Touchable evidences

Submitted by Another one (Egypt), Mar 9, 2006 at 05:34

No body was kicked out from USA or any other European country "yes", but was more like "if you have some dignity left,then LEAVE !"

Apart from the private incidents that we've heard from friends and relatives.Here are some "
touchable evidences"..

WASHINGTON, 1 May 2002 ,Muslims living in the United States are facing greater discrimination in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The number of "anti-Muslim incidents" nearly tripled during the 12-month period ending in March 2002, which had 1,125 reports, compared with 366 during the previous 12 months, according to the 50-page study by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The report stressed that the individual freedoms of nearly 60,000 US Muslims were "negatively
impacted by government policies" instituted after the Sept. 11 attacks, which killed more than
3,000 people in New York, in Pennsylvania and outside Washington.

The figure includes some 1,200 Muslims who were detained by immigration officials and "treated as if they were terrorists," and 5,000 legal visa holders who were asked to submit to "voluntary interrogations." It also includes 50,000 other people who donated money to Muslim relief organizations that were declared illegal and shut down by the US government after Sept. 11.

Some 1,516 incidents of threats, discrimination, harassment and even physical attacks were
cited, while some 2,200 people were "targeted because of actual or perceived religion and
ethnicity."

The most serious incidents occurred immediately after the terror attacks on US landmarks,
according to the study, which covers the period from March 2001 to March 2002. The report was the seventh of its kind produced by CAIR since 1995.

Some seven million Muslims live in the United States, according to official estimates.
Meanwhile, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted Robert Muller, director of the FBI, as saying US officials have not yet gathered any evidence on how the terrorists carried out the Sept. 11
attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, despite the
massive investigations carried out by the FBI.

"The hijackers did not leave any written evidence. We have not found even a single paper related to the Sept. 11 attacks during our investigations either in the United States or in Afghanistan," he said.

In another development, US officials in Chicago arrested the head of a Muslim charity here yesterday on perjury charges, and accused him of having links with Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network stretching back 10 years.

Enaam Arnauot, the 39-year-old executive director of Benevolence International Foundation, was arrested at his home in suburban Chicago early yesterday by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Syrian-born US citizen sometimes known as "Abu Mahmoud" and "Abdel Samia," appeared in US district court later yesterday on charges that he lied in federal court documents about links to "international terrorism", the local states attorney's office said in a statement.

He did not answer the charges and was ordered held until his May 7 detention hearing and
preliminary examination because government prosecutors consider him a flight risk.

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

Muslims reflect on how their lives have changed
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press

QUINCY, Mass. — Mohammed Saadat prefers talking about the prayer rugs hanging from the
ceiling of his convenience store or quotes from the Koran to discussing life since Sept. 11.
Saadat is a Muslim. And for some people, that was reason enough to throw bricks through the
front windows of his Almaeedah Market in Quincy in the early hours of Sept. 12.

"That was a long time ago," said Saadat, a 50-year-old native of Iran. "I was very upset, but what can you do?"

Majed Baddai, on the other hand, wants to talk. Baddai claims he lost his job due to prejudice in the days after the attacks, and that he had to stay in at night out of fear for his safety.

"For a long time I didn't go out. I heard people on the street yelling when I drove by," said
Baddai, 32, who is from Iraq. "People are wary when you walk in a building."

As the anniversary of the terror attacks approaches, Muslims in Massachusetts -- where
terrorists hijacked the two planes flown into the World Trade Center -- are evaluating how their
lives have changed.

Authorities say Islamic extremists committed the terror attacks. And while their views aren't
representative of the overwhelming majority of Muslims, assumptions and profiling led to
innocent people coming under suspicion in the days after the attacks.

On Sept. 12, when a Boston hotel reported suspicious Middle Eastern guests, the FBI and local police kicked in doors and dragged a man out for questioning. The media captured the frantic moments, as did thousands of people who flooded the streets and talked of arrests of terrorists.

The man who was detained, it was later learned, had no connection to the terrorists.
Today, some Muslims still avoid walking alone at night, and some opt not to talk politics at work.

"We still have to be careful," said Imam Talal Eid, religious director of the Islamic Center of New England. "We had double concern here. We were affected by this tragedy. But we were and still are subject to profiling and discrimination."

Eid's schedule only now is returning to normal. After Sept 11., he put aside his regular work to
participate in public discussions about Islam and terrorism. He spoke at events sponsored by
schools, law enforcement and interfaith groups.

"I explain the teachings of Islam. According to Islamic teachings, these things (terrorist acts) do not exist," he said. "It's like the Crusades. There's nothing in the Bible that says kill, kill, kill. You can search the gospel and you don't find such things."

Still, he said, the media influences people by tying Islam to the terrorists.
"In America, people never blame Christianity if a Christian did a wrong act," he said.

Eid credits local law enforcement for quickly announcing after the attacks that hate crimes would not be tolerated.

"People are reluctant now before they do anything," he said of would-be vandals and attackers.
"They are aware now that the police and government are not going to tolerate that."

Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly's office has brought four civil rights cases
related to post-Sept. 11 incidents. Among them: three Fall River and Somerset teenagers were
accused of hurling a Molotov cocktail onto a Somerset convenience store on Sept. 12. The store is owned by an Indian man whom the teens though was Arab. Similarly, an Arlington man was accused of threatening to run over a Greek convenience store owner Sept. 29 in Belmont whom he believed was Muslim.

And in June, a Hanover man pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations for threatening to kill
James J. Zogby, president of the Washington-based Arab-American Institute, and Zogby's family on Sept. 12.

In addition, 20 people have filed Sept. 11-related complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, alleging discrimination based on religion and national origin.

Dorca Gomez, the commission's chairwoman, said that figure was about the average annually
for complaints. Law enforcement, government agencies and independent organizations reacted
immediately to warn people against retaliation, she said.

"We won't allow any scapegoating of our citizens," said Gomez, adding that she won't discuss
any of the 20 cases because they remain under investigation.

Amel Baghdad, a Georgetown resident who filed a MCAD complaint claiming wrongful
termination, no longer says his last name when he introduces himself.

"I used to get compliments before I came here," said Baghdad, a 45-yea-old native of Algeria
whose last name is the same as the Iraqi capital. "Now, I only give my first name."
Baghdad, who is married with three kids, believes the anti-Muslim sentiment after Sept. 11
should be framed in a larger picture of racism in the United States.

"When I came to America, I didn't see the differences -- black or white. In Algeria, we don't see the difference. We don't judge people based on that," said Baghdad, who moved here about 17
years ago. "Racism still exists in America, I don't care what anybody says."

Baghdad claims in his MCAD complaint that he was fired because he's a Muslim. He worked as a service technician, delivering oxygen tanks to clients for a Danvers company. He says after Sept.

11 his boss regularly sent him to the farthest locations, and in a truck in need of repairs, while
co-workers used new trucks.

"In any religion you find fanatics -- they go against the rules and do heinous acts," he said. "
Some people can't see the difference and they generalize."

Baddai, the Iraqi-born Quincy resident, says he no longer avoids venturing out at night.
"I can't sit home all my life," said Baddai, who also has a pending complaint with the MCAD,
claiming he was fired for making one mistake on his timesheet.

Saadat, the Quincy store owner, said residents and fellow business people offered support after
vandals smashed his windows, causing $3,000 in damage. The perpetrators were never caught.

Eid, of the Islamic Center, planned to participate in an event at Boston City Hall on the
anniversary. And his centers in Quincy and Sharon have scheduled open houses.
Even with a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq looming, Eid said he's hopeful for the future.
"I have no other choice," he said. "I have to be optimistic."

On the other hand,some people still living happily there facing no conflicts,know why ? Because they don't do the customs of their religion anymore as they are afraid of being criticized by the society just like a relative of mine who lives in USA "Eau Claire, Wis"
" along with her family, studies at the Ferris state university,Selected as First Team All-GLIAC in Women's Tennis Roster.She does all the things that was forbidden by our religion."Alas" ! just to avoid being despised by her westerners colleagues..

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".