US Muslims Fear Arrest Backlash
By Farah Akbar, IOL Correspondent
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The arrests sent shockwaves through the local Muslim community. (Reuters)
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"Oh God, this is going to affect all Muslims now again," Sarah Khan, a 23-year-old medical student, said on hearing reports that a terror plan had been thwarted and that fingers were being pointed at six Muslim men.
"These men thought that they were trying to help Muslims," she said.
"But they don’t understand that they are actually causing more problems for us in America," added the medical student.
"They don’t think of the consequences here."
As the details still unfold, it is known that six men of Albanian, Jordanian and Turkish origin, all in their 20’s, had planned to attack the Fort Dix army base in New Jersey.
According to the complaint launched by the US District Court of New Jersey they conspired to "kill officers and employees of agencies in the Executive branch of the United States government, namely, members of the uniformed services."
The arrests have already started aggravating anti-Muslim sentiments, on the rise since the 9/11 attacks.
One message board on America Online that was created to capture the responses of readers has several hate-filled posts, one reading "Immigrant Ancestors Made This Nation, Not Illegal Immigrants or Muslims."
Another one was titled, "Send all Muslims to Gitmo," in reference to the notorious detention center where the US has been holding hundreds of terror suspects for years without charges.
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Muslims in the US were subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
Six years later, many continue to be discriminated against on the basis of their religious background.
Not the Type
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| "I don’t know what triggered this action. They were not the radical type at all," Badat told IOL. |
"There was nothing unusual about them, they were a good family," Dr. Tahir Kukigi, an imam of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in Staten Island, said of Eljvir, Shain and Dritan Duka.
The three occasionally visited the mosque when they lived in New York City.
"The last time I saw them was during Ramadan, three brothers and their father," he recalled.
Dr. Kukigi remembers that the family seemed very polite and quiet, with no unusual behaviors.
"To tell you the truth, they had smiling faces," said Ferid Bedrolli, another imam at the same center.
He added that many of the brothers' family members were regulars at the mosque.
He speculates that the men had an acute fixation with Islam that needed attention from the right people.
"Every single believer has to go to the right people, the right source, to get information on Islam, not get it from the streets," stressed imam Bedrolli.
"If I have a headache, I’ll take a Tylenol," he says. "But if I am sicker, I will go to a specialist, someone who can help me. You cannot go to people who are not experts, they can make you sicker or destroy you more."
The Dukas, ages 23, 26 and 28, were all born in Debar, Macedonia, and came to the US illegally more than a decade ago.
They have worked in roofing, like many of their relatives and fellow Albanian immigrants, coming to own two companies in addition to a pizzeria.
When Naseen Badat, Interfaith Dialogue coordinator of the Islamic Center of South Jersey, heard the news she was shocked.
The Duka brothers lived in South Jersey for some years, attending high school in the town.
"I said to my husband, ‘Are they the people really?'"
Badat remembers the brothers accompanying their mother to the mosque and always being very low-key.
She recalls that they were of a mild nature and always looked to the floor when there were women around.
"I don’t know what triggered this action. They were not the radical type at all."
Unjustified
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| A file photo of Eljvir, one of the three Duka brothers suspected in the case. |
Most of the worshippers interviewed, largely from Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin, believed that American actions in the Middle East motivated the six men to think of such a heinous plan.
"They probably did this in reaction to what’s going on in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan," said Abdullah Mohammed, a 28-year-old African-American convert.
"Maybe it had something to do with unfinished business in Iraq," Sarah agreed.
But no matter what the source of their anger was, all Muslims interviewed were in agreement that what these suspects had planned was against the peaceful teachings of Islam.
"If these allegations are true, their actions are incorrect according to Islam," insisted Abdullah. "We are not allowed to be the aggressors."
Beg, the Imam of the Jamaica Muslim Center, emphasized the same message.
"Those soldiers that are in Fort Dix, what did they do?" he asked a few minutes before the asur prayer began.
"Even if they were in Iraq, we should not kill them. Our government may make wrong decisions, but we should not harm soldiers."
Ali Hassan, a 25-year-old health care professional of Egyptian origin, believes in changing policies the peaceful way.
"If these men were angry about something the government did, there are other ways of making change. Non-violence is the most effective way of making change," he insisted.
"One of the benefits of living in this country is that you can affect policy by non-violent means."
Dr. Kukigi, the imam of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in Staten Island, is extremely disheartened by the actions of these men, especially the Dukas brothers.
"We are Albanians and we never betray anyone, but they have betrayed us and this country," he said angrily.
"This country has done so much for Kosovo. It feels like we are under a shockwave."
Imam Bedrolli had much stronger words.
"If all the facts prove these men to be guilty, they do not deserve to live in this life."
Individual
According to the Muslim Communities in New York City Project done by Columbia University, there are 27 mosques in Queens alone and approximately 600,000 Muslims living across the five boroughs of New York.
"The Muslims here are firmly entrenched," says Hassan, the 25-year-old health care professional who was born and raised in New York.
"We need to be better Muslims. We need to become more involved in our community to prevent people from reaching this point," he maintained.
"We came to this country to live here and prosper," agreed Imam Beg.
"We are good people. We should tell people to do things to develop this county. Tell them to help the people, not to harm them. It is their foolishness."
Muslims are wary of again being targeted as a violent religious group due to the actions of a few individuals.
Some news outlets alleged that Serdar Tatar, 23, another suspect of Turkish origin, was recruited by the Dukas brothers at the mosque.
"They are making it sound like this Center is a recruitment hub," Badat said.
She maintains that the Islamic Center is extremely low profile and that only non-political sermons are given.
"When someone commits a crime, we should not blame his son or his father who did not do anything," concurs imam Beg.
"There are bad and good people everywhere. If someone harms or kills someone in the name of Islam, this is not Islam. We should blame the person only who is guilty."
