Many of you may have read Judy Sly’s article on the front page of September 13th’s Modesto Bee concerning the anger and racism directed by Modesto residents towards people of Middle Eastern and even Indian origin. One member of our meditation group related how all the members of his office collectively aroused each other into a frenzy of anger and revenge. I found myself transported back to November 22, 1963 and with it, all my feelings of confusion, anger and sadness over the assassination of John F. Kennedy. A CBS poll today said two in three Americans support military action by their government even if it means innocent people are killed. I’m sure each of us has similar stories and feelings, but we must ask ourselves if the consequences of military intervention and revenge are worth it. Should we allow ourselves to follow such a path, we would only create more injury and hatred, and with it the very acts of terrorism we seek to end. Gandhi said that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

So how do we keep a calm head, an open mind, and a caring heart in a society, which may be losing theirs? As Lincoln said, how do we think anew and act anew? How do we disenthrall ourselves from the mindset of war? How can we bring the terrorists to trial without killing or hurting people who are not involved?

For myself and other members of our group, as well as for many of you, maintaining a consistent daily quiet time to practice meditation or prayer is essential. Gandhi says we must embody the peace we wish to see in others. I believe we cannot do that without creating space in our lives to let the eternal (in whatever form you conceive it to be) slowly change us into instruments of peace. To do that, we must go out not knowing what to do (which is what I believe our country ought to be doing right now), and not rush to judgment before all the facts are in. What actions will bring justice and harmony to all involved, as well as to the rest of the world? There is a bumper sticker, which reads, "A closed mind is a wonderful thing to lose." We must not allow ourselves to be caught up in the facile and violent answers to terrorism which seem to be cropping up already, but rather keep an open and ready mind to the constantly changing conditions concerning not only the terrorist attack, but indeed our own daily lives as well.

Buddhists talk about the causes and conditions of every event. One reporter has interviewed jailed terrorists in the Middle East since 1983. The one continuous feeling uniting them all is despair--the feeling and belief that they and their peoples have few if any options for improving their futures. By contrast most of us here in Modesto as well as many Americans have, if anything, far too many options to choose from. All of you had the time and inclination get and read this newspaper and read it most likely at your leisure. We must remember that of the more than 6 billion people who now inhabit this planet, we are a distinct minority in having such privileges. We as Americans consume more than 6 times more than the average earthling does. We must be mindful of how that makes others feel toward us. Many Arabs in the Middle East see only the effects of our military support of Israel on the Palestinians. I believe we must see through their eyes as well. Only then can we dare to act with a clear and open mind deeply aware of the suffering of all the world's citizens and a heart filled with compassion for it. Thank you all for supporting each other and the world in maintaining and extending our humanity to all peoples.

Informational Resources on Arab-Americans, the Arab World and Islam

As part of its response to the aftermath of the September 11 hijacking attacks and the anti-Arab backlash in some quarters of American society, ADC has compiled the following resource guide for Americans seeking more information on Arab-Americans, the Arab World and Islam. This will be updated and expanded in coming weeks. Please email any suggested additions to: adc@adc.org.

Unless they were published by ADC, ADC does not sell any of these books. When ordering ADC publications, be sure to include your street address and make out a check to ADC, 4201 Conn. Ave. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008. Orders can also be placed by emailing to adfc@adc.org or calling 202-244-2990.

See the ADC Education page for a lengthy annotated bibliography on Arab Americans and other Arab topics related topics.

Nabil Abraham and Andrew Shryock, eds.,, Arab Detroit: From Margin to Mainstream. Analytical articles, memoirs, poems present the diversity of the largest Arab-American community - Lebanese, Chaldeans, Yemenis, Palestinians. Covers food, music, religion, identity, and politics with academic sophistication and personal immediacy.

Anan Ameri and Dawn Ramey, eds., Arab American Encyclopedia (Detroit: ACCESS/The Gale Group, 2000). Articles cover every aspect of Arab-American life. Designed for middle school, but can be used much more broadly by anyone. History, immigration, language, religion, work, education, family, and gender roles, holidays, health, civil rights, organizations and political activism, music, literature, arts, media. Should be a standard reference in every school.

Evelyn Shakir, Bint Arab: Arab and Arab American Women in the United States (Praeger Publishers, 1997). The story of Arab and Arab-American women in the U.S. from the late 19th century until today. Based on interviews in which Arab-American women tell their own stories of struggles with identity and cultural value.

Michael W. Suleiman, ed., Arabs in America: Building a New Future (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000). Interdisciplinary essays by 21 scholars: community profiles, civil rights, youth, family life, political activism, and identity issues.

The Arab American Institute (www.aaiusa.org): has excellent online resources on Arab-American demographics.

Anti-Arab Hate Crimes and Discrimination, 1998-2000 (Washington, DC: ADC, 2001). 77 page report on assaults and threats, hate speech, employment discrimination, civil liberties issues, educational bias, cultural stereotypes in the media, political bias in the new, and other defamation and bigotry. (Available from ADC, $10.00 for shipping and handling)

Suha Sabbagh, "Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: The Image of Arabs in American Popular Fiction." (ADC, 1990). 57 pages. (Available from ADC, $3.00)

Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples. (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1991). A classic history.

Margot Badran and Miriam Cooke, eds., Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Feminist Writings. (Indiana University Press, 1990).

John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path (New York, Oxford University Press, 1988). An excellent popular introduction to Islam as a living faith by a noted western scholar. History, religious beliefs, and modern interpretations, including politicized "Islamism."

Elizabeth Fernea, ed., Children in the Muslim Middle East (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995). Essays, stories, poems, on growing up, work, education, play, politics and war. Available from AWAIR.

Elizabeth and Robert Fernea, The Arab World: Personal Encounters (Garden City, NY: Anchor Press, 1985). A scholarly couple takes a reflective look back at human and personal aspect of their lives in the Arab world.

Elizabeth Fernea and Basima Berzirgan, eds., Middle Eastern Women Speak. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1977). Biographical and autobiographical essays, poems, lullabies, excerpts from novels and the Quran. Available from AWAIR.

Naomi Shehab Nye, Sitti’s Secrets (NY: Four Winds Press, 1994). For younger children. Set in a small West Bank village, this is the story of a young Arab-American girl and her Palestinian grandmother. After meeting for the first time, they transcend differences in age, language, and culture to form a unique friendship.

Naomi Shihab Nye, Habibi (Simon and Schuster, 1997). An excellent novel for ages 13-17. A 14 year-old Palestinian-American girl’s family returns home to Jerusalem and the West Bank. We see Palestinian culture and family life and the Israeli occupation through her eyes. She discovers a grandmother that she has never met before, aunts and uncles in a West Bank village, and a history much bigger than she is. Her friendship with an Israeli teen helps to provide a balanced perspective.

Ronald Stockton, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Unit for High School Students. (Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan, 1993). This is the best resource for teaching on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 200 pages of lessons on the historical background. Used by teachers from middle school to college. Available from the Center (www.umich.edu)

Arab World and Islamic Resources (AWAIR) has an extensive catalogue of resources for teachers, students and parents: (www.telegraphave.com)

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, 4201 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20008, U.S.A. Tel: (202) 244-2990, Fax: (202) 244-3196; E-mail: adc@adc.org; Web : http://www.adc.org

America has prayed and cried for the memories of those who were senselessly killed by the insanity of a few inhumane individuals on September 11, 2001. Although we are mourning, America remains strong, and the dead will not be forgotten. We cannot let this terror persist in our nation or in the world. Peace and love for all people must prevail. Justice, democratic justice, must not be forgotten to anger and sorrow. The evil who committed these crimes against humanity must be brought to justice. They must stand trial and face the consequences of their vicious crimes because that is democratic justice.

The call to war is now upon us. The U.S. military is preparing to wage war on a foreign country to seek justice on individuals who do not want peace in our world. We must not forget that war has a heavy price. Innocent civilians in the war against terrorism will be caught in the cross fire, and the police who fight terrorism will surely die too. This is a heavy burden we will pay for if we go to war. The cycle of violence must end. America must be a leader for peace and freedom for all.

We have difficult questions that must be asked before we race to war. Are we truly ready to go to war, are we ready to accept more death, and will the violence ever end? Could this tragedy have been prevented? How much more hatred and discrimination must go on for the sake of vengeance? There are no easy answers and there are no easy solutions to these questions. If you do not have a solid answer to these questions, try asking a veteran of WWII or Vietnam about the price of war. If we do not ask the difficult questions, we are not doing our part as world citizens who are seeking peace with justice in the world.

There is absolutely no justification for the horrible crimes committed against humanity on September 11th, and those involved must be severely punished. But war is a horrible thing. This war on terrorism is just beginning, and war is not a guarantee for victory. Our soldiers, America's sons and daughters, may be killed. Lets pray at the end of this war someone will be left to remember the peace, justice, and the American way of life we cherish so much. America must be a leader for safety and freedom in the world, so that in the end our children will have a just and peaceful legacy they are proud of, not one our children will be ashamed of.

September 14, 2001

I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we’re at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done."

And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I’ve lived here for 35 years I’ve never lost track of what’s going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I’m standing.

I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters.

But the Taliban and Bin Laden are not Afghanistan. They’re not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan.

When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps."

It’s not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country.

Some say, why don’t the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they’re starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan—a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban.

We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that’s been done. The Soviets took care of it already.

Make the Afghans suffer? They’re already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and healthcare? Too late. Someone already did all that.

New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today’s Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They’d slip away and hide.

Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, they don’t move too fast, they don’t even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn’t really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban—by raping once again the people they’ve been raping all this time.

So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" they’re thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people.

Let’s pull our heads out of the sand. What’s actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden’s hideout. It’s much bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we’d have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I’m going. We’re flirting with a world war between Islam and the West.

And guess what: that’s Bin Laden’s program. That’s exactly what he wants. That’s why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It’s all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the West. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he’s got a billion soldiers. If the west wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that’s a billion people with nothing left to lose, that’s even better from Bin Laden’s point of view. He’s probably wrong; in the end the West would win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that?

Bin Laden does. Anyone else?