Doctor works to counter negative Muslim images

Last spring, while some native Tennesseans were leading a protest against construction of a mosque, naturalized U.S. citizen Nadeem Zafar was leading his fellow Asian Americans in a Memphis food drive.

Several weeks ago, while some rural politicos were distributing flyers opposing the appointment of a native Middle Tennessean (and Muslim) to the governor’s cabinet, Zafar and his fellow Pakistani physicians were distributing food to hungry people in rural West Tennessee.

Last month, while congressional candidates near Nashville were pandering to information-starved voters by waging a rhetorical war on Islam, Zafar and his fellow Memphis-area Muslims were fasting and praying and collecting money for the cash-starved Mid-South Food Bank.

“After 9/11, because of the actions of a few terrorists, all Muslim Americans were in the spotlight,” said Zafar, who is director of the Pathology Residency Program at the UT Health Science Center.

“I think it’s important for us as Muslim Americans not only to talk about the good we can do but to show it. We want to change perceptions. We want to show people that we are here to help.”

Helping to feed hungry people is a good place to start.

The Mid-South Food Bank estimates that one in five Shelby County residents don’t have enough food to meet basic needs. A third of them don’t qualify for food stamps. About a third of the “food insecure” are children.

This year, the Food Bank hopes to distribute about 15 million pounds of food and other groceries in its 31-county service area. Agency officials estimate the actual need is about 25 million pounds.

“The need is constant,” said Estella Mayhue-Greer, Food Bank president and CEO. “As soon as the food comes in, it goes right back out.”

Zafar, a U.S. citizen since 2008, and his fellow Pakistani physicians don’t just feed the hungry. They also tend to the sick. Next weekend, the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America will administer free flu shots around the country.

“The Asian-American community has benefited much from America, and for many it is important to contribute back to the community,” said Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease physician and member of the Greater Memphis Asian American and Pacific Islander Task Force.

Zafar and his wife, Dr. Seema Abbasi, a pediatrician, also volunteer at the Memphis Muslim Medical Clinic (MMMC) on Stratford. Since opening in 1996, the weekend clinic and its medical volunteers have managed more than 4,000 patient visits.

Though it is financed entirely by private donations from the Muslim community, it serves people of all faiths.

Last month, the clinic was recognized at the Methodist Healthcare Foundation’s 2012 Living Awards banquet for its commitment to faith and healing.

MMMC’s mission is:

“To provide comprehensive healthcare, educational and social services to individuals and families, including medically underserved populations, without regard to race, creed, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, health status, veteran status or (within the economic resources available to the Corporation) ability to pay, while conducting itself, at all times, in accordance with Islamic values and principles as understood by the consensus of the Muslim communities.”

That “consensus” would include more than a billion Muslims around the world, and millions here in America. It would not include terrorists and politically motivated radicals.

That distinction still seems lost on too many since 9/11. Zafar understands. So he and his fellow Memphis-area Muslims are working to show there is a world of difference between a terrorist and a Muslim.

Zafar, now a Food Bank board member, has enlisted the Association of Pakistani Physicians in organizing similar food drives around the country. He’s also working with Masjid Al-Mu’Minun, the city’s oldest mosque on South Third, to open a food pantry. It will become the first Muslim food pantry in the country to be associated with the Food Bank network.

“There’s no religion that does not promote feeding of the poor,” Zafar said.