LECTURE AFFORDS SNAPSHOT OF BAHAMAS MUSLIM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NASSAU 000065

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BF
SUBJECT: LECTURE AFFORDS SNAPSHOT OF BAHAMAS MUSLIM
COMMUNITY, PAST AND PRESENT

REF: 08 NASSAU 206


1. (U) SUMMARY: During a recent lecture at the historical
society, a prominent local Muslim leader presented a largely
autobiographical and documentary overview of the origins and
development of Islam in The Bahamas. He provided an
eyewitness perspective on a growing minority religion whose
adherents normally keep a very low profile. He told the
story of a small but persistent group of early Bahamian
converts strongly influenced by the U.S.-based Nation of
Islam, with longstanding links to South Asian Islam through
expatriate influence in the 1970s and educational travel
beginning in the 1980s. In a far more revealing discussion,
the speaker and other local Muslims answered audience
members' questions on the Islamic religion and local
community, and distributed published material. They took
exception to 'incorrect perceptions' of Islam and "Islamic
fundamentalism" in the Western media and blandly repeated
standard grievances against U.S. foreign policy and the
treatment of Muslims throughout the world. Several explained
their commitment to living by secular laws amidst the
challenges of living as a minority in a Western society.
Looking back over the previous 40-odd years of Islam in The
Bahamas, they foresaw better times ahead. END SUMMARY.

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AN AMERICAN STORY: FROM BLACK MUSLIM TO BAHAMIAN MUSLIM
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2. (U) A lecture on "The History of Islam in The Bahamas"
was held at the local historical society January 22 and
attended by some 25 people (a larger than average crowd for
such academic topics),including 7-8 Muslim men and one
woman. The featured speaker was Dr. Munir Ahmad Rashad, a
soft-spoken and self-effacing, American-trained dentist and
respected health professional, who also moonlights as a
boxing official. Dr. Rashad highlighted some historical
indications that the majority of black Bahamians' forebears
were likely Muslims before being enslaved in the New World,
but he concentrated on a largely autobiographical account of
the development of the Islamic community in Nassau and New
Providence. Dr. Rashad became a Muslim in 1971 after
studying dentistry in the U.S., where he joined the Nation of
Islam of Elijah Muhammad. He told the story from a personal
perspective, beginning as a student in Louisiana in the
1960s, as a convert to Islam who returned to Nassau planning
to expand the Nation of Islam in The Bahamas and the
Caribbean.


3. (U) Dr. Rashad painted a picture of Bahamian Islam as
essentially an offshoot of American Islam of the 1960s, with
the local community first known as "Jamaat-ul-Islam, the
Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of The Bahamas", before
dropping the revolutionary appellation later under South
Asian Sunni influences. Most early adherents were students
in the U.S. or the U.K. when they first encountered Islam,
some later marrying women from Muslim countries. Dr.
Rashad's talk was sprinkled with American references and
connections. For example, he said that he had first heard of
Islam when Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title for
refusing to enlist during Vietnam. Dr. Rashad told PolOff
that he had met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama
as a student through personal connections. He also said that
he had traveled to Washington for President Obama's
inauguration earlier in the week, where he did not even catch
a glimpse of the President. COMMENT: The community still
lists "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" as suggested reading
in a promotional pamphlet titled "Islaam for The Bahamas".
END COMMENT.

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INDIA, PAKISTAN CONNECTIONS KEY FOR RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT ...
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4. (U) According Dr. Rashad and source material he provided,
the small Islamic community in The Bahamas developed in fits
and starts in the late 1970s, mostly under South Indian
expatriate Islamic influences, because they lacked formally
trained leaders or international contacts. A Bangladeshi
pathologist working at the local public hospital and then a
Pakistani teacher played particularly prominent roles,
according to Dr. Rashad, in guiding the community toward a
more mainstream Islamic affiliation than that inspired by the
Nation of Islam. Some members traveled to the U.S. and India
in the 1980s to network and study under the auspices of the
Indian-based Jamaat Tabligh. Some also received more formal
training in Guyana, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia subsequently,
including at the university level. The early activists
bought a parcel of land in western New Providence in 1982 and
formally constituted the community under law in 1990. The
local mosque, still under construction, is an impressive
white edifice with small domes and a minaret.

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... OF SMALL, GROWING COMMUNITY
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5. (U) Dr. Rashad noted that there was now a Muslim
community in Freeport and individual families living in Abaco
and Exuma. He said that the community hoped to expand
further through their social work and outreach, and was
working to found a school. Dr. Rashad and others in
attendance, apparently, had made the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Dr. Rashad said that the Muslim population in The Bahamas was
"less than 1 percent", e.g. less than 3,000 people. He said
that the Muslim community was not active in the prison,
though it had worked at youth detention centers, occasionally
assisted foreign Muslims detained for immigration violations,
and actively proselytized as part of their faith
requirements. Pamphlets and informational handouts were
available at the lecture. Notably, the leader of the local
Islamic community said that, despite the negative attention
to Islam and closer scrutiny of Muslims after 9/11, more
young people and converts approached the local community in
the aftermath of 9/11 than previously.

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DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS GRIEVANCES, FUNDAMENTALISM, 9/11
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6. (U) Dr. Rashad and other local Muslims in attendance
engaged with audience members, a mix of young and old, black
and white, Muslim and non-Muslim, history buffs and not,
answering questions and painting a picture of a moderate
local Islamic community sharing many concerns with Bahamians
overall. All speakers took issue with coverage of Islam and
"Islamic fundamentalism" in the Bahamian and Western media,
however, which they saw as fostering incorrect perceptions.
They briefly voiced some standard Muslim grievances against
U.S. foreign policy, for example in Gaza and Israel, and the
treatment of Muslims throughout the world, especially after
9/11. They did not venture into controversial details or
extreme or objectionable rhetoric, with the leader of the
local Islamic community venturing that it was the lot of
Muslims to suffer.


7. (U) One young man offered a spirited explanation of the
basic tenets of Islam, characterizing fundamentalism as
adherence to fundamentals of the faith such as daily prayers,
and concluded that "extremism" was a better description of
the negative phenomena associated with Islam in the media.
He said that some Muslims wrongly "took matters into their
own hands" instead of allowing "the Creator" to dispense
justice for earthly woes. Arguments over the distinction
between "true Islam" and "Islamic fundamentalism", or
terrorism in the name of Islam, were not particularly
sophisticated or convincing. The topics of community
financing, internal organization, or the role of women,
notably, were not addressed in the remarks or discussion,
with the exception of male leadership changes over the years.


8. (SBU) The leader of the local Islamic community, Faisal
AbdurRahmaan Hepburn, complained in great detail about his
treatment at the hands of U.S. immigration authorities during
three separate encounters in the early 2000s, at each of
which his valid U.S. visa was cancelled. He later showed
PolOff three visas in his passport, issued from 2001-2003,
each apparently cancelled, two "without prejudice" and one
with extensive, illegible notations apparently done in Miami
when he was sent back to The Bahamas, which he considered an
inexplicable injustice as he had already passed CBP
pre-clearance in Nassau.

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A MUSLIM TAKE ON BAHAMIAN SOCIETY, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
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9. (U) During the lively discussion, which lasted much
longer than the actual presentation, several Muslims in
attendance reacted to questioners and explained their
commitment to living by the secular laws of the land, despite
their grievances and the everyday challenges of living as a
minority in a Western society, such as non-sectarian
education for the young. They rejected sharia law as
impractical in a majority-Christian setting lacking an
Islamic tradition. One young man expressed admiration for
the strictness of criminal penalties in Saudia Arabia (having
traveled there),in particular the death penalty for drug
traffickers. He said the crime problem in The Bahamas
(reftel) would look much different if such penalties were
applied, drawing knowing nods and murmurs from some in the
audience. COMMENT: While legal in The Bahamas, the
application of the death penalty is a hot topic in The
Bahamas in the face of a spike in violent crime. END COMMENT.


10. (U) Published material discussed and distributed at the
lecture revealed not only the community's organizational
growing pains but its attempt to play a positive social role,
especially in the struggle with crime and social breakdown.

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PolOff acquired a small notebook documenting the history of
the Islamic community in The Bahamas, including an official
statement on crime and social issues presented to the
government as far back as 1995. This document, titled
"Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian
Society", generally would not be out of place in current
public debates about how society and government ought to
respond to worrying levels of crime and violence (reftel). A
more recent, undated document also shows the community's
grappling with post-9/11 issues of integration into society
in the shadow of worldwide Islamic terrorism. The document
lists childcare, including education, family life,
specifically its decline, and terrorism as the three key
concerns.

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TYPICALLY CONFLICTED STATEMENT ON TERRORISM
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11. (U) "We reject terrorism because it is against the
tenets of Islam," the document states, and strongly condemns
the attacks of September 11, 2001. It continues, "however we
strongly believe that the Western world itself is to blame
for the events resulting from its unjust policy toward the
Muslim world for more than a century." Grievances include
"the Israeli occupation of Palestine, distortion of Islamic
teachings, support for aggressive forces and use of
international organizations against Muslims among other
things." The document goes on to decry "examples of
injustice and rank prejudices" and the "generally biased
attitude of the West at the official and medial (sic) levels
against Muslims and Islamic charitable institutions and
associations." It calls on Muslims in the West to adhere to
their religion, to persevere in spreading Islam, and to
explain legitimate issues and defend their communities. "We
should work for bridging the gap between words and actions,
between precept and practice, in the country where we live."

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COMMENT
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12. (U) The Muslim community in The Bahamas is small and
claims to be growing, but is not influential in a society
strongly dominated by Christian denominations. That said, it
may be much larger than other non-Christian groups, such as
the Jewish community. Despite their distinctive dress and
appearance, the community normally keeps a low profile. The
Muslim community appears focused inward, for example on
raising their children in keeping with the tenets of their
faith, while conducting some social outreach and
proselytizing. They agreed to have the lecture videotaped
and posted on the web-site of the historical society,
according to the usual practice (though it was not done as of
this writing). The leaders of the community appeared
resigned but not discouraged by the negative attention to
Islam and closer scrutiny of Muslims after 9/11. Looking
back over the previous 40-odd years of Islam in The Bahamas,
they seemed to feel that better times were ahead.
ZUNIGA-BROWN