26 January 2002

Muslim Officers and Firefighter Honored for 9/11 Heroism

Washington -- The American Muslim community recently honored five of its heroes: four police officers and one firefighter who assisted in the rescue operations after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11.

The Islamic Institute and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) hosted a "Tribute to Muslim and Arab-American Heroes" luncheon in Washington January 26. The luncheon was organized to recognize the work of officers Adil Almontaser, Rafet Awad, Faisal Khan and Ahmed Nasser, all of the New York Police Department, as well as Ronald J. Kuley, a firefighter in Fairfax, Virginia.

The police officers participated in the rescue operations at the World Trade Center in New York, and the firefighter was involved in the rescue work at the Pentagon.

"This is a reminder to Americans of what it means to be American," said Ralph Boyd, assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. "In addition to suffering alongside the rest of us, our Muslim and Arab brothers and sisters were also involved in rescue operations in the aftermath of the horrific attacks on our country."

Boyd's Civil Rights Division is charged with investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, most recently the backlash incidents against Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and South Asian Americans after the terrorist attacks. Since September 11, the division has investigated more than 200 such cases, seven of which have resulted in federal charges.

"In the wake of September 11," Boyd said, "opportunities and challenges abound for us as individuals and as a nation to treat each other with deep respect and dignity. We have the opportunity to acknowledge our oneness, our togetherness, the opportunity to reassess what we value, and to understand who our real heroes are."

ADC President Ziad J. Asali praised the honorees for their commitment to public service and their efforts to help people in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

"We hold you up, you and so many others who lay down their lives every day to uphold law and order in their community," he said. "You have many things to be proud about today."

The Islamic Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, was founded in 1998 to connect the American Muslim community and the political mainstream of the United States. The ADC, also a non-profit organization, was founded in 1980 to promote and defend the rights of people of Arab descent.

Several other groups were represented at the luncheon, including the American Muslim Council, the American Muslim Foundation, the International Institute of Islamic Thought, Yemen Heritage and Research Center, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Akram Yosri, a candidate for Congress in New Jersey's Fifth District, also attended.

The honorees received certificates "in grateful recognition of your selfless courage and dedication in serving fellow Americans on September 11, 2001." President George W. Bush also praised the group in a letter, saying they were "among our country's greatest heroes."

Officer Almontaser gave an emotional speech in which he paid homage to the families of September 11 victims. "Your pain is our pain," he said. "We know it could have been any one of us here responding to the scene that day, coming down with the towers."

The officers from NYPD announced plans to establish the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association, a fraternal group for Muslim officers. Almontaser said he hoped the association would encourage other Arabs and Muslims to go into law enforcement.

"We need to shed a different light on Muslims," he said. "This [association] is to bridge the gap between law enforcement departments and the Muslim communities here in America."