MUSLIM IMAGE-BUILDER
Egypt-born Edison grandmother promotes
Arab involvement in American mainstream
BY SULEMAN DIN, Star-Ledger from the Web, January 5. 2005
On Thursday, Sherine El-Abd received an e-mail from the Majlis-Ash-Shura of New Jersey, the state's council of mosques, appealing for aid for the victims of the tsunami.
"I picked up the phone, made a few calls and forwarded the appeal" to her many contacts in the Muslim and Arab-American communities, she said.
Within 24 hours, the organization raised $250,000 at the five mosques in the organization.
El-Abd downplayed her role in the fund-raising efforts and credited Yasser El-Menshawy, head of the Shura, for making it all happen.
But El-Menshawy knows El-Abd is the best political insider the Arab-American community has.
"I know she's very active in politics and I knew she would help wherever and whenever possible," said El-Menshawy.
El-Abd, an Edison resident, is a member of the state's Commission on Civil Rights, a governor-appointed advisory panel for the Attorney General's office.
The commission also reports to the governor and the Legislature.
She worries about the image of Muslims in the country today. A recent national poll by Cornell University shows that 44 percent of respondents believed some curtailment of civil liberties is necessary for American Muslims in the interest of domestic safety.
"Islam is a hot-button issue to people who don't know what it is," El-Abd said.
But, she says, the burden rests with Muslims and Arab-Americans to clear misconceptions, she said.
"They have to talk to people on an individual level, invite their neighbors over during Ramadan and to weddings, to see how we celebrate," she said.
"Let them see us as we are, as mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers."
And as any other American immigrant group that holds on to old country traditions and religion, while embracing life in America.
El-Abd's home in Edison ilustrates this. Islamic artwork and portraits of Egyptian antiquities share the living room with a large Christmas tree, bedecked with American flags, and gifts stuffed underneath.
"I was raised to respect all cultures," she said.
El-Abd emigrated to the United States from Egypt at 19. She is a grandmother now, and happily talks about her two children's accomplishments.
But she is also known to many as a smart political operator, a staunch Republican, and a tireless promoter of Arab and Muslim involvement in American politics.
Working on state and federal election campaigns since 1980, El-Abd was a member of New Jersey's Steering Committee to re-elect President George W. Bush and president of the Women's GOP Club of Middlesex County.
She currently sits on the Board of Governors of the Arab American Institute.
Her address book holds hundreds of names, filled with players across the political spectrum, at the municipal, state and national level.
She counts Sen. John Sununu, former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Grover Nordquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, among her friends.
She has been invited to the White House, and has met with the president.
"She is the godmother for all Arab-Americans wanting to break into politics," said Hani Khoury, an immigration attorney and member of an advisory committee on Arab Americans to the Attorney General's office.
Colleagues describe El-Abd as determined and principled, knowledgeable of politics, and able to ply her network for results.
"She makes up her mind and goes for things," said Gloria Kempf, a fellow Republican.
"With her connections all over the state, she does what she wants."
A former high school teacher, El-Abd was appointed to the Civil Rights Commission in 2000 by then-Gov. Christie Whitman.
Vivodh Anand, a former commissioner, said he specifically asked for a Muslim woman to join.
"We were missing that unique perspective," Anand said.
Her perspective, El-Abd acknowledged, puts her at odds even with her own community.
During the 2004 presidential campaign, El-Abd said she regularly confronted people at Muslim and Arab meetings, who demanded to how she could support the Bush administration.
She mentioned Bush's inclusion of Muslims and references to mosques in his speeches when he talks about the American people.
"He has spoken on behalf of Muslims more than Muslims have," she said. "He has defended Islam more than any Islamic cleric has."
El-Abd is critical of fundamentalists in the Muslim community.
"Many of the people follow the faith blindly," she said. "Rather than educate themselves with the Koran, they educate themselves by listening to fanatics."
Such candid opinion is her strength and weakness, said Hesham Mahmoud, co-chair of the Arab American Republican caucus of New Jersey.
"Being outspoken can be interpreted in both ways," he said.
El-Abd is unapologetic. "You may not agree with me, but I will do and say what I think is right," she said.
Case in point: In 2001, at the urging of Muslim Americans, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp to commemorate the Islamic holiday of Eid.
The blue and gold stamp, with Arabic calligraphy, features the salutation, Eid Mubarak, which means "blessed festival."
An employee of a large pharmaceutical company took offense to the stamp, and forwarded a chain letter from his company e-mail account to a list of his friends, calling for a boycott.
By chance, Sherine El-Abd received his e-mail.
El-Abd wrote back asking for a chance to explain her faith to him, and to reconsider his feelings.
When the man failed to respond, she decided some action needed to be taken.
Now, the state Division on Civil Rights plans to follow up with the pharmaceutical company, suggesting it take advantage of the state's diversity sensitivity training programs.
The result El-Abd hopes for is a lesson in civility, and humility.
"I'm not looking to penalize anyone -- I'm looking to educate people," she said.
Suleman Din covers Middlesex County. He can be reached at
sdin@starledger.com or (732) 404-8080.
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