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| Imam Shamshad Nasir of Baitul Hameed Mosque |
Source/Credit: The Daily Bulletin
By Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer | May 2, 2011
Muslim-Americans throughout the local region welcomed the death of Osama bin Laden, whose actions on Sept. 11, 2001 led to a marked increase of fear and intolerance against the followers of Islam.
The months following the World Trade Center attacks saw a steep rise in the number of hate crimes directed toward Muslims in the United States, according to FBI statistics. The instances have declined since then, but "Islamophobia" and hate crimes against Muslims still persist, with 128 anti-Islamic hate crime offenses recorded by the FBI in 2009.
The attitude of some Americans after 9/11 toward Muslims had a life-changing impact on Farheen Dayala, a journalism student at Cal Poly Pomona and an activities coordinator for the university's Muslim Student Association.
Dayala was 11 and a resident of Diamond Bar when the attacks happened.
"Because I looked Muslim, they did call me a terrorist, and kids would ask me if Osama Bin Laden is my uncle," said Dayala, now 21. "I would get snide remarks like that in junior high school."
Dayala started reading about Muslim girls who were having their head scarves pulled off and other Muslim-Americans who had rocks thrown at them. Dayala said she still encounters bigotry, though she said it has died down from a decade ago.
"It felt like the whole nation was against my religion," Dayala said.
"I just heard certain things on the news that I hadn't heard, and all of a sudden I started hearing all these things at a young age, and I knew I had to take it upon myself to learn as much about Islam as I can ... Nothing in our religion has anything to do with bombing and killing people."
Because of her experience, Dayala said she wanted to become a journalist to help educate others.
"Muslims are not portrayed well in the media," Dayala said. "If I can have a little bit of influence on how Muslims are viewed, I want to do that through my writing, because writing is my passion."
Dayala said she appreciated Obama's reiteration of the idea that the country is not at war with Islam, though she doubts there is closure.
"Just because one of the main people is eliminated, it doesn't mean the threat is eliminated, but I am pleased that the threat is as little bit smaller now, definitely," she said.
In a statement on Monday regarding Bin Laden's death, the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said it welcomed the news.
"As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam," according a statement from the group's spokeswoman Munira Syeda.
"In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama's clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam."
Ameena Mirza Qazi, deputy executive director of CAIR Los Angeles, said Bin Laden represented "a twisted ideology of violent extremism and political opportunism, preying on war-torn peoples and usurping a beautiful faith that inspires over a billion people to make this world a better, safer place."
Imam Shamshad Nasir, the religious leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Chino, called Bin Laden's death as justice served.
"We all need to unite to oppose evil and terrorism in the world, no matter what form it takes," Nasir said. "What needs to be dealt with head-on is the ignorance, intolerance and violence directed against non-Muslims and persecuted groups within Islam such as the Shias, Sufis and the Ahmadis which is the result of decades of indoctrination in extremist, radical thinking among poor and uneducated Muslims in places like Pakistan and Indonesia."
Jonathan M. A. Ghaffar, a Muslim-American from Chino, echoed the words of the president when he called Bin Laden a mass murderer.
"Islam does not condone that; it's not Islam," Ghaffar said. "Those who create disorder on the Earth are given capital punishment."
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