Husham Al-Husainy

Husham Al-Husainy is an Iraqi-American Sheikh of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, a Shia mosque servicing largely people of Iraqi and Lebanese descent in Dearborn, Michigan. Al-Husainy arrived in the United States in the late 1970s as Saddam Hussein was rising into power. He is a spokesman of the Iraqi expatriate community in America.^[1] During the American occupation of Iraq, Al-Husainy has gone from supporting the toppling of Hussein's regime to criticizing the continued occupation as inciting more bloodshed.^[2] He has also spoken out against women leading prayer in the wake of Amina Wadud leading prayer in New York in 2005.

Karbaala Islamic Education Center

Imam Husham Al-Husainy has been active in community affairs for more than 25 years in the metro-Detroit area. He is the Director of the karbalaa Islamic Education Center. The Imam has been involved in many domestic and international meetings. He is always in contact with the Iraqi refugees that seek services at his center. A community of about 15,000 Iraqis that migrated from Saudi Arabia and the surrounding countries has improved rapidly over the short period of time as residents. Since the fall of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein the Iraqis at home have been given a chance to go back to their homeland and visit their families. Imam Husham al-huainy's vision to build and maintain services for the growing community has been quite a challenge, although with the help of the Muslim communities in Dearborn, and the cities surrounding Michigan they have become one of the most influential mosques in the region.

Politics

Many of the Arab-Americans in Michigan were generally associated with Republican policies prior to September 11, 2001 and the Iraq War. However, the Iraq War turned opinions against the Republicans to a degree. Al-Hussainy was invited to give the invocation to the Democratic National Committee's Annual Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. in 2006, which generated minor controversy later. As the assembled Democrats bowed their heads, Al-Husainy prayed:^[3]

In the name of God the most merciful, the most compassionate. We thank you, God, to bless us among your creations. We thank you, God, to make us as a great nation. We thank you God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Mohammed. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us, God, to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Ameen.^[4]

Al-Husainy's attendance was criticized by conservative writer Debbie Schlussel.^[5] However, Al-Husainy has cooperated with the United States on security measures for instance in a recent case where it has been alleged that Detroit area resident, Najib Shemami, was a spy.^[6]

External links

• Imam prays to stop 'oppression and occupation' at DNC meeting
• DHinMI at dailykos follows Al-Husainy's published views of the Iraq War in Bush Alienates the Imam in 7 Easy Steps published Fri Aug 13, 2004 at 05:04:44 PM PDT (Accessed May 17, 2007)here

References

1. ^ See interviews by CNN's Daryn Kagan
2. ^ Jonathan Curiel. "Arab Americans could help sway crucial states: They're turning to Kerry in Ohio and Michigan", San Francisco Gate [1]
3. ^ Spencer, Robert. "Islamic Supremacy at the DNC" FrontPageMagazine.com (February 6, 2007) Accessed on February 23, 2007 [2]
4. ^ Video at hotarir.com, "The DNC and the imam," Accessed on February 23, 2007. [3]. Characterization of Al-Husainy as a Shia Imam is not repeated by all sources, as Shi'a believe there are only twelve people who can be so called.
5. ^ See Schlussel, Debbie. "Guess Who Cheered Saddam's Hanging?: Meet Moqtada's American Insurgents" debbieschlussel.com (January 4, 2007) Accessed on February 23, 2007 [4] Schlussel often targets Muslims for her political columns, causing many to view her as anti-Muslim. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee considers her work "racist hate speech" and has a section on her in its 2002 Hate Crime report: at 2002 Hate Crime report, see "Media Bias and Defamation: Hostile Commentary in Print".
6. ^ Krupa, Gregg and Hansen, Ron. Locals expected Iraq spy charges. The Detroit News. April 19, 2007 (Accessed May 16, 2007) here

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