VZCZCXRO1176
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHBH #0065/01 0332004
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 022004Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6082
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NASSAU 000065 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BF
SUBJECT: LECTURE AFFORDS SNAPSHOT OF BAHAMAS MUSLIM 
COMMUNITY, PAST AND PRESENT 
 
REF: 08 NASSAU 206 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  During a recent lecture at the historical 
society, a prominent local Muslim leader presented a largely 
autobiographical and documentary overview of the origins and 
development of Islam in The Bahamas.  He provided an 
eyewitness perspective on a growing minority religion whose 
adherents normally keep a very low profile.  He told the 
story of a small but persistent group of early Bahamian 
converts strongly influenced by the U.S.-based Nation of 
Islam, with longstanding links to South Asian Islam through 
expatriate influence in the 1970s and educational travel 
beginning in the 1980s.  In a far more revealing discussion, 
the speaker and other local Muslims answered audience 
members' questions on the Islamic religion and local 
community, and distributed published material.  They took 
exception to 'incorrect perceptions' of Islam and "Islamic 
fundamentalism" in the Western media and blandly repeated 
standard grievances against U.S. foreign policy and the 
treatment of Muslims throughout the world.  Several explained 
their commitment to living by secular laws amidst the 
challenges of living as a minority in a Western society. 
Looking back over the previous 40-odd years of Islam in The 
Bahamas, they foresaw better times ahead.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
AN AMERICAN STORY:  FROM BLACK MUSLIM TO BAHAMIAN MUSLIM 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
¶2.  (U) A lecture on "The History of Islam in The Bahamas" 
was held at the local historical society January 22 and 
attended by some 25 people (a larger than average crowd for 
such academic topics), including 7-8 Muslim men and one 
woman.  The featured speaker was Dr. Munir Ahmad Rashad, a 
soft-spoken and self-effacing, American-trained dentist and 
respected health professional, who also moonlights as a 
boxing official.  Dr. Rashad highlighted some historical 
indications that the majority of black Bahamians' forebears 
were likely Muslims before being enslaved in the New World, 
but he concentrated on a largely autobiographical account of 
the development of the Islamic community in Nassau and New 
Providence.  Dr. Rashad became a Muslim in 1971 after 
studying dentistry in the U.S., where he joined the Nation of 
Islam of Elijah Muhammad.   He told the story from a personal 
perspective, beginning as a student in Louisiana in the 
1960s, as a convert to Islam who returned to Nassau planning 
to expand the Nation of Islam in The Bahamas and the 
Caribbean. 
 
¶3.  (U) Dr. Rashad painted a picture of Bahamian Islam as 
essentially an offshoot of American Islam of the 1960s, with 
the local community first known as "Jamaat-ul-Islam, the 
Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of The Bahamas", before 
dropping the revolutionary appellation later under South 
Asian Sunni influences.  Most early adherents were students 
in the U.S. or the U.K. when they first encountered Islam, 
some later marrying women from Muslim countries.  Dr. 
Rashad's talk was sprinkled with American references and 
connections.  For example, he said that he had first heard of 
Islam when Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title for 
refusing to enlist during Vietnam.  Dr. Rashad told PolOff 
that he had met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama 
as a student through personal connections.  He also said that 
he had traveled to Washington for President Obama's 
inauguration earlier in the week, where he did not even catch 
a glimpse of the President.  COMMENT:  The community still 
lists "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" as suggested reading 
in a promotional pamphlet titled "Islaam for The Bahamas". 
END COMMENT. 
 
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INDIA, PAKISTAN CONNECTIONS KEY FOR RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT ... 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
¶4.  (U) According Dr. Rashad and source material he provided, 
the small Islamic community in The Bahamas developed in fits 
and starts in the late 1970s, mostly under South Indian 
expatriate Islamic influences, because they lacked formally 
trained leaders or international contacts.  A Bangladeshi 
pathologist working at the local public hospital and then a 
Pakistani teacher played particularly prominent roles, 
according to Dr. Rashad, in guiding the community toward a 
more mainstream Islamic affiliation than that inspired by the 
Nation of Islam.  Some members traveled to the U.S. and India 
in the 1980s to network and study under the auspices of the 
Indian-based Jamaat Tabligh.  Some also received more formal 
training in Guyana, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia subsequently, 
including at the university level.  The early activists 
bought a parcel of land in western New Providence in 1982 and 
formally constituted the community under law in 1990.  The 
local mosque, still under construction, is an impressive 
white edifice with small domes and a minaret. 
 
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NASSAU 00000065  002 OF 003 
 
 
... OF SMALL, GROWING COMMUNITY 
------------------------------- 
¶5.  (U) Dr. Rashad noted that there was now a Muslim 
community in Freeport and individual families living in Abaco 
and Exuma.  He said that the community hoped to expand 
further through their social work and outreach, and was 
working to found a school.  Dr. Rashad and others in 
attendance, apparently, had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. 
Dr. Rashad said that the Muslim population in The Bahamas was 
"less than 1 percent", e.g. less than 3,000 people.  He said 
that the Muslim community was not active in the prison, 
though it had worked at youth detention centers, occasionally 
assisted foreign Muslims detained for immigration violations, 
and actively proselytized as part of their faith 
requirements.  Pamphlets and informational handouts were 
available at the lecture.  Notably, the leader of the local 
Islamic community said that, despite the negative attention 
to Islam and closer scrutiny of Muslims after 9/11, more 
young people and converts approached the local community in 
the aftermath of 9/11 than previously. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS GRIEVANCES, FUNDAMENTALISM, 9/11 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶6.  (U) Dr. Rashad and other local Muslims in attendance 
engaged with audience members, a mix of young and old, black 
and white, Muslim and non-Muslim, history buffs and not, 
answering questions and painting a picture of a moderate 
local Islamic community sharing many concerns with Bahamians 
overall.  All speakers took issue with coverage of Islam and 
"Islamic fundamentalism" in the Bahamian and Western media, 
however, which they saw as fostering incorrect perceptions. 
They briefly voiced some standard Muslim grievances against 
U.S. foreign policy, for example in Gaza and Israel, and the 
treatment of Muslims throughout the world, especially after 
9/11.  They did not venture into controversial details or 
extreme or objectionable rhetoric, with the leader of the 
local Islamic community venturing that it was the lot of 
Muslims to suffer. 
 
¶7.  (U) One young man offered a spirited explanation of the 
basic tenets of Islam, characterizing fundamentalism as 
adherence to fundamentals of the faith such as daily prayers, 
and concluded that "extremism" was a better description of 
the negative phenomena associated with Islam in the media. 
He said that some Muslims wrongly "took matters into their 
own hands" instead of allowing "the Creator" to dispense 
justice for earthly woes.  Arguments over the distinction 
between "true Islam" and "Islamic fundamentalism", or 
terrorism in the name of Islam, were not particularly 
sophisticated or convincing.  The topics of community 
financing, internal organization, or the role of women, 
notably, were not addressed in the remarks or discussion, 
with the exception of male leadership changes over the years. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The leader of the local Islamic community, Faisal 
AbdurRahmaan Hepburn, complained in great detail about his 
treatment at the hands of U.S. immigration authorities during 
three separate encounters in the early 2000s, at each of 
which his valid U.S. visa was cancelled.  He later showed 
PolOff three visas in his passport, issued from 2001-2003, 
each apparently cancelled, two "without prejudice" and one 
with extensive, illegible notations apparently done in Miami 
when he was sent back to The Bahamas, which he considered an 
inexplicable injustice as he had already passed CBP 
pre-clearance in Nassau. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
A MUSLIM TAKE ON BAHAMIAN SOCIETY, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
¶9.  (U) During the lively discussion, which lasted much 
longer than the actual presentation, several Muslims in 
attendance reacted to questioners and explained their 
commitment to living by the secular laws of the land, despite 
their grievances and the everyday challenges of living as a 
minority in a Western society, such as non-sectarian 
education for the young.  They rejected sharia law as 
impractical in a majority-Christian setting lacking an 
Islamic tradition.  One young man expressed admiration for 
the strictness of criminal penalties in Saudia Arabia (having 
traveled there), in particular the death penalty for drug 
traffickers.  He said the crime problem in The Bahamas 
(reftel) would look much different if such penalties were 
applied, drawing knowing nods and murmurs from some in the 
audience.  COMMENT:  While legal in The Bahamas, the 
application of the death penalty is a hot topic in The 
Bahamas in the face of a spike in violent crime.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10.  (U) Published material discussed and distributed at the 
lecture revealed not only the community's organizational 
growing pains but its attempt to play a positive social role, 
especially in the struggle with crime and social breakdown. 
 
NASSAU 00000065  003 OF 003 
 
 
PolOff acquired a small notebook documenting the history of 
the Islamic community in The Bahamas, including an official 
statement on crime and social issues presented to the 
government as far back as 1995.  This document, titled 
"Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian 
Society", generally would not be out of place in current 
public debates about how society and government ought to 
respond to worrying levels of crime and violence (reftel).  A 
more recent, undated document also shows the community's 
grappling with post-9/11 issues of integration into society 
in the shadow of worldwide Islamic terrorism.  The document 
lists childcare, including education, family life, 
specifically its decline, and terrorism as the three key 
concerns. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
TYPICALLY CONFLICTED STATEMENT ON TERRORISM 
------------------------------------------- 
¶11.  (U) "We reject terrorism because it is against the 
tenets of Islam," the document states, and strongly condemns 
the attacks of September 11, 2001.  It continues, "however we 
strongly believe that the Western world itself is to blame 
for the events resulting from its unjust policy toward the 
Muslim world for more than a century."  Grievances include 
"the Israeli occupation of Palestine, distortion of Islamic 
teachings, support for aggressive forces and use of 
international organizations against Muslims among other 
things."  The document goes on to decry "examples of 
injustice and rank prejudices" and the "generally biased 
attitude of the West at the official and medial (sic) levels 
against Muslims and Islamic charitable institutions and 
associations."  It calls on Muslims in the West to adhere to 
their religion, to persevere in spreading Islam, and to 
explain legitimate issues and defend their communities.  "We 
should work for bridging the gap between words and actions, 
between precept and practice, in the country where we live." 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶12.  (U) The Muslim community in The Bahamas is small and 
claims to be growing, but is not influential in a society 
strongly dominated by Christian denominations.  That said, it 
may be much larger than other non-Christian groups, such as 
the Jewish community.  Despite their distinctive dress and 
appearance, the community normally keeps a low profile.  The 
Muslim community appears focused inward, for example on 
raising their children in keeping with the tenets of their 
faith, while conducting some social outreach and 
proselytizing.  They agreed to have the lecture videotaped 
and posted on the web-site of the historical society, 
according to the usual practice (though it was not done as of 
this writing).  The leaders of the community appeared 
resigned but not discouraged by the negative attention to 
Islam and closer scrutiny of Muslims after 9/11.  Looking 
back over the previous 40-odd years of Islam in The Bahamas, 
they seemed to feel that better times were ahead. 
ZUNIGA-BROWN