Husham Al-Husainy is an Iraqi-American Sheikh

Sheikh

Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...

 of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, a Shia mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 servicing largely people of Iraqi and Lebanese descent in Dearborn, Michigan

Dearborn, Michigan

-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...

. Al-Husainy arrived in the United States in the late 1970s as Saddam Hussein was rising into power. He is a spokesman of the Iraqi expatriate community in America. During the American occupation of Iraq, Al-Husainy has gone from supporting the toppling of Hussein's regime to criticizing the continued occupation as inciting more bloodshed. He has also spoken out against women leading prayer in the wake of Amina Wadud

Amina Wadud

Amina Wadud is an American scholar of Islam with a progressive focus on Qur'an exegesis . As an Islamic feminist, she has addressed mixed-sex congregations, giving a sermon in South Africa in 1994, and leading Friday prayers in the United States in 2005...

 leading prayer in New York in 2005.

Karbaala Islamic Education Center

Imam Husham Al-Husainy has been active in community affairs for more than 25 years in the metro-Detroit area. He is the Director of the karbalaa Islamic Education Center. The Imam has been involved in many domestic and international meetings. He is always in contact with the Iraqi refugees that seek services at his center. A community of about 15,000 Iraqis that migrated from Saudi Arabia and the surrounding countries has improved rapidly over the short period of time as residents. Since the fall of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein the Iraqis at home have been given a chance to go back to their homeland and visit their families. Imam Husham al-huainy's vision to build and maintain services for the growing community has been quite a challenge, although with the help of the Muslim communities in Dearborn, and the cities surrounding Michigan they have become one of the most influential mosques in the region.

Politics

Many of the Arab-Americans in Michigan were generally associated with Republican policies prior to September 11, 2001 and the Iraq War. However, the Iraq War turned opinions against the Republicans to a degree. Al-Hussainy was invited to give the invocation to the Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

's Annual Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 in 2006, which generated minor controversy later. As the assembled Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 bowed their heads, Al-Husainy prayed:

In the name of God the most merciful, the most compassionate. We thank you, God, to bless us among your creations. We thank you, God, to make us as a great nation. We thank you God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Mohammed. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us, God, to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Ameen.

Al-Husainy's attendance was criticized by conservative writer Debbie Schlussel

Debbie Schlussel

Debbie Schlussel is an American attorney, film critic, political commentator, and a conservative blogger who focuses particularly on Islam and American Muslims. Her writing frequently targets the largely Muslim population of the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, which she refers to as "Dearbornistan"...

. However, Al-Husainy has cooperated with the United States on security measures for instance in a recent case where it has been alleged that Detroit area resident, Najib Shemami, was a spy.

External links

• Imam prays to stop 'oppression and occupation' at DNC meeting
• DHinMI at dailykos follows Al-Husainy's published views of the Iraq War in Bush Alienates the Imam in 7 Easy Steps published Fri Aug 13, 2004 at 05:04:44 PM PDT (Accessed May 17, 2007)here