The September 11th attack
Hotel executive carrying voice of Islam in Hawai'i
By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Write
Hakim Ouansafi's precise yet lyrical voice floats through the sound system and over the Muslims in the Manoa mosque. In the former residence, men pray in one room, women in another. All respond with exact movements as the Arabic words signal them to alternately stand, facing Mecca, or kneel and touch their foreheads to the prayer rugs. Ouansafi's voice resonates a calming energy, and belies the exhaustion he feels in his newly prominent — and largely unchosen — role as spokesman for the Muslim community.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
It is 6:38 p.m. and Ouansafi is directing the five-minute prayer for the third time today. In a typical day, he rises at 5 a.m. and conducts the first prayer, then goes to the Aston Aloha Surf Hotel, where he is general manager.
Hakim Ouansafi and his wife, Michele, work long hours each day to help dispel myths about Islam. However, he says, he wishes it was under better circumstances.
After work and a quick break at lunch to lead the noon prayer, he returns to the mosque for the fourth of five daily prayers. This demanding schedule doesn't even take into account speaking engagements and interviews, nor the 100 or so e-mails and numerous phone calls he has been answering each day. On this particular evening, his day would end no earlier than 9 p.m., when he would finally eat dinner and begin returning more than 60 phone messages.
Before leading the prayer, Ouansafi, 37, sat on the floor of the mosque and sighed. Asked how many hours a night he had slept since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he smiled and said quietly, "Not enough."
Servant of God
Acting as president of the Muslim Association of Hawai'i is a volunteer job. But since the tragedy, answering the community's demand for information about Islam has become more than a second full-time appointment. It has become a mission.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I just look at myself as a servant of God, of the truth," he said. "I didn't approach this thinking that I'm a leader, though I know I lead my community." He welcomes the opportunity to dispel myths about his religion and way of life, but added, "I just wish it were under better circumstances."
Michele and Hakim Ouansafi met while in college in Rhode Island. They came to Hawai‘i four years ago when Hakim’s employer transferred him to Kaua‘i.
Dressed in slacks and an aloha shirt, and periodically consulting his Palm Pilot, he explained how it all started. About a year ago, he was asked to become president of the Muslim Association of Hawai'i, a position he did not seek. However, he agreed to serve. After the terrorist attacks, his horror provoked him to act. He sent letters to the press and the public in an attempt to correct misconceptions about Islam. The subsequent barrage surprised him. He was asked to speak at the prayer service at the state Capitol, then at another in Punchbowl. Reporters consulted him. Teachers invited him to speak to their classes. Community groups requested his presence and expertise. Individuals conveyed their support and asked him to help them understand.
The Rev. Dr. Ted Robinson said he invited Ouansafi to speak on a recent Sunday at Central Union Church, where Robinson is senior minister, because so many people in the congregation had inquired about Islam. "He has a genuine sense of humility about him," Robinson said. "He is so well spoken and bright. And he is a genuinely caring individual." Seeing a person who transcended a picture in the newspaper or a voice on television affected the congregation. The response? A heartfelt round of applause, said Robinson, who added that some people even stood and clapped when Ouansafi finished speaking.
"It was very moving and very touching," Robinson said. "It was certainly a way of people saying, 'we support you, and we want you to know that.' "
Ouansafi's gentle manner and soft, measured tone emphasize the caring element of his personality. But confidence and passion are also evident.
"The tragedy is just heartbreaking," he said. "You combine that with the misunderstandings ... a second form of terrorism, hating other people just because they happen to speak Arabic. So the sadness increases. That's when faith kicks in."
Encapsulated analyses, he says, are wholly inadequate. "What people know about Islam is CNN Islam. It puts in your heart the desire to go out and inform."
Creating deeper understanding, however, requires time-consuming, individual contact. Often, this means time away from home. Michele Ouansafi, his wife of 12 years, however, has not only supported him, she has joined his mission.
"If you take away the ignorance and fear, then you have tolerance," said Michele Ouansafi, who dresses in the traditional hijab (head covering) and long, robe-like garments. She is mostly of French Canadian descent, and a 1989 convert to Islam.
The 37-year-old who wears a toe ring below her pink-painted toenails has a master's degree in international business and works full time as a contracts administrator for Earth Tech, an environmental firm.
Much is expected
The couple, who have no children, met while attending college in Rhode Island. Hakim Ouansafi earned a math degree in Morocco, but after moving to Rhode Island, decided to earn a computer science degree. After finding his way into the hotel business, they came to Hawai'i four years ago when he was transferred to Kaua'i from a property in New Jersey. Two years ago, they moved to O'ahu and he joined the Aston.
Advertiser library photo • Sept. 14, 2001
"I think he's handling it well," she said of the added stress the weeks since Sept. 11 have brought. "It has put an enormous amount of pressure on him. I think he feels a great sense of responsibility to his community, to his religion, to the people of the United States. He's always had a strong sense of duty." She paused. "To those that God gives much, much is expected. If you've been given a gift that people listen to you because you speak from your heart, then that's your responsibility, regardless of whether or not you have the time."
Hawai‘i Muslims offer each other the taslim, a greeting of peace, during evening prayer at the mosque in Manoa.
But he is only one person, and though he tries to return every call, he recently requested help from others in the Muslim community.
"The phones the first two weeks were just ringing off the hook," said Michael Egan, a computer-assisted-design and drafting manager, and the financial secretary for the Muslim Association of Hawai'i.
"Hakim did most of the answering the first week and then he was just overwhelmed and asked me to help him. And we're all volunteers. So I sneak from work to listen to the messages. We try to make contact with everybody." Nearly all of the calls, he said, have been supportive.
Egan said that the need to make contact — and, it is hoped, educate — runs deep. "Because there are no more prophets, it is the duty of the Muslims to bring this message, so what we are doing is part of bringing this message. It's not that we are seeking the limelight. It's our job, and we as a community need to pull together and get something done."
English is Ouansafi's fourth language, behind Arabic (he speaks seven dialects, including Moroccan), French and Spanish, eliciting admiration from people close to him. "It's quite an accomplishment to deal so well in a crisis time in another language," said Egan, a former Catholic who converted to Islam in 1993. "Allah gave him wonderful abilities, and he's using them quite well."
Right person for the job
Still, the team struggles at times to respond to everyone who has been thoughtful enough to call or write. Their desire to dissipate "fears that can fuel hysteria" motivates them, said Rashid Abdullah, a systems analyst who serves as the mosque's information officer.
"Fortunately we have been afforded the opportunity to speak about Islam in a positive manner," he said. Though he also wishes he could do more, Abdullah credited Ouansafi for taking charge.
"I think Hakim is doing an excellent job," he said. "We couldn't have asked for a better person to be in this position at this time. He has that innate ability to motivate and respond, and he's a highly respected individual in the business community and the Islamic community."
Abdullah acknowledged that as Muslims, "we've got (political and religious) issues all over the place." But, he says, their quest to inform others about the true nature of Islam must start at home. "We're going to have more and more outreach opportunities," he said. "You'll probably see the Muslim community become a lot more visible."
One person who has already become more visible is Michele Ouansafi, originally from Vermont. She has worn the hijab more since the terrorist attacks. "I think it's important for me to stand out," she said. "This is the only way that people will know I'm Muslim."
Her husband added, "Plus, she loves me and wants to support me."
She returned the smile. "And part of me is a little stubborn. Why does putting a scarf around my head make me any different from anyone else? It's just a piece of material."
Regarding her husband's expanded duties, she said, "I understand why it has to happen. He's not doing it so he can't spend time with me. I understand his obligation, and I'm proud of him for standing up to his responsibilities."
Michele Ouansafi recalled a visit from a Palestinian girl a few days earlier. The girl came to Hakim Ouansafi and told him that she had been afraid to emerge from her home since Sept. 11. Then the girl said to him, "Since I saw you, I know I don't have anything to be ashamed about. You gave me courage to come out." Tears pooled in Michele Ouansafi's eyes as she told the story. Then she looked at her husband and said, "I can see that he's made a difference."
Hakim Ouansafi seemed to both welcome and deflect the compliment when he said: "I have two choices. I can put my head in the sand or I can go out and tell people what Islam is about."
