2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation

[웃 910]

2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation

CNN

The blue Chevy Cobalt broke down amid the mountains of Montana in an area where there was no cell phone reception. The Muslims in the car, on a cross-country journey for the holy month of Ramadan, approached a bushy-bearded fisherman.

It would be another test of a question they wondered when they first set off from New York three weeks earlier: Is America still the accepting nation that embraced our forebears or has it reached a new level of intolerance?

Far from the media frenzy dominating headlines, from the so-called "ground zero mosque" to a pastor's planned Quran burning, Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq traveled more than 13,000 miles into the heart of America over the last month, visiting 30 mosques in 30 days for Ramadan.

They began in New York, headed south and then cut across the country to California before making their way back, ending today in Michigan in the nation's largest Muslim community.

The fisherman in Montana became the embodiment of their trip -- Ali and Tariq were embraced nearly everywhere they went, from a Confederate souvenir shop in Georgia to the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada, to the hills of North Dakota where the nation's first mosque was built in 1929.

Like any road trip, there were strange moments along the way: A Mississippi police officer quizzed them about their beliefs on the ground zero mosque and they were asked to leave a mosque in Mobile, Alabama.

They chuckle about those experiences now and emphasize it shouldn't overshadow the whole trip because, ultimately, they discovered that America still embraces immigrants and the nation is filled with welcoming and loving people.

"After 13,000 miles, I think that America still exists, and I'm happy to know that it does," said Tariq, a 23-year-old American of Pakistani descent. "It's really made America feel like home to me in a way that I've never felt before. The America that we think about [as immigrants] is still actually there. I've seen it! And I'm seeing it still."

When he approached the fisherman after their car broke down, Tariq says, he didn't know how he'd be received. He asked if he could hitch a ride to town and the fisherman "happily does it." When the man asked Tariq what he was doing in Montana, he told him about their 30 mosques journey.

"And he doesn't flinch and doesn't get worried," Tariq said. "For me, it was like, 'Wow! That America still exists.' "

For Ali, his favorite moment was Ross, North Dakota, a blip of a town with a population of 48 people. He knew little of the town's rich Muslim history, and it was difficult to try to find someone in the town who did.

A pastor directed them to a woman, who kindly pointed them down a dirt road to where the nation's first mosque once stood. It's no longer there. It's been replaced by a tiny cement block mosque, complete with a gold dome. Nearby, there's a cemetery marking the pioneering Muslims of America, with birth dates of 1882, 1904, 1931.

Ali stood in awe. As he approached the mosque, his heart pounded. "I knew our roots went deep in this country, but it was great to truly experience it. Praying in there was like hopping in a time machine," said Ali, a 25-year-old Muslim who was born in Columbus, Ohio. "I literally felt like I was plummeting and falling."

His takeaway from the trip, he says, was seeing how Muslims in America have assimilated in their communities, from Jacksonville, Florida, to Wichita, Kansas, to Oklahoma City.

"It was really cool and refreshing to see people who genuinely love the communities they're in and they're there to stay," Ali said. "They're involved in the community, not just the mosque."

It was also remarkable to have people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, "just bend over backwards and be friendly to us," he said.

Tariq said their blog also helps the rest of America realize "you have to accept Muslims are here in America to stay, and we've been here for awhile. Even the most bigoted person has to accept that."

As for what's next for the young men, they plan to celebrate Eid with their Muslim brethren in Dearborn, Michigan -- happy to have discovered an America that still embraces them, even if that's not always portrayed in the news media.

"It's a small but vocal group of Americans in this country pushing this anti-Muslim rhetoric," Ali said. "And unfortunately in our society, whomever shouts the loudest is going to get the most air time."

http://articles.cnn....an?_s=PM:LIVING

Edited September 14, 2010 by Lord Infamous

[alienlovechild 75]

It would be another test of a question they wondered when they first set off from New York three weeks earlier: Is America still the accepting nation that embraced our forebears or has it reached a new level of intolerance?

"After 13,000 miles, I think that America still exists, and I'm happy to know that it does," said Tariq, a 23-year-old American of Pakistani descent. "It's really made America feel like home to me in a way that I've never felt before. The America that we think about [as immigrants] is still actually there. I've seen it! And I'm seeing it still."

Funny how a couple of Muslim guys from New York are amazed at reactions from the those of us living in the hinterlands. We they expecting people with pitchforks and shotguns?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Funny how a couple of Muslim guys from New York are amazed at reactions from the those of us living in the hinterlands. Were they expecting people with pitchforks and shotguns?

Yes.

City dwellers have limited real world experience and think the whole country is just like their over-crowded neighborhood.

[SMR 368]

Yes.

City dwellers have limited real world experience and think the whole country is just like their over-crowded neighborhood.

City dwellers are one thing. About a year ago I moved from Seattle to upstate New York. For some reason, those that have never left the confines of rural Upstate New York think they live in the big city and I, being from the West, have come from the frontier town of Seattle. I have actually been asked, with a straight face, how I like living in a big city. I was going to reply by talking about how much I liked Seattle when I realized they thought they were living in a big city and that I had just moved to one.

It doesn't happen often, of course. But there are clearly some people that have never gone more than 100 miles from where they were born.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I have lived in 3 states(OR,CA,WA) since 9/11 and I have never come across anyone claiming that all Muslims are terrorists or have I seen a Muslim discriminated against. I think many people see themselves as a cut above the rest because there protecting those poor picked on Muslims. This discontent for all Muslims doesn't exist to the degree a lot of bleeding hearts believe it to be and I wish these people would just get off their high horse and open their eyes.

I would like to think that this story will open peoples eyes but I got a feeling that many will right it them off as conservative puppets.

[LaL 418]

Funny how a couple of Muslim guys from New York are amazed at reactions from the those of us living in the hinterlands. We they expecting people with pitchforks and shotguns?

This sounds familiar, albeit from the opposite perspective. (eg: omg a [scary] muslim! )

That aside - as someone who grew up in the North East - I had the same reaction to southern and midwestern mentality.

[alienlovechild 75]

This sounds familiar, albeit from the opposite perspective. (eg: omg a [scary] muslim! )

That aside - as someone who grew up in the North East - I had the same reaction to southern and midwestern mentality.

I'd ask what the southern and midwestern mentality is exactly but I'm sure I'd get the usual unflattering stereotypes. About half the country lives in those regions so you paint with a pretty broad brush.

[LaL 418]

Um.. that was a compliment.

[alienlovechild 75]

Um.. that was a compliment.

Kind of hard to tell that from your vague post. I guess you making a positive statement of some sort but I didn't figure out what it was. We're a little slow in these parts.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Funny how a couple of Muslim guys from New York are amazed at reactions from the those of us living in the hinterlands. We they expecting people with pitchforks and shotguns?

The moral is Muslims are prejudiced against others, expecting the worst from every non-Muslim they meet. Bigots!!!! [Yes that is sarcasm.]

Seriously, glad they had a great trip. And for all the concern I have ever voiced, I am not as surprised as these two were they had such an uneventful [in the hate filled bigot department] trip.

[natty bumppo 297]

2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation

not to offend ...

13K miles across america ... from coast to coast?

maybe they better check the calibration of the odometer .....

[Pooky 3,825]

Funny how a couple of Muslim guys from New York are amazed at reactions from the those of us living in the hinterlands. We they expecting people with pitchforks and shotguns?

Yes.

City dwellers have limited real world experience and think the whole country is just like their over-crowded neighborhood.

Pitchforks??

I'd like to know which over-crowded, big city neighbourhood you live in!

not to offend ...

13K miles across america ... from coast to coast?

maybe they better check the calibration of the odometer .....

Somehow, I don't think they drove in a straight line across the country.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Pooky

[Ban Hammer 13,469]

not to offend ...

13K miles across america ... from coast to coast?

maybe they better check the calibration of the odometer .....

maybe they were visiting those other states obama spoke about.

[Marilyn. 340]

if you read the article it says they drove all around the US, not just straight across..

2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation

CNN

The blue Chevy Cobalt broke down amid the mountains of Montana in an area where there was no cell phone reception. The Muslims in the car, on a cross-country journey for the holy month of Ramadan, approached a bushy-bearded fisherman.

It would be another test of a question they wondered when they first set off from New York three weeks earlier: Is America still the accepting nation that embraced our forebears or has it reached a new level of intolerance?

Far from the media frenzy dominating headlines, from the so-called "ground zero mosque" to a pastor's planned Quran burning, Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq traveled more than 13,000 miles into the heart of America over the last month, visiting 30 mosques in 30 days for Ramadan.

They began in New York, headed south and then cut across the country to California before making their way back, ending today in Michigan in the nation's largest Muslim community.

The fisherman in Montana became the embodiment of their trip -- Ali and Tariq were embraced nearly everywhere they went, from a Confederate souvenir shop in Georgia to the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada, to the hills of North Dakota where the nation's first mosque was built in 1929.

Like any road trip, there were strange moments along the way: A Mississippi police officer quizzed them about their beliefs on the ground zero mosque and they were asked to leave a mosque in Mobile, Alabama.

They chuckle about those experiences now and emphasize it shouldn't overshadow the whole trip because, ultimately, they discovered that America still embraces immigrants and the nation is filled with welcoming and loving people.

"After 13,000 miles, I think that America still exists, and I'm happy to know that it does," said Tariq, a 23-year-old American of Pakistani descent. "It's really made America feel like home to me in a way that I've never felt before. The America that we think about [as immigrants] is still actually there. I've seen it! And I'm seeing it still."

When he approached the fisherman after their car broke down, Tariq says, he didn't know how he'd be received. He asked if he could hitch a ride to town and the fisherman "happily does it." When the man asked Tariq what he was doing in Montana, he told him about their 30 mosques journey.

"And he doesn't flinch and doesn't get worried," Tariq said. "For me, it was like, 'Wow! That America still exists.' "

For Ali, his favorite moment was Ross, North Dakota, a blip of a town with a population of 48 people. He knew little of the town's rich Muslim history, and it was difficult to try to find someone in the town who did.

A pastor directed them to a woman, who kindly pointed them down a dirt road to where the nation's first mosque once stood. It's no longer there. It's been replaced by a tiny cement block mosque, complete with a gold dome. Nearby, there's a cemetery marking the pioneering Muslims of America, with birth dates of 1882, 1904, 1931.

Ali stood in awe. As he approached the mosque, his heart pounded. "I knew our roots went deep in this country, but it was great to truly experience it. Praying in there was like hopping in a time machine," said Ali, a 25-year-old Muslim who was born in Columbus, Ohio. "I literally felt like I was plummeting and falling."

His takeaway from the trip, he says, was seeing how Muslims in America have assimilated in their communities, from Jacksonville, Florida, to Wichita, Kansas, to Oklahoma City.

"It was really cool and refreshing to see people who genuinely love the communities they're in and they're there to stay," Ali said. "They're involved in the community, not just the mosque."

It was also remarkable to have people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, "just bend over backwards and be friendly to us," he said.

Tariq said their blog also helps the rest of America realize "you have to accept Muslims are here in America to stay, and we've been here for awhile. Even the most bigoted person has to accept that."

As for what's next for the young men, they plan to celebrate Eid with their Muslim brethren in Dearborn, Michigan -- happy to have discovered an America that still embraces them, even if that's not always portrayed in the news media.

"It's a small but vocal group of Americans in this country pushing this anti-Muslim rhetoric," Ali said. "And unfortunately in our society, whomever shouts the loudest is going to get the most air time."

http://articles.cnn....an?_s=PM:LIVING