III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 214 

Recognizing the history and contributions of Muslims of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2019 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. MURRAY, and Ms. STABENOW) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the history and contributions of Muslims of the 

United States. 

Whereas the millions of Muslims of the United States, immigrant and native born— 

(1) compose 2 percent of the total population of the 

United States; and 

(2) have built a vibrant community of diverse races, 

ethnicities, viewpoints, and backgrounds; 

Whereas many African slaves brought to the Americas, including the American colonies later known as the United 

States, were Muslim and made innumerable contributions 

to the founding of the United States; 

Whereas Muslims of the United States— 

(1) come from a myriad of diverse cultural backgrounds; and 


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•SRES 214 IS 

(2) practice their faith according to a variety of different historical schools of thought and traditions within 

the Sunni and Shi’a interpretations of Islam; 

Whereas Muslims of the United States have long served in 

the Armed Forces and have fought in all major United 

States conflicts, from the Revolutionary War onward, 

with more than 5,000 Muslims serving in the Armed 

Forces as of April 2019; 

Whereas many Muslim members of the Armed Forces have 

made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States, including— 

(1) Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, who was 

born in 1987 and made the ultimate sacrifice for the 

United States in 2007; and 

(2) Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan, who 

was born in 1976 and made the ultimate sacrifice for the 

United States in 2004; 

Whereas countless Muslims of the United States contribute 

to the economy and well-being of the United States as— 

(1) physicians; 

(2) business owners; 

(3) laborers; 

(4) service workers; 

(5) teachers engaging the next generation of people 

of the United States; and 

(6) police officers, firefighters, and first responders 

saving lives every day; and 

Whereas Muslims of the United States have made and continue to make important contributions to the advancement of the United States that are fundamental to the 

shared values, society, and culture of the United States, 

including— 


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•SRES 214 IS 

(1) military veterans, such as— 

(A) Corporal Bampett Muhamed of Virginia, 

who served in the Revolutionary War; 

(B) Yusuf Ben Ali (also known as ‘‘Joseph 

Benhaley’’), who served in the Continental Army 

under George Washington and fought with General 

Thomas Sumter in South Carolina; 

(C) Captain Moses Osman, who served in the 

Union Army during the Civil War and was the highest ranking Muslim in that war; 

(D) Corporal Sheikh Nazim Abdul-Kariem, who 

served in the Army during World War II at the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge; 

(E) Sergeant First Class Mujahid Mohammed, 

who served in the Army and was held as a prisoner 

of war during the Korean War; 

(F) retired Chief Master Sergeant of the Air 

Force Talib M. Shareef, who now serves as imam at 

the Nation’s Mosque in Washington, DC; and 

(G) the countless other Muslims of the United 

States who served valiantly in World War I, World 

War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and 

other conflicts; 

(2) Yarrow Mamout, the freed African-American 

Muslim slave who later became one of the first shareholders of the Columbia Bank, the second chartered bank 

in the United States; 

(3) Fazlur Rahman Khan, the famed architect and 

designer who designed the Sears Tower and the John 

Hancock Center; 

(4) Mohammad Salman Hamdani, the New York 

City Police Department cadet and Emergency Medical 

Technician who heroically died helping others in the 


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aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center on 

September 11, 2001; 

(5) Dr. Farouk El-Baz, a geologist and remote sensing scientist who, from 1967 to 1972, was instrumental 

in helping the National Aeronautics and Space Administration identify the landing sites on the Moon for the 

Apollo program, serving as— 

(A) Secretary of the Landing Site Selection 

Committee for the Apollo missions; 

(B) Principal Investigator of Visual Observations and Photography; and 

(C) Chairman of the Astronaut Training Group 

of the Apollo Photo Team; 

(6) noted academics and researchers, such as— 

(A) Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang, professor and 

former chairman of the African Studies Department 

at Howard University; 

(B) Dr. Intisar A. Rabb, professor of law at 

Harvard Law School and a director of the Islamic 

Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School; 

(C) Asifa Quraishi-Landes, comparative law expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and 

(D) Zareena Grewal, American studies and religious studies scholar at Yale University; 

(7) health professionals, such as— 

(A) Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health; 

(B) Dr. Heather Laird-Johnson, founder, president, and director of the Center for Muslim Mental 

Health and Islamic Psychology at the University of 

Southern California; and 

(C) Dr. Zehra Siddiqui, who focuses on providing health care for underserved populations, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR214.IS SR214

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cluding homeless individuals, immigrants, and individuals without health insurance; 

(8) Olympic medalists, such as— 

(A) boxer Muhammad Ali; 

(B) track and field athlete Dalilah Muhammad; 

and 

(C) fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad; 

(9) professional athletes, such as— 

(A) basketball players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 

Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal; 

(B) football players Muhammad Wilkerson, 

Ameer Abdullah, and Husain Abdullah; and 

(C) 2-time world heavyweight champion Hasim 

Shariff Rahman; 

(10) religious leaders, such as Hajj Malik El 

Shabazz, also known as ‘‘Malcolm X’’, who was— 

(A) an African-American Muslim imam; 

(B) a civil rights activist; and 

(C) a reformer; 

(11) Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace 

D. Muhammad), an African-American Muslim leader and 

theologian who— 

(A) in 1992, was the first Muslim of the United 

States to deliver the invocation for the Senate; 

(B) worked tirelessly to unite diverse Muslim 

communities; and 

(C) is commonly referred to as ‘‘America’s 

Imam’’; 

(12) public servants, such as— 

(A) Dr. Ahmed Hassan Zewail, who won a 

Nobel Prize in Chemistry and was a member of the 

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and 

Technology; 


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•SRES 214 IS 

(B) Dr. Robert (Farooq) D. Crane, former 

Deputy Director of the National Security Council 

and advisor to President Richard Nixon; 

(C) Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as— 

(i) the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005; 

(ii) the United States Ambassador to Iraq 

from 2005 to 2007; and 

(iii) the United States Ambassador to the 

United Nations from 2007 to 2009; 

(D) Adam Shakoor, the first Muslim judge in 

the United States; 

(E) Osman Siddique, the first Muslim United 

States Ambassador; and 

(F) Sada Cumber, the first United States Ambassador to the Organization of the Islamic Conference; 

(13) elected officials, such as— 

(A) Representative Andre ́ Carson of Indiana; 

(B) Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota; 

(C) Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan; 

(D) Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison; 

(E) Virginia State Representative Sam Rasoul; 

(F) Pennsylvania State Representative Movita 

Johnson-Harrell; and 

(G) local council members, including— 

(i) Aisha Wahab of Hayward, California; 

(ii) Susan Dabaja of Dearborn, Michigan; 

(iii) Shahid Shafi of Southlake, Texas; and 

(iv) Basheer Jones of Cleveland, Ohio; 

(14) entrepreneurs and business leaders, such as— 


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(A) Farooq Kathwari, the chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Ethan Allen Interiors 

Inc.; 

(B) business tycoon Shahid Khan, owner of the 

Jacksonville Jaguars football team in the National 

Football League; 

(C) Islamic fashion designer Lisa Vogl, founder 

of Verona Collection; 

(D) philanthropist Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid, 

also known as ‘‘Iman’’, founder of Iman Cosmetics; 

(E) Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder, chairman, 

and chief executive officer of Chobani Greek Yogurt; 

and 

(F) Dr. Mark Humayun, who co-invented the 

Argus series retina implants; and 

(15) entertainers, such as— 

(A) actor and comedian Hasan Minaj; 

(B) Mahershala Ali, the first Muslim actor to 

win an Oscar; 

(C) Sam Esmail, the creator of Mr. Robot; and 

(D) comedian and actor Maysoon Zayid: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate recognizes the historic and 

2 valuable contributions of the Muslim community of the 

3 United States to the United States. 

Æ 


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