228 The American Journal of lslamic Social Sciences 20:3 & 4 

AMSS Third Regional Conference 

Arlington, TX - August 23, 2003

At its Third Regional Conference, the AMSS broke new ground, dis­

pelling the popular image that Muslims are extremists and Islam is 

engaged in holy war against the West. Mayor Robert Cluck welcomed the 
participants, praised American Muslim organizations' condemnation of 
9/11, and thanked AMSS for informing Americans about Islam and the 

Muslim contribution to civilization through its publications and annual 
conventions. MSA president Laith Albataineh welcomed the participants 
on behalf of the students. 

In his introduction, Chairman Basheer Ahmed stated that extremism 

and terrorism were not unique to a single religion. He exhorted all peace­
loving people to unite to rein in extremism before it gets out of control. 
Congressman Martin Frost (D-Texas), the guest of honor at the luncheon, 
referred to his post-9/11 statement encouraging every Texan to join him in 

resisting intolerance and bigotry. While condemning terrorism in the 
Middle East, he expressed his support for the "roadmap to peace" and a 
Palestinian state. Congressman Frost is known for his support of civil 
rights, getting more immigrants into the American armed forces, con­

stituent service, upholding the Bill of Rights, furthering his district's eco­
nomic development, and assisting students' career development. 

Moazam Syed, American Muslim Alliance president elect (Tarrant 
County) thanked the congressman; said that terror, hatred, and prejudice are 

alien to all religions; and that: "America will remain just and tolerant, even 
when confronted with terror and adversity." Bob Ray Sanders, Star Telegram 

staff writer and columnist, moderated the question and-answer session. 
Jamal Badawi (Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Canada) dispelled the 

inaccurate notions that the Arabic words for "holy war'' can be found in the 
Qur' an, that kufr means "infidel," that Allah is the God of Muslims only, that 

Islam is exclusivistic, and that an unbeliever (kafir) does not have the same 
right to life as a Muslim, and several other often-misunderstood notions. He 

affirmed that practice or juristic opinions could not replace the Qur'an and 
ahadith, advocated an integrative contextual approach toward understand­

ing these texts, and pointed out common pitfalls in their interpretation. His 
statements were well-received by both Muslims and non-Muslims. 

AMSS president Louay Safi analyzed the present extremism found in 

the Muslim world as being based on distorted interpretations of scripture 





230 The American Journal of lslamic Social Sciences 20:3 & 4 

sions, attended by an estimated 800 Muslims and non-Muslims, drawn from 
the entire Metroplex region, received wide media coverage. 

Coming after two earlier regional conferences convened by the AMSS 
southwest chapter, "The Muslim Contribution to Civilization" and "The 
Role of Religion to Promote World Peace," this latest event was a great 
success, and one that we expect to lead to more interfaith dialogue. 

The conference ended with the issuance of a press release calling for a 
sustained and long-term effort to defeat terrorism, violence, and many other 
social problems through dialogue, mutual understanding and tolerance, and 
replacing war and other forms of violence with nonviolence out of the recog­

nition that every human being is entitled to life, respect, and justice. 
The participants agreed that in this rapidly emerging global age, there 

is a great need to agree upon a minimum set of ethical principles that will 
determine how we treat each other. In short, we need to develop a global 

ethic through a consensus-based process of dialogue and then establish it on 
a firm base so that it can spread further afield and include more people. Such 
an undertaking is no longer just a nice dream; it has become a necessity. 

Ambassador Syed A. Ahsani 

Member, Musi im Community Center for Human Services 
Arlington, Texas