When 9-11 happened, Tom Watkins was Michigan’s state superintendent of schools and on that day, he was on a government retreat with colleague Victor Ghalib Begg, a practicing Muslim. As Watkins writes in an op-ed for Michigan Adavance, “Everyone in the country remained glued to their TVs, trying to make sense of what had just happened. What did it mean? That included me — a Roman Catholic — and Victor, a practicing Muslim from India who had found the American Dream in Michigan.”
Victor Begg has since told his life story in a new book, Our Muslim Neighbors — Achieving the American Dream: An Immigrant’s Memoir. Which, as the author says, is a “summary of my journey to build a better future for my family and our community. Along the way, I found America’s promise is true for those who believe in it.”
Tom Watkins writes that “in an era of heightened anti-Muslim bigotry” his friend’s story provides “a window into family, community and spiritual values of ordinary families in America.” In the book, Victor argues passionately that “getting to know our neighbors is one way to allay the current anxiety in a world with a rising tide of extremism, both domestic and foreign.”
Victor, who is both Muslim and a Republican, writes about these apparent contradictions and how he believes in a “person-to-person approach” to connect with what is seemingly ‘foreign.’ And as he says, “By doing so, we find our common humanity.”
