Muslims talk to DiIulio

Christian Century, August 1, 2001

More than two dozen Muslim civil rights leaders met July 25 with John DiIulio Jr., director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, for what both sides called a "frank and constructive" meeting. It followed by nearly a month a scheduled meeting that fell apart when security personnel asked a young Muslim to leave.

The Muslims walked out June 28 when the Secret Service told an intern for Congressman David Bonior (D., Mich.) to leave. He was Abdullah Al-Arian, a Duke University student whose father heads a group opposing the use of "secret evidence" in deportation hearings. President Bush apologized for the incident.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council, based in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., had arranged the first meeting as well as the second. MPAC'S Mahdi Bray said he told DiIulio that the lack of a Muslim on the staff of the faith-based office reflects poorly on promises of a religiously inclusive program that intends to give religious charities a better chance of winning federal funds for social services. DiIulio promised to hire a Muslim staffer, Bray said.

Bray said MPAC is also concerned whether the initiative, if approved by Congress, would become a tool for Christian proselytization.

"It is essential that the administration reflect the reality of religious diversity in America," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the 25 participants.