Source/Credit: Fox11 News | Online
By Beth Jones | September 11, 2011
OSHKOSH - To honor victims of the terrorist attacks, thousands across the nation gave back to their local communities on Sunday.
It's a day of remembrance, but many are being proactive, and giving back, like Carol Gee of Oshkosh.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, along with the Community Blood Center, hosted a blood drive in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
"My brothers were all in the service, and, you know, people who live here should know how blessed we are and they should do their part," Gee explained.
"To me, the biggest lesson of that whole incident, was the courage of the first responders and the firemen that went in, ran to the fire instead of running away from it, to help people out and so this is my way of trying to help out too," said Mike Bober of Oshkosh.
The drive is part of a national "Muslims for Life" campaign.
Over the years, those in the Muslim communities have been trying to shed a positive light on the Islamic faith with community-based events like this.
"The best way we can do it is to follow the tenets of Islam to the best of our ability, and show our community that Islam is a religion of peace," explained Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Youth Outreach Director Ahmed Khan.
However, members said it hasn't been easy.
"The notion is always there, that you are always being looked at differently, you wear a cap or you have a beard, you're just looked at differently, so in that sense, we're always worried about it," said Community President Khurram Ahmad.
And Ahmad said it continues to be an uphill battle.
"Oshkosh actually has been very supportive, all around. We haven't had any issues from that aspect, nonetheless, from a national standpoint and just from a faith standpoint, it has been a struggle to make sure our name continues to remain on the positive side," Ahmad explained.
But despite that struggle, Ahmad feels progress is being made.
"When I look at my children, when I look at my daughters as they sit with their friends, I don't see religion in their eyes," Ahmad said.
Nationwide, officials hope to collect 10,000 units of blood through the blood drive, which they estimate will help save 30,000 lives.
Read original post here: Local Muslim community reflects on 9/11
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.