To the Editor,
The Muslim Students Asso-ciation of RPI represents a diverse community of Muslim students from as many as 20 different countries including the US. We would like to clarify a few things about Islam that we believe are misunderstood by many people.
We strongly condemn the acts of immorality and terrorism that have claimed many innocent lives. Muslim scholars from around the world have condemned these attacks and expressed their sincere condolences to the people who lost their loved ones. The tragedy of 9-11 has not only claimed the lives of many Americans but also people from 80 different nations including as many as 1,700 American Muslims. We all share the same grief and want the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
It is really hard for us to explain how it feels to be part of a religion that promotes peace and which is accused of something that is so ugly, brutal, and absolutely opposite to its fundamentals. The topics of violence, human rights, and justice are mentioned in the Holy Quran. God says, “… whoever kills one person unjustly, it is as if he/she killed the entire humanity, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he/she saved the life of all mankind,”(5:32). Another verse reads: “…let not the injustice and hatred done to you cause you to do injustice to others” (5:8).
We believe everyone should work towards a better future with peace and unity around the world. To attack other countries as retaliation for the tragedy of 9-11 is a hasty solution to a complicated problem. We have to work towards world peace by educating our-selves of the facts and working to-wards a calm solution. One of the major facts is Muslims around the world are also vulnerable to acts of terrorism – including American Muslims. Terrorism is an act not borne of faith or religion, but it is an act of desperation, an act where the person truly believes there is no other alternative. As we know, there is always an alternative.
Let us not reduce ourselves to becoming as hasty and retaliatory as those who harmed us. The recent event of a plot by Robert J. Goldstein of Florida to attack various mosques and Islamic Centers clearly shows the fact that all Americans need to work together to eliminate terrorism. The Associated Press reported on August 24 that Goldstein, “a foot specialist, possessed an arsenal powerful enough to level the 200-unit town-house complex where he lives… When police searched his home, they found a cache of up to 40 weapons, including .50-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles. They also uncovered more than 30 explosive devices, including hand grenades and a five-gallon gasoline bomb with a timer attached.” While our government is combating terrorism around the globe, we should include in our definition of terrorist those who do harm to our country from within. We must combat terrorism, intolerance, and injustice everywhere. We must ask ourselves how many lives will be lost to satisfy this thirst for revenge. How many innocent humans, our brothers, sisters, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends, will have their lives unjustly taken or shattered due to retaliatory policies?
“Don’t let the Bush Adminis-tration use the first year commemoration of the 9-11 tragedy to call for more war and violence. Please help us honor the death of our loved ones by [moving] towards a future of peaceful tomorrows,” Kelly Campbell of the September 11 Families for a Peaceful Tomorrow.
Finally, we would like to mention that which is usually overlooked. Among all the bad there has also been much good. We want to thank those who did not hold the Muslims to blame for what a single person may have done. We want to thank all of our professors, and classmates who came up to us and said, “If anyone bothers you, you come to me.” We want to thank the administration for their continuous concern and support. There are also those who offered us rides, escort at night, a smile and a word of support, thank you.
Muslim Students
Association of RPI
