Quote from your president in the Post -- GW MSA

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Subject: Quote from your president in the Post

Author:
Ron Reder

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Date Posted: 14:04:10 10/18/02 Fri

Please pardon the intrusion of a Christian voice into your message board. I had occasion to read a story in today's "Washington Post" about the recent shootings in the Washington area. It included a quote that was attributed to the president of your organization. After I read it, I could not remain silent. I felt moved to reassure her and all of you that perhaps things are not as she fears. The quote was,

"It hurts that that's the first thing people think about, that it could be Muslims who are doing this," said Amna Arshad, a junior studying international affairs at George Washington University, where she is president of the Muslim Student Association. "It didn't really come to my head until I started hearing it in the news media.

"Given everything that's happened in the last couple of years . . . it seems logical," added Arshad, who lives in Great Falls. "But at the same time, it's not fair. If it was before 9/11, a Muslim terrorist wouldn't be the first thing people think about."

I am sorry that the members of the Muslim community in the United States feel such fear and are subject to so much suspicion. While it may be true that some non-muslims immediately blame "Muslim terrorists" when something bad happens, please be assured that a lot of us do not think that way and that we do not equate Muslims with "Muslim terrorists."

When I heard of the shootings, my first thought was of a deranged madman. As time went by and the number of deaths increased, I assumed the perpetrator to be a serial killer. It took me a few days to start thinking about the possibilty of international terrorism. I can't recall whether I thought of it independently or heard it on the news first, but I belive the order of my thoughts may have been rather similar to those of Ms. Arshad. It certainly wasn't my first thought.

During the many years of my life I have discovered there are plenty of good people in the world; many more than there are bad ones. I pray that Allah lets us all come to know this.

Ron Reder

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
how nice to see unbiased people!	fatih lee	10:26:27 12/12/02 Thu