On Sept. 11, Muhammad Ali-Salaam left his job early at Boston City Hall. His worry? That three women and 100 children might need protection at his Cambridge mosque's daycare.
Not long after he arrived, two strangers appeared at the door to the mosque. They wore uniforms and police badges and, respectfully, carried their shoes in their hands.
"How can I help you?" Mr. Ali-Salaam asked. The police explained they were there to offer their assistance and protection "in light of what just happened."
"I was literally taken aback with their sensitivity and their professionalism," says Ali-Salaam, who welcomed them in, offered them tea, and began a dialogue that would deepen in the months to follow.
At a time of distrust between America's law enforcement and Muslim communities, Ali-Salaam saw an opening for education and neighborliness.
He started by going to the Cambridge police station to thank the officers and meet the chief who sent them. Chief Ronnie Watson invited Ali-Salaam to speak at an interfaith community march staged to quell any potential backlash.
In the weeks that followed, Muslim-Americans felt the spotlight, and responded by opening their doors to the community.
"Each mosque was inundated with requests to come and talk about Islam," says Ali-Salaam. "To the same degree, there was some eccentric crazies that would call up with threats, but the police departments were again very professional and they protected everyone."
Ali-Salaam decided to educate the police on Islam. He already had a positive experience to build on, and a shared background as a public sector worker.
"It became apparent that they just didn't have the information. They had no clue about Islam," he said. Giving police some background could make a big difference since "[policing is] often the first point of conflict or resolution."
His chief message to the police: "If you want to profile someone who's Middle Eastern: fine. If you want to profile someone who is African-American: fine. But to profile a religion? You can't do it." Skin color is no indicator of religion, explains Ali-Salaam. In his presentations, he shows slides of Muslims of all colors, including white-skinned Scottish Muslims. As an Afro-Caribbean American, he is black.
During the course of the nine seminars he gave to law enforcement groups, Ali-Salaam also made sure to thank the officers for the risks they take. He came to know many personally, rattling off their names like an old Boston politician.
If any good came out of Sept. 11, says Ali-Salaam, it was how Muslim-Americans came out of their shells. Islam instructs Muslims to be concerned with their neighbors, defined as anyone who lives 20 doors to your left and 20 doors to your right. As Ali-Salaam sees it, more Muslim Americans got to know their neighbors.
He was no exception. "The dialogue with the law enforcement community proved to be perhaps the defining moment in my life because I got to meet people who are extremely professional, who are human beings, who unfortunately are all painted with the same brush as maybe one tenth of one percent of bad law enforcement people."
– Ben Arnoldy, photo by Stuart S. Cox Jr.
