CounterPunch
Special Report:
9/11 One Year After
September
7 / 8, 2002
How American
Muslims Really Responded to the Events of September 11
by Riad Z. Abdelkarim
and Jason Erb
As our nation approaches the one-year anniversary
of the September 11 terrorist attacks, American Muslims around
the country will join their fellow citizens in pausing and reflecting
upon the horrors of that day and its aftermath. Some media pundits
and other well-known figures-including notable evangelist Franklin
Graham-have recently accused Muslims of remaining silent after
the terrorist attacks. Such charges, which have been covered
widely but superficially in the mainstream media, deserve serious
analysis.
In reality, even a cursory review of
press releases, newspaper articles, opinion pieces, and internet
websites reveals that Muslims were uniformly shocked, saddened,
and outraged at the vicious attack on our own soil-and they did
not hesitate to voice their unequivocal condemnation. In fact,
American Muslim and Arab-American organizations and leaders were
among the first to react in an organized fashion to condemn the
terrorist attacks on that very same day, long before it became
clear that individuals calling themselves Muslims were involved
in the attacks.
On September 11, the Council on American
Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest grassroots American
Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, distributed a statement
which read: "We condemn in the strongest terms possible
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. No
cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts. All members
of the Muslim community are asked to offer whatever help they
can to the victims and their families. Muslim medical professionals
should go to the scenes of the attacks to offer aid and comfort
to the victims."
CAIR also issued an alert to the Muslim
community on September 11, urging that the following additional
actions be taken: "Muslim relief agencies should contact
their counterparts to offer support in the recovery efforts.
Individual Muslims should donate blood by contacting the local
office of the Red Crossa*|They should also send donations to
those relief agencies that are on the scene of the attacks."
Similarly, the Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC) issued the following unequivocal statement: "We
feel that our country, the United States, is under attack. All
Americans should stand together to bring the perpetrators to
justice. We warn against any generalizations that will only serve
to help the criminals and incriminate the innocent. We offer
our resources and resolve to help the victims of these intolerable
acts, and we pray to God to protect and bless America."
And in a September 11 letter to President
Bush, community leaders stated: "American Muslims, who unequivocally
condemned today's terrorist attacks on our nation, call on you
to alert fellow citizens to the fact that now is a time for all
of us to stand together in the face of this heinous crime."
This letter was signed by the leaders of CAIR, MPAC, the American
Muslim Alliance, the American Muslim Council, the Muslim American
Society, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle
of North America, the Muslim Alliance in North America, and American
Muslims for Jerusalem. These groups represent most of the seven
million Muslims in the United States.
Muslims abroad were also unequivocal
in their condemnation of the attacks. The 57 member Organization
of Islamic Conference issued a communiquA(C) stating: "The
Conference strongly condemned the brutal terror acts that befell
the United Statesa*|.It further reaffirmed that these terror
acts ran counter to the teachings of the divine religions as
well as ethical and human valuesa*|."
In the West Bank thousands of Palestinians
attended candlelight vigils to express their grief and solidarity
with the victims of the attacks, and Palestinian school children
observed five minutes of silence. In Tehran, Iran (one third
of the President's proclaimed "axis of evil"), the
main soccer stadium observed one minute of silence in sympathy
with the victims of the attacks.
Despite the unanimous and vocal condemnations
by American Muslim and Arab-American group and leaders nationwide,
some in our country were not satisfied. In subsequent weeks and
months, numerous unsubstantiated references appeared in newspaper
opinion columns and on television talk shows about American Muslims'
alleged "silence" after the terrorist attacks. Such
claims were clearly not based on facts, but rather were the products
of either outright ignorance-which is inexcusable-or deliberate
defamation by some with thinly-veiled Islamophobic agendas-which
is utterly deplorable.
This accusation of silence in the face
of the September 11 attacks is now coupled with increasingly
aggressive rhetoric about Islam being an "evil" religion
and Muslims a "fifth column." Efforts to even teach
about Islam in public schools and universities are now routinely
attacked if they do not focus on the most extreme interpretations.
When Muslims try to correct uninformed statements about Islam,
we are labeled apologists. Open and honest discussion about Islam
in the public is increasingly silenced by the bigoted attacks
of individuals like Franklin Graham, who recently called for
Muslims to apologize for the 9/11 attacks.
While Muslims join most Americans in
seeking unity and solace with their fellow citizens, some Americans
are sowing seeds of hatred and ignorance. As Americans we are
all confronted by a number of daunting challenges that we must
face together, including concentrated efforts to tear us apart
from within. Bigots seem to be the biggest winners in the post-September
11 environment. If they win, then we all lose.
Riad Z. Abdelkarim, MD, is Western Region Communications Director
and Jason Erb is Governmental Relations Director for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest
grassroots American Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. They
can be reached at: RiadZuhdi@aol.com
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