wfn.org | Muslim leaders fear terror attacks will revive anti-Islamic

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Note #6834 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

sentiment
12-September-2001
01317

Muslim leaders fear terror attacks will revive anti-Islamic sentiment

by Shelvia Dancy
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON - As the nation struggles to rouse itself from the nightmare of
car bombings and plane hijackings across the country, some Muslim
organizations fear a revival of anti-Muslim sentiment that surfaced in
similar terrorist attacks - including a 1993 bombing at the World Trade
Center.

	"Muslims are going to be a target because of the Middle East situation -
and also what's going on in Iraq and in Afghanistan," said Farkhunda Ali, of
the American Muslim Council. "Fingers will be pointed at us because of what
happened in Oklahoma City."

	What happened in Oklahoma City in 1995 is what Ali fears Muslims will
re-live now: Muslims bore the blame for the federal city bombing that killed
168 people, but an investigation later identified American Timothy McVeigh
as the culprit.

	Following the bombing, "Arab Americans were harassed and targeted in
several communities across the United States," noted the Arab American
Institute. "We urge our fellow citizens not to rush to judgment and point
their fingers at their Arab-American neighbors and colleagues who are
suffering, like all Americans, from these despicable acts."

	Ali said she was encouraged that media reports "have been pretty objective
so far."

	"No one is trying to target one group immediately, and that's one thing
that's different so far," she said. "I think the media learned its lesson
after McVeigh - they haven't rushed to judgment this time."

	Both the media and the general public should be cautious about spreading
blame, said Salam Al-Marayati, national director of the Muslim Public
Affairs Council.

	"It's still early, all the facts are not in yet," he said. "The concern is
that there will be opportunists trying to slam Islam, so we always have our
doubts until all the facts are known."

	The attacks may cause "a rocky road" for Muslims, said Ibrahim Hooper,
communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

	"We've had Muslim women postal carriers call in and ask what they should
do, and we recommended that they call their offices and ask to come back to
the office," said Hooper, whose group also suggested that Muslims donate
blood and help with recovery efforts. "We've suggested that people ask for
police protection at their mosques - I think it's gonna get worse before it
gets better."

	The council released a statement pointing out that Muslims reported more
than 200 incidents of harassment and violence in the days following the
Oklahoma City bombing, and advised Muslims who wear Islamic attire to
"consider staying out of public areas for the immediate future" and guard
mosque "entrances and park areas during prayer times."

	The same safety concerns have come from the Muslim Public Affairs Council,
which has issued a statement urging Muslims to "report any suspicious
behavior and threats to law enforcement," Al-Marayati said.

	"A lot of people are contacting law enforcement officials to ask for
tightened security in mosques and Muslim schools," said Al-Marayati, noting
that police seemed to be sympathetic to those concerns.

	Radio talk shows have also spurred complaints, he added.

	"We've got some complaints about radio talk show hosts saying that this is
an Islamic terrorist act - they're stereotyping Islam because of it," he
said.

	The public should remember that Muslims, too, suffered in the attacks, said
Aly Abuzaakouk, executive director of the American Muslim Council.

	"We need people to remember that American Muslims are also the victims of
what is happening today - there were American Muslims in the World Trade
Center, American Muslims in the Pentagon," he said. "American Muslims are as
much a part of America as anyone else."

	A statement from the American Muslim Political Coordination Council
condemned "what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism
against innocent civilians."

	"We join with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and
punishment of the perpetrators," declared the group, comprised of the
American Muslim Alliance, the American Muslim Council, the Muslim Public
Affairs Council, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "No
political cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts."

	The attacks "go beyond any religious legitimacy or validation," Al-Marayati
said.

	"These are acts committed by criminals and nothing any decent human being
could reconcile with any religion," he said.

	He added, "We have to look for the individuals responsible for these crimes
and attacks against our country and not blame a whole religion or people."

	Christian leaders echoed that sentiment.

	Blaming Islam would be succumbing to "a perverted kind of religious
racism," said Clive Calver, president of the humanitarian group World
Relief.

	"Muslim fundamentalism and Islam are not the same thing," he said. "There
have been horrors in the U.S. - Oklahoma, Waco - and nobody says those
incidents represent all Americans. People understand that those are
extremists. We have to give Muslims the same benefit."
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