LANSING — On the morning of March 23, more than 100 American
Muslims made their way to the Michigan State Capitol building for “Michigan
Muslim Capitol Day” featuring tours, discussions with state legislators,
and a welcoming address from Governor Rick Snyder.

“Assalamulaikum (peace be upon you),” said Snyder,
using a traditional Muslim saying to greet the audience at the Capitol. The governor
spoke about numerous issues including the need for diversity and understanding.

“If you look at what’s going on with census, we are a
state with many challenges,” Snyder told participants, according to an
article in The Detroit News.

He noted that Michigan is the only state out of 50 that lost
population according to the recent Census figures and talked about the need to
celebrate differences. Snyder also re-iterated his State of the State message
that immigrants are welcome and needed; many in the Michigan Muslim community
come from immigrant families although it is a diverse group, and Muslims have
lived for decades in the state.

State Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), the first Muslim woman
to become a Michigan state legislator, was among four co-sponsors of the event,
including State Sen. John Pappageorge, State Sen. Bert Johnson, and State Rep.
Chuck Moss.

She welcomed Snyder’s comments while also acknowledging that
words need to be backed by actions, especially considering concern about
Michigan’s pending Arizona-style immigration bill that could lead to profiling
of Muslims and other groups.

The chance to meet, ask questions and discuss concerns with
other legislators was also an important part of the day. Tlaib said one
participant met with a Republican lawmaker who said he had never met a Muslim
before.

“They had a positive conversation,” Tlaib said.
“A lot of times stereotypes are broken once you actually meet someone
who’s Muslim, you realize they’re not much different, they want to live a good
life, take care of their family and worship in the way they see fit and not
bother anyone…a lot of people only know Muslims from what they see on TV or
the news.”

The event was organized by a group of non-partisan community
groups including the Michigan Muslims for a Better Michigan committee, Council
of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, Council of American Islamic Relations of
Michigan, Muslim Students Association of Wayne State University and the
University of Michigan, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and more.

Coordinator Raheem Hanifa said the event had been planned
for months as a way for Muslims to show how much they can contribute to the
quality of life in the state. He said everything went smoothly.

“We brought out Muslims from across the state and we
were able to share our concerns about things like the immigration bills which
could lead to profiling and gross abuses of the law, along with our thoughts on
the anti-sharia law bills; we explained to them what sharia really is in terms
of dictating individual religious practices and no one is trying to incorporate
any aspect of Islamic law outside of the Constitution.”

Jacqueline El-Sayed, a school board member in Bloomfield
Hills, became the first Muslim woman to give an invocation in Congress as well.

“In the name of God, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to you, our creator, who created mankind with differences so that we
would know each other,” she said. “This is our mercy and our test.

“These are difficult times in our world, and we are
challenged with natural disasters, economic difficulty and modern-day pharaohs.
Enlighten us that it is in our best interests to work together to enjoin the
good and forbid all evil…We seek your guidance for the elected leaders in our
state. Grant them the wisdom to work together to find solutions, for both our
pressing challenges today, as well as the foresight to recognize and construct
a path for a yet better future for our children.”