[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF IMAM OMAR SULEIMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2019

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
thank Imam Omar Suleiman for offering the opening prayer before the 
House of Representatives this afternoon.
  Imam Suleiman is a world renowned scholar and theologically driven 
activist for human rights. He is the Founder and President of the 
Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a professor of Islamic 
Studies at Southern Methodist University. He's also the resident 
scholar of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center and Co-Chair Emeritus of 
Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square, a multi-faith coalition 
of clergy for peace and justice. He frequently writes for CNN, USA 
Today, The Guardian, HuffPo, and The Dallas Morning News.
  His career started in his hometown of New Orleans where he served as 
the Imam of the Jefferson Muslim Association in New Orleans for 6 years 
and directed the ``Muslims for Humanity'' Hurricane Katrina Relief 
effort. It was during this time that he was recognized on a national 
level as being a strong advocate of community service, interfaith 
dialogue, and social justice. He co-founded the East Jefferson 
Interfaith Clergy Association and was awarded for his outstanding civic 
achievement by the Mayor and City Council of New Orleans in 2010. He's 
also the founder of MUHSEN, a non-profit umbrella organization serving 
the community to establish a more inclusive ``Special Friendly'' 
environment for our brothers & sisters of all disabilities.
  In July 2016, he marched with demonstrators in Dallas against the 
killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In the wake of the 
tragic shooting of officers after that protest, he was chosen to lead 
the invocation at the Presidential memorial alongside former Presidents 
Barack Obama and George W. Bush. The D-Magazine published a feature on 
him titled ``The Religious Leader Dallas Needs.'' His work in bringing 
people together was the subject of a BBC documentary in 2016, and work 
with refugees in Syria featured in PBS in January 2017, and in 2016, he 
was a recipient of the United Nations Global Goals Award with Faith 
Forward Dallas. He led the airport protests in Dallas against President 
Trump's Muslim ban in 2017; led a group of clergy to the Mexico border 
that intercepted a bus of children taken from their parents under the 
family separation policy; and has worked closely with the families of 
the victims of police brutality to amplify their cause. Most recently, 
he was recognized by CNN as one ofthe 25 most influential Muslims in 
America and included amongst the Frederick Douglass 200 most 
influential Americans whose modern day work embodies the legacy of the 
great abolitionist.

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