Get to Know Your Muslim Neighbors; What Could Be More American Than That?

I am the son of two caring parents who built their lives in Richardson. If you were to only know my family on paper, my mother, a substitute teacher; my father, an engineer; and my brother, an Eagle Scout, you would find that we are no different than any other American family. The only hang-up in this political environment: I am also the son of two Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants.The notion that a Muslim or an immigrant can be just as American as anyone else is now under severe attack. This positing is not just symbolic. It helps open the pathway for policies that would strip Muslims of critical rights, including the right to not undergo religious tests to the right to practice freely in religious spaces. We saw the first stages of this painful process play out over the weekend when legal U.S. residents from Muslim-majority countries were denied, before intervention by the courts, from re-entering the country they call home.As arguments made by our new administration gain popular power in Dallas and so many other cities, I have a simple request to those who question the patriotism of my community: Get to know us. Ask us to coffee. Invite us to a potluck. Join us at places we worship or dance. I hope we Muslims will start doing more asking, inviting and joining too.If you do, you will discover what I already know.My community has a deep faith in the promise of America. We participate in American customs, proudly cheering on the Cowboys and voting in local elections. We struggle when the economy falters, and we want our children to do better than their parents. We do our best to do good works. We engage in our community, volunteering at local food banks and other charities, and participating in recreational athletic leagues. We staff clinics and hospitals, help Dallas' companies innovate, teach in schools, and drive taxis and buses. We serve in law enforcement and the military. We consistently denounce acts of terrorism.Of course, this is just one telling of what it means to be an American. The beauty of our country is that there is no standard definition or litmus test to prove one's Americanness. The beauty, instead, is everyone can contribute and be a part of America.Sadly, various groups, not just Muslims, are being asked to prove they are as American as anyone else, including DREAMers at local universities, newly resettled refugees in Richardson, and LGBT Americans. We are already starting to see some of the effects of our divisions locally: teenage girls worry their hijabs will be pulled off in school; LGBT clubs in Dallas have beefed up security; and mosque leaders grapple with threats to their houses of worship. If we are to be a stronger, more inclusive region, we must see all of our residents as part of our collective America.My prescription for reaching that goal is simple: the more likely a person is to know someone who is from a vulnerable group, the more likely a person is to express positive feelings toward that entire group. I hope that everyone in North Texas, Muslims and non-Muslims, native-born and immigrants, progressives and Tea Partiers, can open our calendars and our homes to those we do not engage with on a regular basis. Nothing could be more American.Rahfin Faruk is a consultant with FSG in Washington. He grew up in Richardson and wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News. Twitter: RTFaruk  Continue reading...