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Threats, snide remarks worsen the pain of Bay Area Muslims

Sukhjit Purewal in San Jose

For American Muslims of the Bay Area as well as around the country, the tragedy of what happened on the East Coast on Tuesday has been more painful than for the average American.

As the country struggled to come to grips with the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, many Muslims had to face the reality that they would be linked unfairly with the suicide bombers and their alleged mastermind, Osama bin Laden.

As Palo Alto café owner Sophia Omar, who is of Afghan origin, told rediff.com: "When people think of Muslims, they think of terrorists."

"We play a dual role and have a dual responsibility at a time like this," said Maha ElGenaidi, executive director of the San Jose-based Islamic Networks Group. "We have to basically deal with the backlash and watch our backs and as citizens of the world, we feel outrage and are horrified."

American Muslim leaders united in their condemnation of the attacks on American civilians. "As Muslims we respect the lives of all human beings," Tahir Anwar, imam of the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, told rediff.com

The mosque has received its share of hate calls, said Anwar.

At the same time, leaders called on the public and the media to exercise restraint in their judgement.

"If this has Middle Eastern connections, it should not be linked to Islam," said Anwar. "You can't hold a whole sect responsible for the activities of a minority group just because they are of the same religion."

Anwar and ElGenaidi also reported receiving many calls from strangers who said they didn't blame American Muslims and stood by them in support.

ElGenaidi counts herself lucky to be a Muslim in the Bay Area. "We live in a good community because of our activism," she said.

ElGenaidi and other Bay Area Muslim leaders met on Tuesday night to discuss security issues around mosques and schools, many of which were closed on Tuesday. Classes at the Granada Islamic School in Santa Clara were cancelled after the school received threatening calls and students and parents were insulted by motorists driving by.

Muslim groups had a prayer service scheduled in San Francisco for Wednesday night. Another was planned in Santa Clara, but had to be postponed until at least Thursday after city police said they needed more time to prepare for security.

ElGenaidi said that aside from the threatening phone calls her office has fielded, there have also been concerned Muslims calling in for advice.

"Mostly it has been women who have called to ask whether they should wear their hijab," said ElGenaidi.

She has been telling them that they should definitely continue dressing in their traditional garb. But ElGenaidi admits she herself has been less conservative in her appearance than usual. "I try not to be as noticeable as possible," she said.

Most importantly, however, ElGenaidi is telling the women not to be afraid of who they are. "Don't hide it -- don't be scared, and if you want to state your point of view, do it."

All around the Bay Area, bits and pieces of information are coming in regarding harassment against businesses and residents. The San Jose Mercury News reported that a rock and bottle were hurled at an Afghan-owned store. But the Fremont police said they had not received any reports. Nor had the Hayward police, despite the anecdotal information reported to rediff.com by shopkeepers in San Jose and Milpitas. And San Francisco police said they had only received unsubstantiated reports of threatening calls.

"How can you blame a whole community?" asked Sayed Abbas. "I think this is pretty wrong."

Abbas, owner of the Pakistan Market in San Jose, told rediff.com that he had received about 30 threatening or harassing phone calls at his store on Tuesday. People called in threatening to blow up his store. Abbas, a US citizen, admits it was scary. "We are just as sorry for what happened as everyone else," he said.

Abbas told one man who called him that when Timothy McVeigh, a white man, blew up the Alfred P Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Abbas didn't call and blame him. So what right did the man have to call Abbas now?

But Abbas closed his shop early fearing that there could be trouble when darkness descended.

Palo Alto's Sophia Omar said Tuesday was a difficult day for her emotionally. Sophia has operated her café in the city, which is known for its liberal and well-educated populace, for the past 10 years. But on Tuesday, her heart was wrenched by not-so-funny jokes made by long-time customers.

"One man told me, 'you Middle Eastern people are pretty tough'." But for Sophia, who left Afghanistan 21 years ago after participating in the resistance against the Soviet occupation, such comments were not very funny.

She picked her 16-year-old son up from the Los Altos High School, where he plays on the football team, just for her own peace of mind. It turned out that Sophia had a right to be concerned even though her son wasn't happy about going home early. "One boy said to him, 'so your uncle bombed us'."

Sophia said her son sometimes brags that he could one day become president of the United States because he is a citizen, whereas she cannot because she was not born here. But on Tuesday, her son too felt as if he didn't belong in the US. Sophia cut off work early and took him fishing to keep his mind busy.

She hopes that even if America does go after Osama bin Laden, Americans won't blame Afghanistan or Muslims. "He is only using Afghanistan as a base for his evil," she said.

ElGenaidi said she remains optimistic that the harassment will not grow worse if the US retaliates against bin Laden or Afghanistan. But she said she knows realistically that the horrific images are going to be associated with Muslims and Islam.

The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage

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