A sad side-effect of Tuesday's events

[Staralfur]

People are looking for someone to blame and seek retrebution on. As the organisers behind this have not been identified the wave of emotion has to be channeled somewhere else. Unfortunately this leads to unjustified attacks on anyone that can remotely be linked to whom is being blamed. A similar thing happened here in Britain, the press latched onto the paedophilia issue, with one paper printing all the names of known paedophiles in the UK. This led to random attacks on people with similar names, and even attacks on paediotritions [SIC?????]. People need to release their anger somehow, unfortunately this is what often seems to happen.

I also feel it also raises a racism issue; These attacks seem to be distriminating against people of Arabic origin. Are they not citizens like the people that are attacking them? Do they not have them same rights? It would appear some people think not.

[Fljotsdale]

I have been so afraid of this. We have many Muslims in the UK. They must be living in fear, now. I know some of them. Their children go to my grandsons' schools. They are nice, normal people, yet their lives are in danger at the hands of the unreasoning who do not really care about the acts of terrorism but just want an excuse to give vent to racial/religious hate.

------------------

[Neb]

*sigh* Why dosen't this surprise me in the least? We've had some arabs celebrate tuesday's disaster here in Denmark, and other places around the world, but that dosen't mean that they're ALL happy that it happened, and even if they were it dosen't justify threatening them, THEY aren't the cause of tuesday's disaster are they? Why must we have people who are so intent on transferring the deeds of a small part of the world onto those who have done nothing except live near them or perhaps share their religious preferrence?

------------------
Worshipper of Tiax.

Wielder of the ancient Lawyer spells.

Member of the HADB clan.





Ally of the Fluffy Queen and the Dreaded Red Fluffy

[Sazerac]

Here's the latest AP news story on the situation with Arab-Americans. I noticed that the Denton TX Mosque is mentioned as well.



__________________________________________________ ______

Arab-Americans Threatened, Attacked
Anger Aimed at Arab-Americans (ABCNEWS.com)

By DEBORAH KONG, AP Minority Issues Writer

Tears welled up in Mohammad Kasmaei's eyes as he recounted the angry telephone calls that keep pouring into his Ali Baba Restaurant in Anaheim, Calif.

``You can't stay in the U.S.,'' was one message. Another caller simply reeled off bitter obscenities.

``I am an American citizen,'' the Iranian-born Kasmaei said Thursday, his voice despairing. ``I'm very sorry right now.''

While Kasmaei said he felt as deeply for the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks as he would for his own family, he and other Muslims and people of Middle Eastern heritage were increasingly being hounded by an angry public looking for someone to blame.

Twelve hours after the attacks in New York and Washington, a 40-year-old man allegedly stormed into a Seattle mosque and threatened to burn it down. He was arrested for malicious harassment.

Late Thursday, the city's Islamic community was rocked again when an armed man was arrested after allegedly trying to set fire to a mosque in Seattle's north end, police said. The mosque escaped damage, and the 53-year-old man was listed in satisfactory condition early Friday.

A mosque in Denton, Texas, was firebombed and another in Lynnwood, Wash., was splattered with black paint this week. Police in Bridgeview, Ill., turned back 300 people as they tried to march on a mosque.

In Laramie, Wyo., a woman and her children were chased from a Wal-Mart by angry shoppers.

``The people who screamed in her face wanted her to go back to her country,'' said Khaled Ksaibati, the faculty adviser for the Muslim Student Association at the University of Wyoming. ``This is her country. She was born here.''

Renee Hamel, 15, of Berlin, Conn., said in the wake of the attacks, her faith has become an obstacle to making friends.

``I'm afraid to tell people that I'm Muslim because I'm afraid they'll think negatively about me,'' she said.

Political leaders across the country called on people not to blame innocent Americans for Tuesday's deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon (news - web sites). But often their admonitions were ignored.

``We should not hold one who is a Muslim responsible for an act of terror,'' President Bush (news - web sites) said Thursday.

California Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites) asked people to avoid ``finger-pointing and scapegoating,'' while Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson urged residents to be rational.

``The acts of 50 fanatics and lunatics should not be held against one group,'' Anderson said.

A day after the attacks, three teen-agers hurled a skateboard through the window of the Sinbad Ranch market, one of many Arab-American businesses in Anaheim. Police caught them and their parents apologized.

In Fair Haven, Mich., the windows of Mazen Mislmanion's family service station were shot up by vandals Wednesday night.

``It's like we did it or something,'' said Mislmanion, who planned to donate blood this week. ``People are swearing at me.''

The threats and swears also were directed at Islamic centers all around the country.

``You will all die'' and ``Get out of this country'' were among the ones left on an answering machine at an Islamic center in Bellevue, Wash.

In California's capital of Sacramento, home to about 25,000 Muslims, security was increased at mosques and Muslim leaders asked women not to go outside in their traditional black robes.

In Washington state, the Islamic School of Seattle suspended classes out of concern for students' safety.

The second half of the Arab Film Festival was canceled in Berkeley, Calif., out of sympathy for victims and concern for the safety of participants, said festival publicist Tracey Bigelow.

In Los Angeles, there were at least eight hate incidents following the attacks, including one in which police said a gun was put to a woman's face.

``We've been fighting an uphill battle,'' said Nasser Beydoun, director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites). ``A lot of people left their homelands to escape this violence.''

In the midst of the backlash, pockets of compassion could still be found.

Churches in Seattle were offering safe havens and around-the-clock security to Muslims. In Wyoming, somebody left flowers at the door of the Islamic Center of Laramie with a letter that said no Americans should be singled out for hatred.

``For every one bad action we're probably seeing 20, 30 good actions,'' said Ksaibati of the University of Wyoming.

[Fljotsdale]

Makes you ashamed to be human, doesn't it?

------------------

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Memnoch: It's tragic, but proves that all countries have their "people dancing in the streets".

It's outrageous and proves that we should do a better job of spreading the word that not ALL arabs/muslims are evil terroists and anyone who harms them is equally as vile as the terrorists.

I really feel for those people who now must fear this kind of sensless attack on themselves in retaliation for something they had nothing to do with.

Cloudy

------------------


Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
Raven's Cloud
StormCloud of the Black Knight: Heart Mind Soul Forever
"To sleep, perchance to dream..."

[Fljotsdale]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: It's outrageous and proves that we should do a better job of spreading the word that not ALL arabs/muslims are evil terroists and anyone who harms them is equally as vile as the terrorists. I really feel for those people who now must fear this kind of sensless attack on themselves in retaliation for something they had nothing to do with. Cloudy

Another forum I sometimes post on, run and moderated by Bethesda Softworks, had a thread called 'Arabs are Evil'. It was sickening what some people put in there. It was over two pages long before it was deleted.

------------------

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Fljotsdale: Another forum I sometimes post on, run and moderated by Bethesda Softworks, had a thread called 'Arabs are Evil'. It was sickening what some people put in there. It was over two pages long before it was deleted.

That's terrible, Fljotsdale! And at Bethesda Softworks, too! What took them so long in catching it?

I really thing we live a charmed life here at IW.



------------------

[Aelia Jusa]

It is truly sad. In Brisbane people threw petrol bombs at a mosque and two guys went to a kebab shop to ask the owner if he was a Muslim and then beat him up when he said he was.

------------------


Goddess and Sorceress of the HADB, and her sidekick Pink

[Fljotsdale]

Originally posted by Sazerac: That's terrible, Fljotsdale! And at Bethesda Softworks, too! What took them so long in catching it? I really thing we live a charmed life here at IW.

I think they don't have unpaid mods like we do here. Just members of staff, so stuff is only picked up if someone reports it. I kept waiting for mods to show up, 'cos I'm new on there. Next time (if there IS a next time) I shall mail Bethesda myself.

------------------