[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1452]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   WELCOME TO IMAM BASSAM A. ESTWANI, DAR AL-HIJRAH ISLAMIC CENTER, 
                           HERNDON, VIRGINIA

  (Mr. THOMAS M. DAVIS of Virginia asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMAS M. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank 
Mr. Imam Bassam A. Estwani for joining us today as the guest chaplain 
and offering this morning's prayer. He is the chairman of the board of 
the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, which is one of the Nation's most 
active and influential mosques, located in the 11th Congressional 
District, which I represent. He has participated in many international 
conferences that focus on Islam and religious values in America. He has 
been instrumental in bringing members of different faith communities 
together to promote social justice.
  Mr. Estwani is a native of Syria. He has a law degree from the 
University of Damascus. He studied Islamic law in Damascus and at the 
University of Cairo. In Kuwait, Mr. Estwani participated in the 
publication of the Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence. In Lebanon, 
he established an Islamic publishing house that produced more than 200 
titles in a number of different languages. He also participated in and 
sponsored relief and literacy programs for orphans and the homeless in 
this country and overseas.
  The American Muslim community is growing, both in Northern Virginia 
and around this country, numbering over 6 million Americans today. I am 
very proud to represent one of the largest concentrations of American 
Muslims, who have chosen Northern Virginia as their home; and we are 
just very, very proud to have you offer the prayer today.

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