USA: North Jersey Muslims react with mix of elation, relief

For Dr. Kashif Chaudhry, a physician at Englewood Hospital and youth leader in the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, now is the time to embark on a Islamic public relations blitz – an opportunity missed, he feels, following the 9/11 attacks.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Record | New Jersey
By Zach Patberg | May 2, 2011

North Jersey Muslims reacted with a mixture of elation, relief and some indifference to the killing of the world’s most wanted terrorist. Many saw Osama bin Laden’s death as a major victory in the fight against terrorism and wished to use it as a springboard for repairing the Islamic image in the United States.

“We are hoping that now that we have snuffed out the head of the snake, the onslaught on Muslims will also come to an end,” Aref Assaf, president of the Paterson-based American Arab Forum, said, referring to such recent controversies as congressional hearings on Islamic extremism and protests over a mosque near Ground Zero.


Some lacked such enthusiasm, however, viewing Sunday night’s climax to the 10-year manhunt as long overdue and carrying little impact.

“It’s just one terrorist dead,” said Sema Kilic from behind the counter at the Paterson Turkish coffee shop, Yayla Pastahanesi, where she works. Other patrons shrugged at the news.

Still, pockets of Arabic and Turkish Muslims could be found in coffee shops and bakeries for much of Monday morning with eyes trained on televisions carrying coverage of the Al Qaeda leader’s death.

Memet Com, pausing to watch an Arabic news channel in a Paterson bakery on Main Street, recalled the dark years following the bin Laden-orchestrated attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

“Now everyone is happy,” the 38-year-old said.

From a nearby table, Mesut Abayhan, 51, added, “Bad people deserve to die.”

Yet several Muslim leaders warned that more work needed to be done to stamp out bin Laden’s influence and rebuild Islamic support.

Levent Koc, an Elmwood Park Muslim and head of the Interfaith Dialogue Center in Newark, acknowledged that bin Laden’s death was “very critical and important for the image of Islam,” but stressed the need for better education to steer youth away from extremist recruitment.

“If you eradicate the ignorance, you will diminish the violence,” he said.

For Dr. Kashif Chaudhry, a physician at Englewood Hospital and youth leader in the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, now is the time to embark on a Islamic public relations blitz – an opportunity missed, he feels, following the 9/11 attacks.

“We shouldn’t repeat that mistake,” Chaudhry said. “This is a chance for us to go out and tell our American friends that we are even more happy than they are.”

E-mail: patberg@northjersey.com



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