Here’s yet another TV interview with the Mayor Hameeduddin, this time on CNN in which he and two others discuss the recent rise in “Islamophopia” in the US. I think he makes some excellent points about the appropriate response to all the vile demagoguery that has bubbled to the surface since the 2008 election. He also reinforces the message of Teaneck as an exceptional place that embraces diversity, which, while not always true in practice, is an excellent way to promote Teaneck to the rest of the US and the world.
Initially, when Mohammed started getting asked weigh in on television about all issues related to Islam, I feared that, through the law of unintended consequences, he’d been thrust into the unenviable position of being a public spokesman for all of Islam, like Yusef Islam (aka Cat Stevens) has been.
So far, he’s doing a great job, but it’s a heavy burden to bear and there are many unseen landmines out there. For his sake, the town ought to consider paying for a good PR consultant to help him refine his message. The payback would come from having him be able to promote Teaneck as an oasis of tolerance in an increasingly bigoted world. If, as they say, "no publicity is bad publicity", then this type of great publicity would be a wonderful thing.
