Even better, the one I happened upon was the one I had hoped to find: in defense of Muslims against Serbian aggression. The sponsors were local mosques and a collection of secular Muslim organizations.
There were about 300 people in all, young and old, male and female, almost none Caucasian. Arabs, Pakistanis, and African-Americans. Many of the women wore wraps on their heads, but only a couple had their faces veiled. Those of student age looked like any other students -- t-shirts, Nike trademarks, etc. There was a security force of African-Americans who were in plain sight but completely laid back, unthreatening. No sign of any Nation of Islam/Fruit of Islam.
The speakers were good. They focused entirely on the aggression against Muslims. ("Mi-lo-se-vich, you can't hide; we charge you with genocide.") There was no call for bombing Serbia (but see below), and no call for ending the bombing either. Various speakers inveighed against nationalism of all types, and against all other types of chauvinism, emphasizing the universalist nature of Islam and its interrelationship with Christianity and Judaism. One speaker said that they would be there if this was happening to somebody else, which I rather doubt. (Nobody white black or otherwise demonstrated while Rwandans were being slaughtered, as far as I know.) One speaker, an African-American, said NATO was not helping them out of humanitarian motives, so it was up to Muslims to take the initiative. (See my other post for more on this.) There was nothing explicit in the speeches that would offend any left sensibility, unless you count a stated willingness to give military service, "as Americans," to liberate Kosovo.
There was nobody who was an obvious KLA person (e.g, no buttons, etc.), though a few signs called for arming the KLA. Various speakers and assorted signs called for the introduction of ground troops to safeguard Kosovo. Signs compared Milo to Hitler. There was no trace of anti-Serbian chauvinism. A speaker denounced the practice of forced conversion to any religion, citing the rule of the Ottoman Turks as a positive example of this principle. (I can't speak for the veracity of that citation.)
Historical analysis aside, I was impressed with the speakers' cosmopolitan message. Unfortunately, it was undercut by the practice of having some sort of Islamic prayer or slogan between each speech, and during the speeches. I can't say whether it was all Arabic, though "Allah ahkbar" (spelling?) was plain enough. When the rally was over, the men and women were split up for formal prayer. A good number of demonstrators declined to pray, lounging or chatting on the sidelines. So in its own way this rally had the quasi-anarchic tenor of typical left demonstrations.
The demands listed on the demonstration's leaflet were:
"Use ground troops and sustain NATO military action until total Serbian withdrawal;
Return the Kosovars to their homeland in peace, dignity, and security;
Recognize the Kosovars right to decide their own future;
Arm the Kosovars to defend themselves;
Arrest and try war criminals."
Obviously 'sustain NATO military action' is a euphemism for supporting the bombing, or whatever else NATO does, though see my cross-post of the Margolis article. The sponsors web site includes statements from the "Kosova Task Force," who were calling for air strikes weeks ago, after ethnic cleansing had begun. They usually urge bombing the Yugoslav military, though in at least one statement they urge bombing the "Milosevich government." In one place, they also say, if the U.S. can bomb Baghdad with impunity, why not Belgrade? The web site is www.justiceforall.org.
I buttonholed a girl collecting signatures for a petition denouncing Serb aggression. She was dressed in a robe and head wrap, and had a valley-girl American accent. I asked if there was some kind of informational flyer for those interested in helping, and she handed me a brochure for some kind of foundation. It didn't look very political. After the rally I accosted one of the speakers, who could have been a student. I asked him if they had tried to get any left support. He began looking towards the left side of the field in confusion. Finally I made myself more clear and he acted as I had suggested that Martians be sought for assistance. He was friendly in any case and handed me the leaflet which is excerpted above.
Given the sponsorship of the rally, there does not appear to have been any effort to draw any non-Muslims into the event. This was a very insular affair. Almost no literature on display or being passed around. I mentioned the religious framework of the event, notwithstanding the very humanistic, universalist portrayal of Islam in the speeches.
Somebody has mentioned that Kosovo could fracture the U.S. left. I'm afraid this is much too reductionist. Kosovo can fracture the left internationally. It can also divide Arabs. (One speaker cursed Saddam for maintaining diplomatic relations with Serbia.) Jews are already divided on it. African-Americans will be as this continues, though the more salient possibility is a widening of the existing rift, if that's possible, between the U.S. left and African-Americans.
The political tragedy of all this is that you could float through this affair and agree with most of what you heard, then do likewise at an anti-bombing demo. Doubtless the latter would focus on the plight of Serbians, either those brutalized in Kosovo by Muslims or bombing victims, and avert its eyes from the Muslims (as this demo did, but in reverse).
The demonstration I'd most like to see is one with two simple demands:
stop bombing Serbian civilians safeguard an independent Kosovo, by any means necessary
My sympathy for the demo I attended today is premised on the possibility that the people I saw are closer to the above view than the participants of the other demonstration. Obviously I could be wrong; if I learn otherwise, I'll let you know.
mbs