Intolerance in America

Director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Haris Tarin tells of the tolerant America his late immigrant father cherished, a tolerant America that is crumbling. “I am secretly relieved that my father did not live long enough to see the current controversy surrounding the center in New York City. I am happy that his experience of his adopted homeland was one of friendship and acceptance. I am proud that his best friends, my godparents, are American Jews who loved my father and brought us to the U.S., hosting us in their home until we were able to settle in. But I’m left wondering: What do I tell my 10-year old daughter, Hanan, and my 8-year-old son, Rayyan, when they ask me why fear-mongers in Tennessee, New York, Florida and California don’t want a mosque or Muslims as their neighbors?”