New Trend Magazine
(Analysis and Commentary)
Backlash against Muslims Mounting
Leaderless Community Indulges in Conspiracy Theories
America Looks for Retaliation as it reels from Massive Blow
"From Allah we come and unto him we return." (The Qur'an)
Ahmed Abdel Sattar, the reknowned human rights activist, lives in
Staten
Island, New York. He went downstairs from his apartment to stop a fight
between two 15-year olds. Minutes later, after he had come upstairs,
the
police entered his apartment without a search warrant claiming he had
beaten
up one of the young people. They had been keeping an eye on his
apartment and
used this opportunity to carry out a search without a warrant, messing
up his
home and disturbing his family.
A Puerto Rican Muslim who owns an Islamic bookstore in Albany, New
York,
was harrassed by some persons. When he called the police, they didn't
show up.
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, red necks necks entered the mosque
and
created a nuisance.
In Greensboro, North Carolina, two hijab-wearing Muslim women were
searched when they visited a hospital.
In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at a public school, Muslim
students
were put in a separate room all by themselves (a form of segregation).
Imam Badi Ali reports that the Quad City Islamic Center in
Greensborough
has been receiving abusive phone calls, using dirty language for the
Prophet (pbuh).
A TV report says that a shot was fired through the plate glass
window of
a mosque in the Dallas, Texas area.
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Owing to lack of leadership, many Muslims don't know what to do.
Muslim
'leaders' appear to be confused and out of focus. They are busy issuing
condemnations of terrorism which the government is ignoring. A lot of
email
has appeared on Muslim lists propounding conspiracy theories about the
attacks on September 11. Observers say that the distribution of these
'ivory
tower' theories is confusing the communities of Muslims even further.
If
these theorists have any evidence about their conspiracy theories, they
should send them to the U.S. government instead of distributing them
among
Muslims.
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Meanwhile the U.S. is preparing massive retaliation which will
probably
aim at the destruction of Afghanistan and Iraq. Afghanistan's Taliban
have
requested America not to attack and have pleaded that Osama bin Laden
is
incapable of mounting an attack on the scale of September 11. Rulers
of
Muslim countries have sent sincere condolences to the U.S. The only
exception
seems to have been President Saddam Hussain who is reported to have
said that
'you reap what you sow.' King Abdullah of Jordan spoke at some length
on U.S.
TV. Israel has declared a day of mourning and Israeli tanks are
attacking the
Palestinians, killing 10 people in the last few hours.
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Muslims in America are offering help to the victims of the September 11
onslaught. Some of the dead might be Muslims. The massive attacks have
hurt
the U.S., with dead and wounded said to be in the thousands. The
economic
damage is incalculable at this point with all air traffic at a stand
still
and tunnels/bridges in and out of New York closed. Many other cities
have had
closures.
U.S. commentators are assessing the committment and abilities of
the
attackers who seemed to be prepared to give their lives and were
efficient
and organized to the extreme. A pall of fear descended on Washington
and for
the first time the U.S. government behaved like governments in many
Muslim
countries: fearful that it might be attacked in its citadel.
The tragedy of innocent victims is unfolding. We have received
calls from
people who could not believe that something so horrific could happen so
quickly to America's center of trade and its military hub. The nation
is in a
state of shock. Some of the people we interviewed seemed to be
undergoing
post-traumatic stress.
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The UNITY JUMA and RALLY in Atlanta for Imam Jamil al-Amin (on
September 14
and 15) have been postponed.
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Allah hu. Allah hu. La illaha illah hu.
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2001-10-27 Sat 15:23ct