According to local media report, the Rev. Jesse Jackson made a short “impromptu” appearance at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) on Sunday where he urged American Muslims to work with blacks and other minorities in their shared against discrimination. The report characterized Jackson’s remarks as follows:
“Fight for the civil rights of all, not just Muslims….”You cannot survive alone. We need each other to survive.”….Jackson likened Islamophobia in America today to the problems faced by Mexican immigrants and blacks during the 1960s…He used the venue to speak about some issues dear to the hundreds of Muslims in his audience, including their opposition to the war in Iraq, ethnic-based profiling of Muslims by law enforcement and what Jackson referred to as “fear-mongering. “We must end fear,” he said. “Go forward by hope and not backwards by fear.”
Previous posts have reported on a recent surprising appearance by Jackson, a longtime civil rights activist, at a dinner sponsored by the British Muslim Initiative, a U.K. Muslim Brotherhood organization. ISNA is also a long-time member of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.