18 September 2001

American Muslim Leaders Condemn
Terrorism, Defend Muslims' Civil Rights

By Susan Domowitz
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- American Muslim leaders representing an array of Muslim organizations in the United States said at a September 18 press conference that they "would like to make it absolutely clear that we join all other Americans in our unequivocal condemnation of the attacks as un-Islamic, barbaric, and inhumane."

Speaking at the National Press Club, the Secretary General of the Muslim Society, Shaker Elsayed said the Muslim American community is also mourning losses at the World Trade Center. Terrorist attacks, he said, "can not be condoned or justified under any circumstances."

Elsayed went on to say that American Muslims very much appreciate the recent statements by President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and others, warning against the mistreatment of Muslims, Arabs, and others in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

"The American flag," he said, "symbolizes all of our Islamic values: freedom, civil liberties, and respect for human life."

Imam Mehdi Bray, of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, called on Americans not to sacrifice civil liberties, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, which "are our real security."

The Executive Director of the Islamic Institute, Abdulwahab Alkebsi, said the U.S. government has done a good job of protecting American Muslims from backlash, but that law enforcement agencies need to see American Muslims as partners in battling terrorism, and not abrogate their civil rights.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, in a separate statement today, thanked President Bush for taking the initiative to reach out to the American Muslim community during this time of national crisis. President Bush's "supportive remarks will help set a tone of tolerance and inclusion for our society," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, who attended yesterday's meeting with President Bush at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.

In a related press conference, the Sikh community spoke out against hate crimes directed at Sikhs. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, called on all Americans to condemn the cowardly acts of harassment and violence committed against Sikh Americans this week. He urged victims of harassment to contact their local police, so that those who engage in violence could be punished. "Let's not let America descend to the level of those who attacked it."