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Hattiesburg American – April 10, 2006
Massachusetts Muslim community
struggles to survive
By Nikki Davis Maute
COLUMBIA, MS. - Nearly five years after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, a small Islamic community located some 25 miles west of Hattiesburg struggles to maintain its ground.
A drop in enrollment at the New Medinah community's Islamic school, the delay in developing an industrial park and no new families moving to the Marion County community has stretched the group's resources.
"We are trying to hold our own here," said Alvin Shareef, imam and principal of the New Medinah School System. "Since 9-11 it's been very difficult. Any time there's a crime committed by a Muslim, there seems to be an attitude among some people that all Muslims are guilty. If a Christian commits a crime, all Christians are not equally condemned."
After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, New Medinah residents did not face the same suspicions and backlash that many other Muslims across the United States encountered.
"People knew us as neighbors and business associates before they knew us as Muslims," Shareef said. "So when this attack happened, we were spared that."
At New Medinah there are no new faces, but the same 12 families continue to live and work the land.
Still, Shareef sees a renewal ahead, pegged to the 20th anniversary of the self-sufficient community, which is about halfway between Columbia and Sumrall.
A three-day retreat in late May is expected to draw upwards of 200 people - both Muslims and non-Muslims alike - locally and nationally……
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060410/NEWS01/604100323/1002
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