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Andres Rivera
Managing Editor
During the many Sept. 11 memorials, walks and other observances held throughout the week, one event didn’t coincide with this time of remembrance and reflection on events that occurred five years ago.
On the eve of the anniversary, members of a group called the United American Committee along with members of other activists groups protested outside the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City. They rationalized this action by saying two of the Sept. 11 hijackers visited the mosque at one point. Protesters stood outside the mosque with their picket signs, some chanting Muslims ethnic slurs, with rallies of “Remember 9/11,” and “No more Jihad,” thrown in.
It is intolerable to believe that some people can be so ignorant five years later. There is no better way of stating the fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, than to just say it outright. The public needs to be reminded that Islam’s basic beliefs condemn violence and emphasize peaceful solutions. Must all Muslims continue to suffer for the misrepresentation of their principles?
The mosque acknowledged that the two hijackers visited the mosque in 2000, as a Sept. 11 Commission report says. This does not mean the mosque is in favor of extremism as the United American Committee would like to believe. The mosque is open to anyone who wishes to practice Islam. Just as everything else in life, every parishioner will not have the same interpretation of the Koran scriptures. Some are more devout than others. And some misrepresent the religion all together, the hijackers being a part of that group.
The mosque should not be blamed by the UAC or by any other group for the hijackers actions. The two hijackers that visited the mosque did not receive their instructions from the mosque, the UAC Web site claims that the mosque produced the two hijackers and other terrorists is false.
Protesters hung an effigy of Osama bin Laden and threw shoes at it, clearly the highlight of the protest. Being hit with a shoe is an apparent sign of disrespect in the Islamic world. Mosque parishioners told reporters they would have liked to join in on the hanging of the effigy.
What offended them was the implication that they support radical Islam.
The UAC’s anger toward extremists and those who support them is understandable. Still choosing the King Fahd mosque because of its miniscule tie with two hijackers is hardly reason enough to disrupt and upset the parishioners. The manner in which they executed their protest was not in sync with the tone of the anniversary.
There is no need to remind others of the culprits who changed the New York skyline and who took the lives of so many people; that will not be forgotten any time soon. Movies and documentaries are sufficient in covering that aspect of the tragedy.
Hanging effigies of Osama bin Laden does not really accomplish anything. It may boost morale by a tenth of a percent and be a way of acting out frustration, but it is a little pointless.The only thing that hanging someone in effigy accomplishes is showing great antagonism toward the person, nothing more.
What people should be focusing on during this five-year anniversary is how far the nation has come and what individuals are doing to prevent attacks from occurring again.
Andres Rivera, a junior journalism major, is managing editor of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at arivera3@ulv.edu.
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