Arab American, Muslim American Groups Support Anti-Terrorism Campaign

Washington -- The leaders of the main Arab American and Muslim American groups have praised President Bush for his strong stance against ethnic and religious bigotry directed at their communities and pledged their support in the fight against terrorism.

The two leaders of the Arab American Institute (AAI), Chairman George Salem and President James Zogby, issued a joint statement September 25 that said, "The president's impressive commitment to our communities' civil rights has sent the proper message to the nation and it has brought great comfort to our community.

"Arab Americans lost loved ones in the attacks and Arab Americans serve in every branch of the armed services and law enforcement. We are proud Americans who will continue to serve our country and our president, as we always have, in this hour of need," the AAI statement added.

President Bush invited representatives of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the American Muslim Alliance, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Arab American Institute, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Institute, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and the American Lebanese Heritage Club to the White House September 26.

"President Bush understood our concerns about the protection of American Muslims' civil rights and has differentiated clearly between Islam and terrorism," American Muslim Council (AMC) President Yahya Basha said in a statement after the meeting.

"He took this opportunity to address the American public that Islam is a religion of love and peace," Basha added.

The AMC said the Arab American and Muslim American leaders reaffirmed their stance against terrorism and "agreed to stand firmly with the U.S. at this time of national crisis."

The statements reflect a theme that Arab and Muslim American groups have sounded since the September 11 atrocities.

The head of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, said in a statement released September 12, "We stand with the administration and law enforcement agencies in support of discovering the persons responsible and bringing them to justice. We encourage whoever is able to donate generously both blood and money to local chapters of the Red Cross."

The Islamic Institute said in a statement September 13 that it condemned "in the harshest terms the cowardly and senseless acts of terror perpetrated against innocent American citizens, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, in New York and Washington. This tragedy affects all of us as Americans, and we should do whatever we can to help...," the institute said.

The institute called on its members to donate blood and on imams across the United States to dedicate sermons to victims of the attacks. The institute appealed to the general American public to refrain from giving in to prejudice and racial or ethnic stereotyping.

The Islamic Institute reaffirmed its stand against terrorism in a statement released September 27 and lauded the President's leadership and commitment to peace and unity in the land.