE
There are an estimated 15 million Muslims living in western Europe today and Islam is considered to be the fastest growing religion in the region.
FRANCE
France has the largest Muslim population in western Europe with approximately 5-6 million, making up 8-9.6% of the population. Almost three-quarters of Muslims in France originate from the north African colonies: 35% Algerian origin (estimate), 25% Moroccan origin (estimate), 10% Tunisian origin (estimate).
(Source: French government estimate)
GERMANY
Germany closely follows France with a Muslim population of 3 million or 3.7% of the population. The majority of the Muslim population in Germany is Turkish.
(Source: CIA – The World Factbook)
UNITED KINGDOM
The 2001 census found there were approximately 1.6 million Muslims in the UK, making Muslims the largest religious minority in Britain (3% of the total population). The figure may now be as high as 2 million. Almost half of British Muslims were born in the UK. Others have immigrated from South Asia (31%), the Middle East (6%), South and East Africa (6%), Eastern Europe (4%), and North Africa (2.5%).
(Source: UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
THE NETHERLANDS
On 1 January 2004 an estimated 945,000 Muslims were living in The Netherlands, making up 5.8% of the Dutch population and today the figure is thought to be around 1 million, Turkish and Moroccan Muslims jointly represent two thirds of the total number of Islamic people living in the Netherlands. In 2004, there were 328,000 Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands, followed by 295,000 Moroccans, together making up two-thirds of all Muslims in the Netherlands.
(Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, The Netherlands)
SPAIN
Spain's interaction with the Muslim world extends back to the 9th century and Islamic expansion into Europe. Most Muslims were expelled in 1492, although there is strong evidence that some did remain behind and publicly proclaimed Catholicism but privately practiced Islam. This tendency faded over time, and the Muslim presence in Spain disappeared until the 1960s.
Today, approximately one million Muslims are thought to be living in Spain, accounting for 2.3% of the Spanish population.
(Source: US State Department)
ITALY
Italy is home to around 825,000 Muslims (1.4% of the population) of which 160,000 are Italian born.
(Source: UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
AUSTRIA
Islam, which was officially acknowledged in Austria in 1912, is considered to be the second largest religion in the country after Catholicism. It is estimated that there are around 342,000 Muslims living in Austria and make up 4.2%of the country’s eight-million plus population.
(Source: The Institute of Islamic Information and Education)
DENMARK
Latest figures indicate that there are some 340,000 Muslims living in Denmark today, making up 4.2% of the population.
(Source: CIA – The World Factbook)
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
There are 1.5 million Muslims living in Bosnia-Herzegovina, making up 40% of the country’s population.
(Source: The Institute of Islamic Information and Education)
ISLAM IN USA (Source: usinfo.state.gov)
- 7 million Muslims in USA
- Ethnicity of US Muslims: South Central Asian 33%, African-American 30%, Arab 25%, African 3%, South East Asian 2%, European 2%, Other 5%
- Between 17% - 30% of Americans are converts to Islam
- Over 1,200 mosques in USA
- First Muslim immigrants were African slaves in 18th and 19th centuries; other ‘waves’ of immigration were between 1875 and 1912 (from the Middle East), between 1947 and 1960 (from Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Soviet Union), and from 1965 onwards (from Middle East and Asia). Other significant ‘waves’ occurred after the Iranian revolution and the first Gulf war. Immigrants have also arrived from troubled Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia as well as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in recent years.
- Main regions of Muslims in US:
1. California
2. New Jersey
3. New York
4. Chicago
5. Virginia
6. Detroit
7. Texas
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