Salma Ahmad
Salma Ahmad in 2010, shortly before reading at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Pioneer Courthouse Square.
(Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)
In her nearly 50 years in the United States, Salma Ahmad never felt more American.
Tears spilled onto her usually-smiling cheeks as she clapped. Around her, hundreds of national leaders applauded President Barack Obama for defending her people.
"When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn't make us safer. That's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong," the president said Tuesday night during his final State of the Union address. "It betrays who we are as a country."
Ahmad, head of the Islamic Society of Greater Portland, was invited to the address by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. - one of more than a dozen members of Congress to invite a Muslim as a guest.
Ahmad won a community leadership award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2009 for helping the bureau understand Islam and communicate with Oregon's Muslim community. She serves on advisory boards for the World Affairs Council of Oregon and the Muslim Educational Trust and helps lead the Human Rights Council of Washington County.
We spoke with Ahmad briefly after the president's speech to ask about the experience. Her responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
How did it feel to be in the room when President Obama said anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions betray the country's values?
For me, as a Muslim, I was crying. At the end of the speech I just sobbed, and it wasn't only me. I didn't expect to act like that, to be emotional. I've been here 49 years. I felt more American than ever.
He stood for what this country believes in. The fathers that made the constitution of this country provided freedom and liberty for all. The constitution says 'we the people.' Just to hear the president speak and give the confidence and the support for Muslims - I said, 'This is America the beautiful.' The constitution is a brick wall we have to protect and lean on. You couldn't help but love this country.
Salma Ahmad and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., in Washington, D.C., before the president's final State of the Union address.
You were one of more than a dozen Muslims invited by members of Congress. What message do you hope your presence sends?
They wanted to show the voters, 'This Muslim contributes to society.' We were invited there to show that the Muslims do good and the Muslims are good people.
Inviting me is not just about me. I'm just Salma Ahmad. I'm just an ordinary house wife. But who I represent is an American Muslim from a different ethnicity, and a woman. There are so many American Muslim women. I just happen to be Salma Ahmad. But for me all the Muslim women in Beaverton and Washington County are Salma Ahmads.
What did you learn from this experience - whether it's something from the speech or from the rest of your time in D.C.?
I told (Bonamici's) staff, I was laughing, 'Every penny I pay in taxes is worth it. Because it's working here.' I saw it with my eyes how my tax money is working.
The majority of the people I met - almost about 20 or 30 congressmen and women and staff - they truly work for the people. There's no country in the world that functions like we do. We are stronger than ever. We are safer than ever, compared to other countries. All the rhetoric that's going on with candidates is so selfish - they are only after what they can gain.
I do my best to represent my country and represent my faith. I tell other girls the same thing: You have to be an example and do something for this country. This country is good.
-- Melissa Binder
mbinder@oregonian.com
503-294-7656
@binderpdx