May 6, 2012

On April 24, Haris Tarin, MPAC’s DC Office Director, spoke at the Ihsan center in Cincinnati about the Arab Spring and what it means for Muslim Americans.  

Tarin talked about how the Arab Spring has helped to change the perception of Muslims, and that through nonviolent action and peaceful protests, the revolutionaries were able to debunk the myth of al-Qaeda.

“Osama died in Tunisia months before he was killed in Pakistan,“ Tarin said, paraphrasing what scholars had said after the death of Osama bin Laden.

Tarin also spoke of the opportunities the Arab Spring has presented to Muslim Americans.

“By building strong bridges between their homelands and America, Muslims can engage in civics without the isolation of having to choose one country or another as home, “ Tarin said. ”This dual identity has the potential to close the divide that many immigrants and even second or third generation Muslim Americans have felt since Islam has come into the spotlight on the international stage.“

The Ihsan center is a community organization of young professionals dedicated to developing a strong sense of Muslim American identity.

Tarin also warned that Muslim American must have a positive yet critical voice as Islamist groups explore new political opportunities. The successes and failures of these newborn governments must be most closely scrutinized because of the impact it will have on the image of Muslims worldwide.