Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Bush's statement |
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| se7en |
| 09/17/01 at 20:52:21 |
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESIDENT BUSH MEETS WITH MUSLIM LEADERS IN DC MOSQUE (WASHINGTON-DC, 9/17/2001) - President Bush today met with American Muslim leaders in a first-of-its-kind event that included a news conference in the prayer area of the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. Topics discussed at the hour-long meeting ranged from the current cycle of violence in the Middle East and the need for American Muslim input on government policy, to ways in which terrorism can be eliminated worldwide. "We thank the president for taking the initiative to reach out to the American Muslim community during this time of national crisis. His supportive remarks will help set a tone of tolerance and inclusion for our society," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, who attended today's meeting. Other meeting participants included the Muslim chaplain of Georgetown University and representatives from the American Muslim Alliance, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Islamic Institute, and the Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohamed. At the news conference following the meeting, President Bush said: "Like the good folks standing with me, the American people were appalled and outraged at last Tuesday's attacks, and so were Muslims all across the world, both Americans, our Muslim friends and citizens, tax-paying citizens, and Muslims in nations were just appalled, could not believe what we saw on our TV screens. 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.' "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war. "When we think of Islam, we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace, and that's made brothers and sisters out of every race -- out of every race. America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads, and they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect. "Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes. Moms who wear cover must not be intimidated in America. That's not the America I know. That's not the America I value." There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion worldwide. - END - |
| Re: Bush's statement |
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| bhaloo |
| 09/17/01 at 21:01:56 |
| slm I was going to post that, but you beat me to it. :) That's really interesting that he quoted from the Quran and said the translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic. |
| Re: Bush's statement |
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| jannah |
| 09/18/01 at 23:49:21 |
| Bush Visits Mosque, Urges Respect for Muslims September 17, 2001 By Arshad Mohammed http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=226646&fromEmail=true# WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush visited a mosque on Monday to urge that Muslim Americans be treated with respect after last week's attacks, saying, "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam." Slipping off his shoes to respect Islamic custom, Bush sought to quell a surge of anti-Muslim incidents following Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which left more than 5,000 missing or dead. "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," Bush said at the Islamic Center of Washington, a mosque in the U.S. capital. The visit was part of a broad government effort to crack down on what the FBI said were dozens of "retaliatory hate crimes" aimed at Arab Americans, including assaults, threats, arson and two possibly ethnically motivated murders. FBI Director Robert Mueller said the government had opened 40 hate crime investigations in six days since the plane attacks "Vigilante attacks and threats against Arab-Americans will not be tolerated," he said. Separately, the U.S. commission on Civil Rights ordered its national telephone complaint hotline to solicit and catalog complaints of discrimination from Muslims and Arabs and to hold forums on tolerance across the country. KILLING OF SIKH, PAKISTANI Standing with Muslim American leaders in the Washington Mosque, which has elaborate azure and turquoise tiles and stained glass windows, Bush said: "In our anger and emotion our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect." Saying there are millions of U.S. Muslims who make "an incredibly valuable contribution to our country," Bush added, "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam." U.S. officials have said Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian-born multimillionaire believed to be based in Afghanistan under the protection of the radical Islamic Taliban government, is their prime suspect in Tuesday's attacks. Police are investigating whether the killings of a Pakistani grocer in Texas and a Sikh gas station attendant in Arizona may have been hate crimes triggered by the attacks. Officials believe Sikhs, who wear turbans and beards, may be mistaken for bin Laden supporters and targeted for attack. FEAR OF HARASSMENT The president said he had heard reports that some Muslim American women who veil themselves have been afraid to go out since the attacks, fearing they would suffer harassment. "Some don't want to go shopping for their families; some don't want to go about their ordinary daily routines because, by wearing cover, they're afraid they'll be intimidated," he said. "That should not and that will not stand in America." "Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes," he added. "Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior," he said. Respecting Muslim custom, Bush, his White House aides and Secret Service agents removed their shoes before stepping on the elaborate carpets in the mosque, which sits in a leafy Washington neighborhood surrounded by embassies. At one point, the president quoted a translated verse from the Koran, saying, "In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil." Yusuf Saleem of the Muslim American Society thanked Bush and said American Muslims were horrified by last week's attacks. "We are also shocked and dismayed by the events, and dismayed especially that it should be associated with a religion that has only peace as its ultimate aim," Saleem said, adding, "We are a part of the fabric of America." |
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