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U.S. Muslim Organizations React to Attacks on Afghanistan
By Ayesha Ahmad
WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (IslamOnline) - U.S. Muslim leaders expressed a mixture of unequivocal support and cautious worry in the wake of U.S. and British attacks on Afghanistan Sunday.
While all groups extended their loyal support to U.S. President George W. Bush in his pursuit of justice for the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that left nearly 6,000 dead or missing, some expressly supported the military strikes, while others urged for a more peaceful solution.
"We support our president's fight against terrorism," said Abdulwahab Alkebsi, director of the Washington-based Islamic Institute, "and we pray for our young men and women to come back safely."
Alkebsi expressed his organization's confidence that the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan was just, and that it was precisely focused at military targets and would avoid civilian casualties.
But it was the prospect of more innocent deaths that concerned the American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice (AMGPJ), a Muslim civil and human rights group in Washington D.C.
"While we support our government's effort to fight global terrorism, we fear that civilian lives are at risk," a statement issued by AMGPJ on Sunday said.
The group said it "does not believe war is an effective strategy to fight global terrorism.
"We call on all parties to the conflict to end the war and to pursue peaceful means to bring a just resolution to the emerging crisis in Afghanistan."
The Muslim American Society in Alexandria, Va., issued a joint statement Monday with the Islamic Circle of North America specifying the extent of their support for Bush's campaign against terrorism: that it "will remain firm whether or not we agree with the particular approach used to carry out the campaign."
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), an active civil rights organization in Washington D.C., echoed the Islamic Institute's unwavering statement of support. "We wholeheartedly support President George W. Bush in the attempt to defeat terrorism," but added that its prayers went out to both the American soldiers "fighting for a world free of terrorism" and to "innocent civilians in the region".
MPAC commended Bush for his humanitarian efforts, and for his continued attempts to portray the war as against terrorism rather than against Islam, Muslims or the Afghani people.
The D.C. based American Muslim Council issued a statement Monday saying it "appreciates the President's leadership in reaffirming that this is a war against terrorism and not against the Afghan people, Muslims or Islam," and that they commend Bush on his statement that our military campaign will take measures to protect the civilian population of Afghanistan."
None of the groups commented on the statement issued by Osama bin Laden, the Saudi dissident hiding in Afghanistan whom the U.S. holds responsible for the September 11th attacks. Bin Laden's apparently pre-recorded statement was carried by the Qatar-based Gulf channel al-Jazeera soon after the airstrikes began Sunday, and then broadcast on American news stations.
Alkebsi said that Muslim groups should not comment on bin Laden's statement, in which America's most wanted man praised the September 11th attacks and called on all Muslims to fight against America as a religious duty.
And Salam al-Marayati, executive director of MPAC, said simply that bin Laden's statement was "troubling."
"There is this call to terrorize all Americans, and for Muslims living in America that's very troubling," he said.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said, "It's clear… that his statement is not really a genuine one. I think most Muslims are coming clear on that."
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