>Thankfully, the Palestinian leaders show more compassion for thousands,
>maybe tens of thousands of dead innocents, than many people on this list and
>can express condemnation of this act of mass murder without implying that
>the victims somehow deserved their fate for the acts of the US government.
>
>>From Reuters
>
>``We completely condemn this serious operation. ... We were completely
>shocked,'' Arafat told reporters in Gaza. ``It's an unbelievable disaster.
>It is touching our hearts. It is very difficult to explain my feelings. God
>help them. God help them.''
>
>Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told Voice of Palestine
>radio: ``The Palestinian people express their utmost sympathy to the
>American people and to the innocent victims who perished in these sinful and
>criminal acts.''
>
>Palestinian political factions said the attack contravenes ''all human
>principles and values regardless of the existing differences with the
>American administration.''
Ahmad Al-Akhras -- the long-suffering president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio Chapter -- immediately issued a press release condemning the attacks & calling on people to "show restraint and not to jump to conclusions" & circulated a press release from CAIR in D.C. urging Muslims nationwide to "to offer whatever assistance they can to help the victims of today's terrorist attacks":
***** From: "Ahmad Al-Akhras" <alakhras at hotmail.com> Mailing-List: list AACO at yahoogroups.com; contact AACO-owner at yahoogroups.com Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 15:19:32 -0400 Subject: [AACO] (fwd) CAIR Ohio: Central Ohio Muslims and Arabs Condemn Terrorist Attacks
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR-Ohio Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio 4700 Reed Road, Suite B Columbus, Ohio 43220 Tel: 614-451-3232 Fax (614)451-3222 E-Mail: ohio at cair-net.org URL: http://www.cair-net.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 9/11/01
CENTRAL OHIO MUSLIMS AND ARABS CONDEMN TERRORIST ATTACKS
(Columbus, OH 9/11/2001) The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio Chapter, and all Muslims and Arab organizations of Central Ohio utterly condemn the horrible attacks that occurred today, and we express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
We as Muslims in America are horrified and disgusted with these events and the tragic loss of life. We are praying for the victims and their families.
We call on people to show restraint and not to jump to conclusions during this time of heightened emotions. We must work together to see that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
This statement is issued by: American Islamic Waqf, Arab-Americans of Central Ohio, Council on American-Islamic Relations-Ohio, Islamic Community Center, Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio, Islamic Society of Central Ohio, Islamic Society of Greater Columbus, Muslim Community Center, Muslim Student Association OSU, Muslim Women's Network, Sunrise Academy.
End Contact: Ahmad Al-Akhras 614-989-5916 Jad Humeidan 614-451-3232 Asma Mobin-Uddin 614-761-9650
CAIR-Ohio Council on American-Islamic Relations 4700 Reed Rd. Suite B Columbus, Ohio 43220 Phone: 614-451-3232 Fax: 614-451-3222 *****
***** From: "Ahmad Al-Akhras" <alakhras at hotmail.com> Mailing-List: list AACO at yahoogroups.com; contact AACO-owner at yahoogroups.com Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 15:20:24 -0400 Subject: [AACO] (fwd) CAIR: Muslims Offer Help for Victims of Terrorist Attacks
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR-Ohio Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio 4700 Reed Road, Suite B Columbus, Ohio 43220 Tel: 614-451-3232 Fax (614)451-3222 E-Mail: ohio at cair-net.org URL: http://www.cair-net.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 9/11/01
MUSLIMS OFFER HELP FOR VICTIMS OF TERRORIST ATTACKS
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/11/2001) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, is calling on Muslims nationwide to offer whatever assistance they can to help the victims of today's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
In an alert to the American Muslim community, CAIR suggested that the following actions be taken:
* Muslim medical professionals are asked to go to the scenes of the attacks to offer aid and comfort to the victims. * 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 Cross. (Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.) They should also send donations to those relief agencies that are on the scene of the attacks.
CAIR's alert asked community members to report incidents of anti-Muslim harassment or attacks. It also suggested steps to take to increase security around mosques and Islamic centers. (In the first few days following the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma, Muslims reported more than 200 incidents of harassment, threats and actual violence. CAIR has already received reports of harassment and attacks against Muslims who wear Islamic attire.)
Security precautions suggested by CAIR's alert include:
* Those who wear Islamic attire should consider staying out of public areas for the immediate future. * Request additional police patrols in the vicinity of mosques. * Post mosque members at entrances and parking areas during prayer times. * Report suspicious packages to police. * Document descriptions of suspicious people or vehicles.
There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in this country and around the world.
- END -
CONTACT: TEL - 202-488-8787 E-Mail - cair1 at ix.netcom.com
-----
CAIR Council on American-Islamic Relations 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 Tel: 202-488-8787 Fax: 202-4880833 E-mail: cair1 at ix.netcom.com URL: http://www.cair-net.org *****
Such condemnations by PLO, CAIR, etc. do not at all guarantee American sympathies for them. Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans, as well as Arabs and Muslims here and abroad, live in fear of attacks, be they by the U.S. government or individual Americans. Some of them have already been verbally or physically harassed. I call on people to issue press releases & make other public responses to condemn anti-Arab & anti-Muslim harassment; to discourage people from jumping to conclusions that the attacks must have been the work of Arabs or Muslims; to speak in defense of civil rights and liberties; to argue against possible U.S. military attacks on nations that the U.S. government and media allege to be "hosts of terrorists," especially in that such attacks are nothing other than state terrors; and so on.
Please get in touch with your local chapter of CAIR and other Muslim- and Arab-American organizations to monitor attacks upon them, to offer solidarity with them, if you have not done so already. They need others to stand up in their defense.
Yoshie