Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of one of the largest mosques in the U.S., has written a new book published by Random House. Niraj Warikoo interviewed Imam Hassan Qazwini and wrote a story about the new book, which details Qazwini's meetings with top leaders, including Presidnet George W. Bush. Click here to read Niraj Warikoo's story on Imam Qazwini.
Sharing his story
Muslim cleric writes a book about Islam and his family's suffering in Iraq
December 31, 2007
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Born into a prestigious Iraqi family descended from Islam's prophet, Imam Hassan Qazwini started life anew when he moved to the United States in 1992.
He knew little English, was unfamiliar with American culture and uncertain about his future.
But now, Qazwini of Dearborn heads one the largest U.S. mosques -- the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn -- and has become a nationally known figure who has advised President George W. Bush, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Muslims from metro Detroit to Baghdad.
His compelling life story -- with details about his influence with top leaders -- is told in a book he wrote that was published recently by Random House.
Titled "American Crescent," the memoir starts with his family's suffering at the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime and how some of them escaped to Kuwait, including Qazwini.
From there Qazwini moved to Iran in 1980, and then to California with the blessing of his father, a major Shi'ite Muslim cleric. In 1997, Qazwini became the imam at the Islamic Center, which was in Detroit.
The idea for the book came out of his efforts to reach non-Muslims after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"My main goal was to educate non-Muslim readers about Islam," said Qazwini, 43. "We have been witnessing widespread misconceptions about our faith. ... We've been bombarded with negative views about Islam."
"If you want to learn about Islam," he writes in the book, "turn off the TV."
Also in the book Qazwini describes meetings with Bush, including one in 2000 that was held weeks before the presidential election. Qazwini writes that Bush told him and others at the meeting that it was wrong to stereotype Muslims as extremists.
Bush also talked about his love of Lebanese food, Qazwini wrote, and said there was no division between Muslims and Christians.
"There are some Muslims who create trouble, but the majority are good people, just as there are some Christians who create trouble even though most are good," Qazwini quoted Bush as saying. "People talk of Muslim extremists? Come with me to Texas, and I'll show you the Christian extremists."
In the same meeting, Qazwini said he asked Bush to name a liaison to the Muslim community if he were to be elected. Bush replied that he would appoint Spencer Abraham, a Lebanese-American Christian who was then a U.S. senator from Michigan.
"He will be your key to the White House," Qazwini wrote, quoting Bush.
After the election, Bush named Abraham as his secretary of energy.
"The president had kept his word," Qazwini wrote.
But despite Qazwini's influence, he -- like some other Muslim Americans -- still suffers from religious profiling. He writes that he's been questioned at random by federal agents in airports and at the U.S.-Canada border, faulting the U.S. Patriot Act for allowing such bias.
Iraq is a major theme in the book, as are Sunni-Shi'ite relations. In one chapter, Qazwini recalls when a group of visitors from Saudi Arabia refused to pray in his Dearborn mosque because it was Shi'ite.
Qazwini's grandfather, a respected Shi'ite cleric, was killed during Hussein's regime. After Hussein's government was overthrown in 2003, Qazwini's father, Ayatollah Sayed Mortadha Qazwini, returned to his hometown of Karbala, Iraq, to preach again near the shrine of Imam Husayn, a Muslim leader slain centuries ago who is revered by Shi'ites.
In an emotional passage in the book, Qazwini remembers returning to Husayn's shrine in 2005 after 26 years.
"As I entered ... his presence overpowered me," Qazwini wrote. "I felt a ... rapture bordering on paralysis. For some time I wept in peace before his tomb."
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at 248-351-2998 or warikoo@freepress.com.
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