Title: Recognizing American Muslims' history and contributions to our Nation.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the historic and valuable contributions of the American Muslim community to the United States.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 276 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 276

 Recognizing American Muslims' history and contributions to our Nation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2019

Ms. Judy Chu of California (for herself, Ms. Norton, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
Swalwell of California, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Khanna, 
 Mr. Correa, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. 
 Sanchez, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Carson of Indiana, and Ms. Omar) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing American Muslims' history and contributions to our Nation.

Whereas the millions of American Muslims, immigrant and native born, comprise 
        two percent of the total population of the United States, and 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 of America, were Muslim, and 
        made innumerable contributions to the founding of our Nation;
Whereas American Muslims have long served in the Nation's Armed Forces and 
        fought in all major United States conflicts, from the Revolutionary War 
        to present day, with more than 5,000 Muslims currently serving in the 
        Armed Forces and many Muslims having made the ultimate sacrifice for the 
        United States, including Army Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan (1987-
        2007), and Army Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan (1976-2004);
Whereas countless American Muslims contribute to our Nation's economy and well-
        being as physicians, business owners, laborers, service workers, 
        teachers engaging the next generation of Americans, and police officers, 
        firefighters, and first responders saving lives every day; and
Whereas American Muslims have and continue to make important contributions to 
        the advancement of our Nation that are fundamental to our shared 
        American values, society, and culture, including--

    (1) military veterans like Revolutionary War Virginian Corporal Bampett 
Muhamed, Yusuf Ben Ali (also known as Joseph Benhaley), who served in 
George Washington's Army and fought with General Thomas Sumter in South 
Carolina, Civil War Union Captain Moses Osman, who was the highest ranking 
Muslim in that war, World War II Army Corporal Sheikh Nazim Abdul-Kariem, 
who served in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, Army 
Sergeant First Class and Korean war prisoner-of-war Mujahid Mohammed, 
retired Chief Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force Talib M. 
Shareef, who now serves as Imam at the Nation's Mosque in Washington, DC, 
and the countless other American Muslims who served valiantly in the First 
and Second World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and most recent 
conflicts;

    (2) Yarrow Mamout, the freed African-American Muslim slave who later 
became one of the first shareholders of the second chartered bank in 
America, the Columbia Bank;

    (3) famed architect and designer Fazlur Rahman Khan, 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 
aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center;

    (5) Dr. Farouk El-Baz, geologist and remote sensing scientist who, as 
Secretary of the Landing Site Selection Committee for the Apollo missions, 
Principal Investigator of Visual Observations and Photography, and Chairman 
of the Astronaut Training Group of the Apollo Photo Team (1967-1972), was 
instrumental in helping NASA identify the landing sites on the Moon for the 
Apollo program;

    (6) noted academics and researchers like Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang, 
professor and former chairman of the African Studies Department at Howard 
University, Dr. Intisar A. Rabb, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and 
a director of its Islamic Legal Studies Program, Asifa Quraishi-Landes, 
comparative law expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Zareena 
Grewal, American studies and religious studies scholar at Yale University;

    (7) health professionals like Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the 
National Institutes of Health, 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 Dr. Zehra 
Siddiqui, who focuses on providing health care for underserved populations 
including homeless individuals, immigrants, and those without health 
insurance;

    (8) Olympic medalists like boxer Muhammad Ali, track and field athlete 
Dalilah Muhammad, and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad;

    (9) professional athletes like basketball players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 
Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O'Neal, football players like Muhammad 
Wilkerson, Ameer Abdullah, brothers Husain and Hamza Abdullah, and two-time 
world heavyweight champion Hasim Shariff Rahman;

    (10) religious leaders like African-American Muslim imam, civil rights 
activist and reformer Hajj Malik El Shabazz, also known as Malcolm X;

    (11) Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace D. Muhammad), referred to 
by many as America's Imam, an African-American Muslim leader and theologian 
who worked tirelessly to unite the diverse Muslim community and Nation, 
and, in 1992, was the first American Muslim to deliver the invocation for 
the Senate;

    (12) public servants like Dr. Ahmed Hassan Zewail, who won a Nobel 
Prize in Chemistry and was a Presidential Council of Advisors on Science 
and Technology member, former Deputy Director of the United States National 
Security Council and Nixon administration advisor Dr. Robert (Farooq) D. 
Crane, and Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as the United States Ambassador to 
Afghanistan from 2003-2005, Iraq from 2005-2007, and the United Nations 
from 2007-2009, and Adam Shakoor, the first Muslim judge in the country;

    (13) elected officials like Indiana Congressman Andre Carson, Minnesota 
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Minnesota 
Attorney General Keith Ellison, Virginia State representative Sam Rasoul, 
Pennsylvania State representative Movita Johnson-Harrell, and local council 
members, including Aisha Wahab from Hayward, California, Susan Dabaja of 
Dearborn, Michigan, Shahid Shafi of Southlake, Texas, and Basheer Jones 
from Cleveland, Ohio;

    (14) entrepreneurs and business leaders like chairman, CEO, and 
president of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., Farooq Kathwari, National Football 
League Jacksonville Jaguars owner and business tycoon Shahid Khan, Islamic 
fashion designer and Verona Collection company founder Lisa Vogl, founder 
of Iman Cosmetics and philanthropist Zara (Iman) Mohamed Abdulmajid, hair 
and spa care business magnate Farouk Shami, Chobani Greek Yogurt founder, 
chairman, and CEO, Hamdi Ulukaya, and Dr. Mark Humayun, who co-invented 
Argus series retina implants; and

    (15) entertainers like actor and comedian Hasan Minaj, rapper Lupe 
Fiasco, the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, Mahershala Ali, the creator 
of Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail, and comedian and actor Maysoon Zayid: Now, 
therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes the historic 
and valuable contributions of the American Muslim community to the 
United States.
                                 <all>