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Attacks on U.S. Soil
With Hussein Ibish
Communications Director
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Friday, Sept. 14, 2001; 10 a.m. EDT
Tuesday morning, in a horrific unfolding of events, two planes hit and destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one plane crashed into the Pentagon and another in Somerset County, Pa. in apparent hijackings. Thousands are presumed dead or injured as emergency services and relief workers continue to make sense of the chaotic scenes.
Hussein Ibish, Communications Director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), was online to discuss the attacks on America.
Ibish is the author of "Constitution's Edge: Arab
Americans and Civil Liberties in the United States," "States of Confinement," "Legitimizing Occupation"
The transcript follows.
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Hussein Ibish: I think that it is very important that all our fellow American citizens understand that the Arab-American community has been as much as a target of this attack as any other sector of American society. There were over 200 Arab Americans working in the World Trade Center and it is clear to us that we have lost many lives from our community. We share the same experience and the same emotions as all of our fellow Americans. The same grief, horror, outrage and anger. It is doubly traumatic for us to be living through this nightmare and then find ourselves blamed by some of our fellow citizens simply because of our ethnicity.
Austin, Tex.:
How can non-Muslims best help or protect their Muslim-American neighbors and guests of this country from Islamic nations against suspicion and race violence?
Hussein Ibish: I think that speaking our publicly is the best one can do. The violent attacks that so many Arab Americans have experienced over the past three days are spontaneous and misguided expressions of the rage we are all feeling. Some people have come to the terrible conclusion that attacking fellow Americans is a constructive or legitimate reaction to such tragedy. I think that the more that Americans, both prominent and in every day life, speak out against this idea the less inclined people will be to allow their anger to so distort their judgement.
Boston, Mass.:
Hi Hussein,
Is there a large opposition to retaliatory strikes amongst the Arab American populace?
Hussein Ibish: I think that Arab Americans feel very strongly that we have been viciously attacked and that we need to do something about it, and that the response should be vigorous and effective. We should recognize that for all the talk of "war" this atrocity was, in essence, a criminal act. Our responses should be, insofar as possible, a law enforcement response. However their may be individuals or forces operating abroad that played a roll in this that we can not deal with through law enforcement and so military actions might be required. However, it is important that any military attacks be directed against the persons and groups responsible and not against the innocent. In 1998 after the embassy bombings in Africa, part of our response was a rash missile strike against a supposed chemical weapons factory in Sudan. This turned out to be an innocent medicine factory and all our mistake succeeded in achieving was depriving Sudanese of badly needed medicine and killing a janitor. We should do anything we can to avoid repetition of that kind of error.
Atlantic City, N.J.:
You said, "find ourselves blamed by some of our fellow citizens simply because of our ethnicity."
Aren't we targeted as Americans because of our ethnicity? Aren't Jews targeted also by Muslims because of their ethnicity?
Hussein Ibish: To be an American is not an ethnicity but a nationality we all cherish and hold dear. We Americans, Arab Americans included, were targeted, but not because of our ethnicity. It may be that Arabs have targeted Jews because of their ethnicity and that Jews have targeted Arabs for the same reason. In either case, this is equally wrong. If you are referring to the conflict in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, this is defined, at least so far, in terms of a political conflict about whether or not the Palestinians will be allowed to establish an independent state or whether they will have to live under permanent Israeli military occupation. This is a serious political dispute and not decontextualized ethnic hostility.
Washington, D.C.:
I do believe, as do the vast majority of Americans, that these actions represent a very small, extreme minority of the Arab people.
However, I believe that the more moderate voices in the Arab community must do more to stop this extremism. U.S. and Western intervention alone will only create greater extremism.
Also, Arab governments and state-run media -- even in more moderate countries such as Egypt -- must curtail the really inciteful rhetoric they've been communicating. A generation of Arabs has truly been brainwashed into thinking that the US is their mortal enemy.
What's your opinion of this?
Hussein Ibish: I think that you have been given a somewhat misleading impression about the discourse in mainstream Arab media. There is anger and resentment among Arab publics and Arab commentators about some of the indefensible policies of the United States in the Middle East, and therefore there is a good deal of criticism of these policies. However, this does not mean that anti-American sentiment is typical. There is a difference between criticism of government policies and hatred for a society. The kind of rhetoric to which you refer is concentrated mainly in marginal publications and I don't think that extensive censorship is the solution. I do agree that more can be done to bridge the gap between Arabs and Americans but the responsibility for this must be born equally. It is a pity that few Americans seem to recognize how intense the anti-Arab rhetoric among American commentators, including some columnist of the Washington Post, truly is. If you are looking for examples of intolerance and incitement I am sad to say you need to look no further. So the responsibility must be shared and shared equally. This is an urgent subject that we addressed at our most recent convention in June at a journalist round table in which we brought American and Arab journalists together and intensely critiqued the performance of both. You could listen to this panel in Real Audio online if you like at our Web site.
Helsinki, Finland:
What do think about the reaction of the most part of Palestinian people?
Hussein Ibish: I think that the overwhelming number of Palestinians have clearly expressed their shock and anger although most people outside the Arab world have been given a false impression by one piece of footage showing a small group of Palestinians in Nablus expressing joy at the attack. To call this moment unrepresentative would be an understatement. Every single Palestinian leader from Easier Aright to the heads of Hammers and Islamic Jihad strongly condemned the attack and Palestinians held numerous commemorations for the victims, including a very large candle light vigil in occupied East Jerusalem, and many moments of silence and public displays of grief. But it has to be admitted that the disgraceful incident in Nablus has done considerable harm to the Palestinian image and has needlessly associated the Palestinians with an action which would appear to have had almost nothing to do with them or their cause. This is a great pity.
Woodbridge, Va.:
Have Arab-Americans done anything to combat terrorism?
Hussein Ibish: Of course. We participate in every aspect of our society and we serve in government in the armed forces, in police and fire departments and all other elements of society that try to make this country a safe and peaceful place to live. Also organizations such as ADC have been very clear in denouncing all attacks against civilians no matter who the perpetrators or the victims are. However, we are not a police or law enforcement agency and crime fighting and intelligence work must be left to the proper authorities. All we can do is participate enthusiastically in all constructive practices in our society and promote a discourse of tolerance and coexistence within our community and to the rest of American society.
Washington, D.C.:
Sir,
Mr. Regev. of the Israeli Embassy, is also
online now and has suggested that
Yasser Arafat's blood donation was a PR
move in light of the celebrations by some
Palestinians.
Your thoughts on this?
Thanks.
Hussein Ibish: The Israeli government has most cynically thought to exploit this tragedy in their attempts to crush all Palestinian resistance to Israeli military rule in the occupied territories. To this end they have attempted to paint the Palestinians as a nation of terrorists and the Israeli military's brutal actions as "counter terrorism." As the world has been consumed with the shock over this terrible crime on Tuesday Israel has taken the opportunity to launch its largest attack on Palestinian cities since the uprising began about a year ago. If anything is a cynical exploitation of a massive tragedy it is this.
Fairfax, Va.:
As an American muslim, how should I handle this? As I am walking out of my home or going to my office, people are giving me weird looks -- I love America and this is all too sad for me. Any suggestions?
Hussein Ibish: I agree, this is too sad.
The double tragedy for us is almost unbearable. All I can suggest is what we have been urging from the beginning - that everyone exercise caution, use their common sense, be aware of and alert to those around them and report and suspicious behavior and threats to the police or groups like ADC. I want to take this opportunity to praise the police forces around the country for their outstanding efforts to provide protection for Arab Americans and Muslims whenever possible. I am currently sitting in an office which is and has been under D.C. Police protection since Tuesday's crime, and there are many organizations institutions and Mosques around the country which have been threatened and are being protected.
It is clear that we can rely on our police to protect us when they can. However, many of these attacks are spontaneous and unforeseeable and therefore we must proceed with all caution and care while recognizing that the authorities can and will provide us with the support that we need when possible.
Hussein Ibish: I would like to express our profound thanks to all those Americans, both ordinary citizens and prominent leaders, who have reached out to us with messages of reassurance and compassion. Many many people have let us know that they understand that we are in pain and anguish like all other Americans and that it is grossly unfair for our community to be blamed collectively for the crimes of a lunatic fringe.
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