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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN RECOGNITION OF IMAM OMAR SULEIMAN
______
HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON
of texas
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and
thank Imam Omar Suleiman for offering the opening prayer before the
House of Representatives this afternoon.
Imam Suleiman is a world renowned scholar and theologically driven
activist for human rights. He is the Founder and President of the
Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a professor of Islamic
Studies at Southern Methodist University. He's also the resident
scholar of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center and Co-Chair Emeritus of
Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square, a multi-faith coalition
of clergy for peace and justice. He frequently writes for CNN, USA
Today, The Guardian, HuffPo, and The Dallas Morning News.
His career started in his hometown of New Orleans where he served as
the Imam of the Jefferson Muslim Association in New Orleans for 6 years
and directed the ``Muslims for Humanity'' Hurricane Katrina Relief
effort. It was during this time that he was recognized on a national
level as being a strong advocate of community service, interfaith
dialogue, and social justice. He co-founded the East Jefferson
Interfaith Clergy Association and was awarded for his outstanding civic
achievement by the Mayor and City Council of New Orleans in 2010. He's
also the founder of MUHSEN, a non-profit umbrella organization serving
the community to establish a more inclusive ``Special Friendly''
environment for our brothers & sisters of all disabilities.
In July 2016, he marched with demonstrators in Dallas against the
killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In the wake of the
tragic shooting of officers after that protest, he was chosen to lead
the invocation at the Presidential memorial alongside former Presidents
Barack Obama and George W. Bush. The D-Magazine published a feature on
him titled ``The Religious Leader Dallas Needs.'' His work in bringing
people together was the subject of a BBC documentary in 2016, and work
with refugees in Syria featured in PBS in January 2017, and in 2016, he
was a recipient of the United Nations Global Goals Award with Faith
Forward Dallas. He led the airport protests in Dallas against President
Trump's Muslim ban in 2017; led a group of clergy to the Mexico border
that intercepted a bus of children taken from their parents under the
family separation policy; and has worked closely with the families of
the victims of police brutality to amplify their cause. Most recently,
he was recognized by CNN as one ofthe 25 most influential Muslims in
America and included amongst the Frederick Douglass 200 most
influential Americans whose modern day work embodies the legacy of the
great abolitionist.
____________________