Backlash Against Arab Americans, Muslims Continues
President Bush, government officials, religious leaders and others have repeatedly condemned the hate attacks against Arabs and Muslims. President Bush attended the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. on Monday to express his support for the American Muslim community. In his speech, he said, “These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith, and it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that. The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, but let me quote from the Koran itself. 'In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule.'
Many Americans have also shown their support for Arabs and Muslims in the U.S., condemning attacks against fellow Americans and expressing unity among all Americans.
"Muslims have received many messages of support from people of other faiths who abhor the anti-Islamic backlash that is now taking place. Unfortunately, the bigoted acts of a small minority are creating an atmosphere of apprehension and fear in the American Muslim community," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement.
Despite the wave of violence, Arab Americans and Muslims have joined others in attending prayer vigils, fasting, donating blood, and offering other types of assistance for the victims and their families. Many Muslim doctors volunteered their efforts in the first moments following the attack. Muslim paramedics are among those helping in the relief efforts. In Ohio, Muslims raised $10,000 for the victims. And across the nation, Muslims have participated in various efforts to assist the victims and their families.
Arabs and Muslims were among the victims of the terrorist attack and share in the grief that all Americans feel. However, since the attack they have been made to feel they are somehow responsible because they may share the same religion or ethnicity as the attackers. Racism, bigotry, and violence are at an all time high against Arabs and Muslims in the United States.
These incidents, however, are not new to Arabs and Muslims. In 1995, after the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Arabs and Muslims reported over 200 hate incidents against them. And though it was later found to be an American by the name of Timothy McVeigh who in fact orchestrated the attack on the Murrah Federal building, the damage had already been
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