Before arriving in USA I had an apprehension that Americans might be taking Muslims always with a grain of salt and American Muslims must have been passing bad days of discriminations and persecutions, especially after 9/11. My idea about discriminations against American Muslims has been reversed after I had attended a few Islamic functions and festivals in different parts of USA. Speakers in those functions didn’t mince their words while criticising any quarter, no matter that quarter is favoured by the American government or not.

Islamic organizations and Islamic schools are there in many counties in almost all the major states and the Muslims who are associated with those institutions, as I found, seem to be much more religious, well-mannered, and educated than those who we find frequent mosques and madrasas in Bangladesh.

Officially Muslims constitute 0.6 percent of total US population that translates into somewhere near 2 million. But, unofficially, the number may be much higher as mosques do not keep membership rosters nor do they register the number of converts and some of the new converts opt to keep their faiths secret for fear of persecution from family and friends.

On the eve of the 27th day of Ramadan, the holy night of Laylat al-Qadr (the night of Decree when the first verse of Quran was revealed to Muhammad (SM), our last prophet) I said my prayers in a mosque on 5301 Edgewood Road, College Park, Maryland 20740 in a complex run by Dar-us-Salam, an Islamic organization which also runs in the same complex a fulltime Islamic school named Al-Huda School for courses from kindergarten up to tenth grade. Dar-us-Salam is committed to sharing the message of Islam by words as well as deeds. Their social activities like feeding the homeless and caring the environment earned plaudits from Americans many of whom heard about Islamic philosophy for the first time in their life.

The 'Isha' prayer (the night-time daily prayer) I participated in Al-Huda mosque on Laylat-al-Qadr was led by one young Imam in his 30s named Mr. Haroon Bakai, a Masters in Computer Science from Maryland University and a Quran-E-Hafiz (one who has committed to his memory the whole Quran by rote) from a school in Saudi Arabia.

The same Imam also led about five hundred of us---both males and females inside the same mosque with a screen in between---in the Tarabi prayer, the night-time prayer preferred by Muslims to listen to Quran. I felt so carried away, so besotted by the Imam's impeccable Quranic pronunciation that for the first time in my life I was in a kind of trance for about six hours inside the mosque while praying and listening to lectures by erudite scholars with no feelings of fatigue or boredom.

That night I realized how delivery, manner of speaking, pronunciation, and educational background of an Imam can influence followers of a faith and gain converts. The way Mr. Safi Khan opened his lecture on fundraising was really amazing. His way of presenting provocative questions, startling statements, unusual analogy, striking examples, personal anecdote, dramatic contrast, powerful quotes from Quran, etc. mesmerized the whole audience so much so that about US Dollar 25 thousand, including US Dollar 50 from my own pocket, was raised during his one hour lecture on the night of Laylat-al-Qadr.

A new episode about Salman Rushdie's ‘The Satanic Verses’ was also revealed to me during my stay in the mosque on the same night as I was listening to the fundraising lecture by Mr. Safi Khan, the founder of Dar-us-Salam. A few weeks back Mr. Khan, as he said, went to a number of bookshops to buy the book ‘The Satanic Verses’ with a view to reading what was written in the controversial book against Islam, but the book was not available. The American publisher perhaps decided not to publish any new edition of the book---the book which was once the bestseller in America.

In the course of his endeavour to find out the mystery behind the apathy of the publisher in reprinting the commercially lucrative book Mr. Safi Khan at last could dig out the secret, as was discreetly disclosed to him by some insiders from publishing companies, that Americans who are not so comfortable with rapid spread of Islam in the United States discovered to their chagrin that when book lovers were in a frenzy of buying Rushdie's ‘The Satanic Verses’ they, after reading Rushdie’s book, were more enthusiastic in buying books on Islam out of curiosity resulting in more sales of books on Islam than that of ‘The Satanic Verses'. Some observers believe, as he said, that with a view to stopping the spread of words on Islam anti-Islam groups were perhaps instrumental in thwarting the printing of new editions of ‘The Satanic Verses’.

Mr. Khan's discovery and views of some observers, who were perhaps Muslims, that the publisher with a view to stopping the spread of Islam is not reprinting ‘The Satanic Verses’ sound to me a little self-serving. Because, Americans, as I have found, are very broad in their views and they respect others' religions as much as they respect their own. Even some Muslims' views about religions being practiced by others who are not Muslims are not so broad. Americans, if they were afraid of Islam, could throttle back publishing books on Islam instead of discouraging updated publication of 'The Satanic Verses'.

In fact, reputed publishers are loath to publish anything that may generate violence or backlash from any big community out of fear of losing readership. A few months back, Random House refused to publish another controversial book ‘The Jewel of Medina’ by Sherry Jones that caricatured our last prophet's wedding with Bibi Ayesha. Random House perhaps feared igniting violent protests such as those that followed the release 20 years ago of ‘The Satanic Verses’ and the publication of Danish cartoons of Muhammad (SM) in 2005---or even a repeat of the murder of the Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh after his documentary about women in Islam.

Yes, there are some groups in America, very few though in the vast demography of 305 million people, who are antagonistic towards Muslims. They observe in horrified disbelief how Islam is becoming the fastest-growing religion in the world and the pace at which Americans, especially those who are black and Hispanic, are embracing Islam after 9/11.

A few days back Mini, my sister-in-law, whose home in Cockeysville, Maryland is my temporary address in USA, received a copy of a 60-minute DVD titled "Obsession: Radical Islam's War against the West". This terror propaganda DVD, as a part of 28 million copies of the same, is being delivered to registered voters all over USA, especially in swing states where the voters have not yet made up their mind about who to vote in the US presidential election due November 4 next. Most of the DVD copies are being bundled in newspaper deliveries by about 70 newspaper publishers. Funding for making and distribution of this DVD with a goal to demonize Muslims and instil fear, hatred and Islamophobia into people for fomenting hatred against Islam is reportedly coming from a shadowy outfit whose financial backers are unclear.

Majority of the American Muslims will probably vote for Obama in the coming presidential election mainly for the pragmatic and non-beleaguering tactics and strategies as to US domestic and foreign policies he would adopt if elected US President. But, support of Muslims for Obama is misconstrued by some smear campaigners who are spreading virulent propagandas through whispered words of mouth that ‘Obama was a Muslim as his middle name ‘Hussain’ is an Arabic word and if he is elected US President Muslims would be given a passport to perpetuate terrorism against USA.

Most Americans got outrageous by this smear campaign against Muslims and in turn against Obama and they believe the DVD containing dirty stunt of blatant lies is tailored with a view to influencing swing voters. Many conscientious Americans, as reported in US newspapers, nuked the unopened package of the DVD for about 10 seconds in the microwave, wrote in huge block letters on front and back 'RETURN TO SENDER' and mailed the trash.

Years back one day I asked Bill Allen, an American who was my neighbour in Banani, Dhaka, which country he deemed favourable where he would enjoy settling and spending his retired life. His quick answer was: "New Zealand". To my curiosity 'why?' he answered: "Life in New Zealand is serene as there people are hospitable and crime is minimal". I asked: "What would be your second option?" He said: "Bangladesh". "You must be kidding!" I quipped. A Christian by faith, Bill said: "I am not kidding. Life in Bangladesh is much better than in USA from security, climate, economy, and many other points of view. In USA you may spend 50 years without facing a hazard threatening your life; but, you may also be shot dead by any of those freely moving gun-toting-guys on the streets on the 5th day of your arrival in America".

If someone asks me which country I would deem suitable for my retired life my answer would obviously be 'Bangladesh' as my first option. My second option would be USA if I can earn there just enough money to make both ends meet. My second option favouring USA is basically for one prime reason: 'disciplined liberty in America'. Liberty I mean in all respects: liberty to express, liberty to access to information, liberty to exercise your own religion, liberty to do with dignity whatever work you find, and liberty to enrol yourself as a student in any American University usually with a scholarship---if you are a senior US citizen, no matter if you are aged 65 or 75 or 95.

Maswood Alam Khan
From Cockeysville, Maryland, USA
E Mail : maswood@hotmail.com