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28-05-2026
BALTIMORE: Muslim Americans are grieving after two gunmen last week opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing three people but at the annual conference for the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Baltimore, community leaders stressed the urgency of turning the sorrow into action.
Nearly 25,000 people turned out for the annual event, held on Saturday and Sunday. Speakers addressed the recent shooting, pointing to the courage of the three victims as examples for the broader community in a time of heightened Islamophobia.
“We owe them more than condolences. We owe them resolve,” said Lena Masri, a lawyer at the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
She explained how the victims, a security officer, a caretaker and a neighbor sacrificed their lives to save others. The security officer, Amin Abdullah, exchanged fire with the shooters, while the other two victims, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad, rushed to help and called for emergency services.
“They protected the physical space of our community: the masjid (mosque), the school, the children, the teachers, the worshippers,” Masri explained.
“Our responsibility is to protect the civic space of our community: the right to worship, the right to speak, the right to organize, the right to defend Palestine, the right to build institutions.”
That was the recurring theme of the conference: that the Muslim American community cannot afford to be passive and must draw on its strength to push back against bigotry and hate.
Speakers emphasized voting, organizing and donating to community institutions and candidates who align with Muslim Americans. They also underscored the need to hold officials accountable and push for an end to Israel’s atrocities in Palestine.
“We owe Gaza more than grief. We owe Gaza advocacy that cannot be intimidated into silence,” Masri said.
Islamophobia and Palestinians’ dehumanization
Symbols of Palestine could be seen everywhere at the conference, from bags emblazoned with watermelons and flags to keffiyeh-patterned scarves, shirts and water bottles.
At a bazaar featuring dozens of vendors, conference-goers left messages of solidarity on a tent that will be sent to Gaza by the charity Life for Relief and Development (LIFE).
In speeches and on panels, advocates drew a link between anti-Muslim bigotry in the United States and Israel’s abuses in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.
Some of the loudest promoters of Islamophobia in the US are also staunch Israel supporters, among them right-wing commentator Laura Loomer and Congressman Randy Fine.
Both Loomer and Fine are allies of US President Donald Trump, whose administration has unleashed a crackdown to deport critics of Israel who live in the US but are not citizens.
Altaf Husain, a professor at the Howard University School of Social Work, said anti-Palestinian voices are trying to “scare” Muslims as a means of silencing criticism of Israel.
“They want to shut this down, so it’s a direct connection,” Husain told Al Jazeera.
He said the large turnout at the ICNA conference shows that the community is not intimidated and will not back down.
In the response to the shooting in San Diego, Husain pointed out that the community raised more than $3.5m for the victims’ families and moved to bolster security around Muslim institutions. (Int’l News Desk)
