Dean Obeidallah: Muslim Americans Are Split Over the Iran Deal

posted on: Jul 15, 2015

Iranian Americans are (mostly) celebrating. Syrian Americans, uh, not so much. A quick survey of an important but under-covered segment.
We have heard from just about everyone on the Iran deal, from President Obama to Donald Trump to Benjamin Netanyahu to many, many in between. But how do Muslim Americans view the deal? I’m sure many non-Muslims are thinking that they are all cheering it because the deal helps Iran. Well, anyone holding that view clearly doesn’t know too many Muslim Americans.

On Tuesday, I reached out to a wide cross section of Muslim Americans about their views on the deal with Iran, from community leaders to religious clerics to even a well-known Iranian American comedian. Overall their responses can best be summed up as cautious optimism. But the regional divide we see amongst Muslims in the Middle East was also present in the reactions of these Muslim Americans.

First off, the Iranian-American Muslims I contacted were in general very excited at the prospect of the United States and Iran fostering better relations. Sarah Sakha, a “proud” first generation Iranian American, explained to me via Facebook that the deal “honestly gives Iranians and Iranian-Americans all around the world hope.” She added, “And now, under the framework, the U.S. can enjoy Iranian pistachios, the ultimate peace offering!”

Maz Jobrani, the best-known Iranian American comedian in the United States, explained by email that the deal “is a great thing for both the Iran and America. I’m especially happy for the Iranian people because the lifting of the sanctions should be a great relief to them.” He added, “It’s a good day when diplomacy wins.”

However, Iranian American filmmaker Negin Farsad was less embracing, noting that “the nuclear deal is tantamount to Iran submitting to an anal cavity search all the time.” Even so, Farsad is generally supportive of the deal and urged Republican lawmakers to “not take a knee-jerk anti-peace stance” and instead “look at Iran as a potential new market to sell American goods, rather than a new war front.”

Muslim Americans of South Asian backgrounds were universally supportive of the deal, although some expressed caution. Imam Shamsi Ali, who is based in New York City, was “very happy to hear that there is a hopeful, peaceful solution to the conflict, as opposed to war.” Wajahat Ali, a journalist and author, echoed Ali’s sentiments, noting that the deal “is a positive step towards reconciliation between the United States and Iran.” But, he added, “It will take years for the two nations to trust each after decades of mistrust and fear.”

Mansoor Shams, a former U.S. Marine, commented via social media, “This deal proves through mutual respect peace can be achieved.” And while supportive of the deal, some others, like journalist Haroon Moghul, were resigned to the fact that “the only other option is war with Iran, and such a war would be far more challenging for us than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Finally, the African American Muslims I contacted too were supportive. For example, Margari Aziza Hill of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative stated, “I think this is a promising moment and I look forward to cultural and intellectual exchanges between our respective nations and greater stability in the region.” (My apologies to the other Muslim American communities I could not include here but there are too many at this point!)

Source: www.thedailybeast.com