|
ADC Press Release - September 11, 2007
ADC Commemorates Sixth Anniversary of 9/11
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) joined the nation and millions of people worldwide in marking the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. ADC remembered the day by observing a coordinated moment of silence with its offices in Washington, Boston, New Jersey, and Michigan. Additionally, the ADC held a special event in Dearborn, Michigan, which is home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the nation.
The ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora, in a statement said, "We will never forget that horrible Tuesday morning six years ago and today we join the world in honoring all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. ADC also reiterates its opposition to and condemnation of those who would attack our country or any innocent civilians regardless of whom the perpetrators may be."
Shora added, "ADC pledges to continue to be actively involved in protecting and strengthening our country and all the values for which it stands. ADC will continue to stand against anyone intent on harming our Constitutional values of due process, equal protection, and justice under the rule of law."
CAIR Bulletin – Sept. 10, 2007
9/11 evokes painful memories for U.S. Muslims
By Danette Zaghari-Mask
On the anniversary of 9/11, the memory of those once full of life evoke painful thoughts. I cringe at the panic that they must have endured, and join the mourning of fellow Americans who lost loved ones.
Even if we did not know someone directly effected by the tragedy, we know where we were when the towers fell or when the Pentagon was hit.
I delivered my first child 13 days after 9/11. In the days leading up to his birth, I wept.
I wept as a human, as an American and as a Muslim sickened by the reports of militants who claimed "victory" under the banner of Islam.
I gave birth and then cried as a mother for having endured, only to bring a new life into such a troubled world.
Since that time, opportunities have arisen to speak to my fellow Americans about Islam and Muslims. I, like millions of Muslims across the world, stood in solidarity against terrorism and a firm conviction that Islam, by its very definition, rejects terrorism.
Islam is an Arabic word that translates as "peace through submission to God."
Those who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks did not discriminate between people of different faiths; rather, they discriminated against every person who did not submit to their twisted ideology.
The perpetrators of 9/11, and those with an agenda to silence the moderate Muslim majority, want us all to believe that Islam itself is the instigator of terror. If we can defeat those ideas in our own minds, we can defeat the mesmerizing effect of those who seek interfaith division and discord.
There are an estimated 1.2 billion Muslims in the world who overwhelmingly desire peace and look to Islam for inspiration.
I am teaching my son the Quran, the Muslim holy book. He is learning that if someone kills another it is "as though he has slain all mankind, and he who saved one life should be regarded as though he has saved the lives of all mankind" (5:32).
He is learning the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad: "The best jihad is saying a word of truth in the court of an unjust ruler" and a believer is one "in whom all of mankind has a sanctuary for its life and property."
Today, I have more optimism and more reasons to be hopeful than six years ago.
My son celebrated his birthday early this year with contagious courage and spirit. His smile is so wide I think sometimes it will touch the creases of his brown eyes.
He and all of our children are, after all, the possibility beyond the borderline that creates "us" and "them." The memory of 9/11 motivates me to raise my son to achieve his full potential.
Our children are seeds of peace and, with the right nurturing, future friends of peace.
[Danette Zaghari-Mask is executive director of the Orlando chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Orlando).
http://www.cair.com/Chapters.aspx#Orlando]
Orange County Register – Sept. 11, 2007
CAIR-CA rep reflects on effects of 9/11
Munira Syeda
Scurrying about my Berkeley apartment six years ago, I was preparing to leave for a journalism conference in Lake Tahoe. I turned on the TV, and noticed morning news programs running footage of the collapsing Twin Towers. On first impulse, I dismissed the coverage as a faraway international disaster.
Soon, reality hit me. Grief over loss of 3,000 innocent lives replaced indifference, and then quickly gave way to fear. I cringed, secretly praying - God, don't let it be Muslims. Before long, America learned al-Qaida was behind the attacks.
Over the years, I have spent considerable time educating co-workers, friends and strangers about the basic tenets of Islam, its principles of respect, brotherhood, establishment of human rights and peace and justice. However, I have also observed tremendous backlash against all things Muslim.
From prejudice to discrimination to outright hatred, the American Muslim community has been targeted frequently by a minority who view American Muslims as the "other." In fact, a USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted last year shows strong feelings against Muslims. Nearly 40 percent of the respondents claimed having at least some prejudice toward Muslims. Another estimated 40 percent also favored having Muslims bear special identification to prevent future terror attacks on our soil.
Despite that, there also has been much support and sympathy offered to the Muslim community after 9/11. Japanese Americans, the Latino and African American communities, Christian, Jewish and other faith observers have stood by Muslims during difficult times. They too had personally experienced, or witnessed discrimination and prejudice promoted against various other minorities. Native Americans were driven out of their homeland, Blacks were enslaved and segregated against, and Japanese Americans were interned. As new immigrants, Jews, Asians, Italians and Catholics weren't treated any better either.
As I write this column, I ponder the post 9/11 world we live in. I think about the irrational fear that has gripped us and impacts our judgment. The continued civil rights violations and the controversial Patriot Act, the aggressive call for profiling of Muslims and Arabs at airports and other places, the misadventure in Iraq, and the political turmoil the Bush Administration is embroiled in are all examples of this fear.
We proudly claim how 9/11 has not changed us or our values. Let us look around, though. We are now a nation consumed by an alarming level of polarization. The Democrat and the Republican split, the pro-war/anti-war camps, and the conservative versus liberal factions are a symptom of the deeper unrest and anxiety challenging our society.
Nonetheless, I believe in America as a great country for not only Muslims but people of all backgrounds and colors. Our nation's greatness lies in the founding principles of pluralism, inclusion and equality for all.
Americans used to converse with each other. We used to dialogue. Now, we bicker. We compete in who can shout louder. We feel so threatened by the other side that we quickly attempt to silence it.
We must change our ways. We must make a concerted effort to change our un-American policies and attitudes. Otherwise, we will have allowed al-Qaida to redefine America, and not for the better.
[Munira Syeda is Communications Coordinator for Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area.]
http://www.ocregister.com/life/style-span-font-1840625-bold-weight
MPAC Bulletin – Sept. 11, 2007
9/11: Six years later
Six years after 9/11, the Muslim American community pauses to solemnly remember and honor the 3,000 Americans who lost their lives in the ghastly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Each year, Americans turn their eyes to Ground Zero, where our nation's leaders join the survivors and families of those killed in the attacks to read aloud the names of all the victims and to join in periods of silence to mark the exact times the Twin Towers were hit. 9/11 did indeed change the world as we know it. As we commemorate those who lost their lives, we must also take stock of our nation's response to this act of unprecedented terror and to the implications for the Muslim American community.
In six years, the Bush administration went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Congress hastily passed the USA PATRIOT Act which infringed on the civil rights of Americans of all backgrounds, the CIA conducted a domestic surveillance program jeopardizing the privacy of all Americans, and the global threat of terrorism has expanded rather than been contained.
In the aftermath of the attacks, the Bush administration declared a "war on terrorism" which sought to bring Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda to justice, and led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Al-Qaeda had no presence in Iraq before the U.S. invasion, but recent reports indicate that
Al-Qaeda now uses Iraq as a base for recruitment. Meanwhile, Congress continues to deliberate the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq and the mounting loss of human life.
There are many voices on both sides of the political and religious spectrum who are calling for a change in our nation's approach to the global fight against terrorism. Military intervention and covert intelligence forces cannot be relied upon exclusively to make us safer. Our policymakers have neglected a crucial ingredient to enhancing our security inside our borders and beyond.
While the 9/11 Commission Report "unequivocally exonerated the Muslim American community from any link with perpetrators of terrorist attacks", the Muslim American community has been increasingly stigmatized since 9/11 which undermines our efforts to create partnerships between them and law enforcement. Let us not forget that following the attacks, 80,000 Arab and Muslim immigrants were fingerprinted and registered in the name of "preventing terrorism". While it is imperative to make America safer, we must not do so by the erosion of those civil liberties that
make this country great. The issues of privacy, presumption of innocence, and judicial oversight of domestic intelligence gathering remain ideals in the post 9/11 era.
In Congressional testimony he offered this spring, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff stated, "It is critical that we recognize that American Muslims have been, and will continue to be, a highly valued part of the fabric of our Nation. American Muslims have been
outspoken in their opposition to terrorist violence and have been strong contributors to our country for many generations."
Muslim Americans are all too aware that they play a critical role in the ideological struggle against terrorism by directly countering the culture of suicide terrorism. MPAC and the Muslim American community are committed to working with law enforcement and decision makers to make America safer by building our nation's credibility around the world and partnering with diverse communities to create inclusion and dialogue.
[Edina Lekovic is the Communications Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.]
|
|
