BEHIND THE HEADLINES Imam Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini

Imam Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini is the founding Imam at the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County. Last week he hosted an interfaith Ramadan dinner with other local religious leaders in Newport-Mesa. With Iraq in the news lately and Muslims celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, we asked him a few questions about current events and his outreach efforts.

Question: The Islamic Educational Center of Orange County has done a lot of outreach to the community during Ramadan. How do you think your outreach efforts are going?

Answer: It is our hope that by inviting the leaders of our interfaith communities, civic leaders and local citizens we are able to share with them that Muslims are ordinary Americans who have the same concerns, aspirations, hopes and fears just like all other Americans.

We are no different than our neighbors. We are PTA members, we coach Little League baseball, we volunteer at soup kitchens, we donate to relief disasters in the U.S., we are concerned about providing for our families, and we are law-abiding American citizens.

Besides, we also want to share with others that our faith dictates to us the same principle that is founded on the Judea-Christian tradition — do unto others as you would like to be done to you.

From the overwhelming positive comments we have received from our guests, I truly believe that we are making stride in showing the true spirit of Islam and its followers we are peace-loving people.

By engaging in mutual visitations, dialogue and respect of each other’s faith, we can overcome the barriers of intolerance and ignorance.

Q: What are some of the biggest misconceptions Americans have about Islam, and what can be done to address them?

A: Without a doubt the biggest misconception Americans have about Islam is that it is associated with violence and terrorism.

Our main concern lies in what is being reported in the media. Read any article, listen to any news report, the media has attached next to the word Islam or Muslim ”terrorist group,” “extremist group,” or “militant group.”

We do not see these negative adjectives added to any other religion except Islam or Muslims.

When Christians kill doctors who perform abortions or blow up their clinics, the media does not report them as a “terrorist Christian group” — they never state “terrorist” next to Christian, if anything, they just report “a Christian group.”

On a grassroot level we are doing several things. As a religious leader, I inform my congregation that we have to be involved every time something negative or positive is being reported by the media about Muslims. Feedback is critical.

Mosques are becoming a great asset in helping erase the negative portrayal of Muslims. They are opening their doors and inviting non-Muslims to visit their place of worship, to interact with Muslims and to listen to the messages of the sermons.

But, perhaps the most effective way in combating the misconceptions is when American Muslims are engaged in their communities and making friends with their neighbors and co-workers.

Q: On Friday, Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki characterized a U.S. Senate proposal to split Iraq into regions as a “catastrophe.” What do you think of proposals to partition the country — one region for Sunnis, one for Shiites and a third for the Kurds?

A: I agree with the Iraqi prime minister. It would certainly be catastrophic for the Iraqi people.

I am Iraqi-American, hence, I know first-hand how this would affect the Iraqi people. Iraqis-Muslims (Shia and Sunni), Christians and Kurds have all lived peacefully together for hundreds of years. We live in the same neighborhoods, we study at the same universities and we marry with one another.

The Iraqi people do not have problems with one another, but other powerful influences are trying to make a division within its citizens.

They are trying to sow the seeds of derision among the Iraqi people, and certainly, if the country is divided then they would have succeeded in this plan.

Besides, the partition of regions would only serve as a scapegoat for the failure in bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq, which was promised. Separating Iraq will not resolve the current situation. It would be like placing a small bandage on a large wound.

Q: Also on Friday, the Vatican urged Muslims to reject violence and work with Christians to promote peace. “Thus all forces can be mobilized in the service of mankind and humanity so that the younger generations do not become cultural or religious blocs opposed to one another, but genuine brothers and sisters in humanity,” said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican’s top official in charge of relations with Muslims. What was your reaction to his message?

A: I have read the Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran’s message, and I welcome his letter of peaceful cooperation and dialogue among Christians and Muslims.

However, I did not get the impression that the Cardinal was just “urging Muslims” to reject violence. In fact, in the Cardinal’s letter he speaks collectively to both faiths, it was not an exclusive message for Muslims only.