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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Arab and Muslim Americans Threatened |
Current rating: 0 |
by Joe Futrelle
Email: futrelle (nospam) shout.net (unverified!)
Phone: (217) 328-7853 |
12 Sep 2001
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Reports are coming out that Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans are being threatened by people angry about yesterday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. |
Reports are coming out that Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans are being threatened by people angry about yesterday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Mosques and Islamic centers have been vandalized, and many such organizations are being swamped with hate e-mail and threatening phone calls. Verbal threats have been made against Arab-American individuals in countless incidents.
In U.S. news coverage of the event, few Arab-Americans and Muslims have been consulted about the reaction of their communities to yesterday's events. However it is widely reported that there were celebrations yesterday among some Palestinians and other Arab groups in the middle east.
It should be emphasized that these celebrants are a small minority of the Arab and Muslim world, which has reacted largely with the same shock and condemnation as the rest of the international community.
Unfortunately the exact opposite is being emphasized in our news media, which has clearly contributed to and participated in the increased level of danger and intimidation to the Arab-American and Muslim communities in the U.S.
We must not be drawn into indiscriminate condemnation of entire peoples, whether identified by race, religion, or citizenship. This is exactly the kind of hatred which showed itself yesterday to be capable of unimaginably horrible and wanton acts of brutality. |
