The following statements, images, and links are provided
by the Study of Islam Section at the American Academy of Religion.

The following web page is produced through the cooperation of over 50 professors of Islamic Studies and Middle Eastern Studies from the US and Canada. These scholars are members of the Study of Islam section at the American Academy of Religion, the largest international organization responsible for the academic study of religion.

All of us have been affected personally by the Tragedy of September 11th. Many of us have lost students, family members, friends, and colleagues in this tragedy. We would like to begin by offering our prayers and sympathy to everyone around the world who has lost loved ones in the attacks on World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania.

Our aims in this web page are to bring to light a number of issues, many of which have not received adequate coverage in the national media:

-Statements by leading academic organizations regarding the tragedy of September 11th and the aftermath
-Statements by leading American Muslim organizations.
-Statements by President Bush to distinguish between Islam as the faith of one billion people all over the world (including 6 million in the US) and the actions of the terrorists.
-Expressions of grief, sympathy, and prayer from the international Muslim community, in response to the tragedy of September 11th.
-Hate crimes committed against American Muslims and Arab Americans, since 9/11.
-Information on the Taliban, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden.
-Statements issued by humanitarian and peace organizations,, trying to bring about a less violent resolution to this tragedy.
Statements from Nobel Peace Prize Winners, on how we should proceed in these difficult times.
-Information on the plight of 6 million Afghan refugees.
-Other international responses to the US retaliation against Afghanistan.
-Columns and editorial pieces which call for different ways of thinking about the complex current situation.

This web site is being continuously updated. Please check it frequently.
You have to scroll down in order to see all the items mentioned above.

Since its conception on 9/12, it has been used as a resource in some 70 countries. If you find the information here useful, we humbly ask you to share it with your own community.

For a summary of many of the points in this page, see Michael Sells' "The Interlinked Factors of a Tragedy."

To see a summary of the Muslim responses post-9/11 on-line, see Gary Bunt's Useful article: "Studying Islam after 9-11: Reflections and Resources."

Scholars of Islam speak out against terrorism; clarify position of Islam

Monday, September 17, 2001

Dozens of scholars of Islam issued a statement today, condemning the violent attacks of September 11th.

“We are grief-stricken at these horrifying events,” they wrote; “the murder of innocents can never be justified and must not be tolerated.”
In a lengthy statement, professors from major colleges and universities throughout the country expressed their compassion for grieving family members while also decrying the increase in violence against American Muslims this past week. “Anger and frustration are completely understandable and shared by us all,” they wrote “yet that anger must not be directed at individuals utterly innocent of these terrible crimes.”

In recent days, verbal and physical attacks against Muslims (and people who were thought to be Muslims) have been reported from California to Vermont. Muslims have been warned to stay home or to avoid wearing traditional dress. “Particularly distressing is the fact that many American Muslims have fled to the United States, seeking a haven from intolerant regimes in Kosovo, Afghanistan or Iraq. For them now to face intolerance and violence here is an abuse of our Nation’s most deeply cherished beliefs” they said.

The co-signers of the statement are members of many scholarly societies in the United States and Canada. They include:

Professor Asma Afsaruddin, of Notre Dame University
Professor Vivienne Sm. Angeles, La Salle University
Professor Ghazala Anwar of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Professor Jonathan Brockopp, Director of the Religion Program at Bard College
Professor Patrice C. Brodeur of Connecticut College
Professor Arthur Buehler of Louisiana State University
Professor Amila Buturovic of York University
Professor Juan E. Campo of the University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor Vincent J. Cornell of University of Arkansas
Professor Frederick M. Denny Chair of Islamic Studies and the History of Religions, University of Colorado
Professor Abdullahi Gallab of Hiram College
Professor Behrooz Ghamari of Georgia State University
Professor Alan Godlas of University of Georgia
Professor Hugh Talat Halman, of University of Arkansas
Professor Pieternella (Nelly) Harder Vandoorn,, of Valparaiso University
Professor Marcia Hermansen of Loyola University, Chicago
Professor Valerie J. Hoffman, of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Professor Qamar ul-Huda, of Boston College
Professor Aaron Hughes of the University of Calgary
Professor Amir Hussain of California State University, Northridge
Professor John Iskander of Georgia State Univeristy
Professor Ahmet Karamustafa of Washington University in St. Louis
Professor Tazim Kassam of Syracuse University
Professor Zayn Kassam of Pomona College
Professor Ruqayya Khan of University of California at Santa Barbara
Professor Kathryn Kueny, of Lawrence College
Professor Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Dean of the College, Georgetown University
Professor Richard C. Martin, Emory University
Professor J.W. Morris, Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter
Professor Gordon D. Newby, Executive Director, Institute for Comparative and International Studies at Emory University
Professor James Pavlin of Rutgers University
Professor Jack Renard of St. Louis University
Professor Omid Safi of Colgate University
Professor Walid Saleh of Middlebury College
Professor Zeki Saritoprak of Berry College
Professor Michael Sells, Haverford College
Professor Laury Silvers-Alario of Holy Cross University
Professor Alfons Teipen of Furman University

The full text of the statement follows.
For more information, contact Jonathan Brockopp at 845-876-4927 or see the website of the Study of Islam Section.
For more information on Islam, see the web page on Islam and Islamic Studies.

Words of Wisdom, Words of Compassion

I have set before you life,
and I have set before you death.

I have begged you to choose life
for the sake of your children.

Deuteronomy.

Images of Grief from American Muslims:

In the past few weeks, many of us have seen (often for the first time) American Muslim leaders on TV, sharing their grief with other American citizens,
and as we have seen dismissing the actions of those behind the tragedy of 9/11 as both against Islam and the ideals of humanity.

This is a positive change, to see Muslim leaders. It is naturally an encouraging development to have Muslims being given a voice,
rather than always being talked about.
However, the images of the Muslim leaders have been inevitably male, adult, (usually bearded), and almost always immigrant.
While each of the above leaders individually is of course entitled to speak, if we only see images of adult male Muslims of Arab and South Asian heritage on TV,
at least for some people this will only reinforce the image of "Islam as the Other".

To provide a slightly different image, I would like to share the following two images, of younger female American Muslims.

I urge - I know I don't need to tell you all this -but our nation must be mindful
that there are thousands of Arab-Americans who live in New York City
who love their flag just as much as the three of us do.

And we must be mindful that as we seek to win the war
that we treat Arab-Americans and Muslims with the respect they deserve.
I know that is your attitudes as well. Certainly the attitude of this government,
that we should not hold one who is a Muslim responsible for an act of terror.

We will hold those who are responsible for the terrorist acts accountable and those who harbor them."

If one takes a life,
it is as if one has taken the life of all humanity.

If one saves a single life,
it is as if he has saved the life of all humanity.

Inspired by Qur'an 5:32.

Closer examination has revealed that that celebration was in fact a very limited phenomenon, limited to a few Palestinian villages. Almost every single head of state in the Muslim world has expressed grief and outrage over this tragedy, fully expressing sympathy with the Americans who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

We believe that it is important that these images, these words, also receive national attention.

- The terrorist act was strongly condemned by every single Palestinian organization including Fatah, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hamas, Workers Unions and Committees, Human Right organizations (AlHaq, Law, Palestine Center for Human Rights), student associations, municipalities, mosques and churches, etc.

- The US Consul General in Jerusalem reported that he has received a huge stack of faxes from Palestinians and Palestinian organizations expressing condolences, grief and solidarity. He himself was pained to see that the media chose to focus on the sensational images of a few Palestinians rejoicing.

- The Palestine Legislative Council condemned the terrorist attack on the United States and sent an urgent letter of condolences to Mr. J Dennis Hasterd, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

- Palestinians in East Jerusalem held a candle-light vigils on 12 and 14 September to express their grief and solidarity with the American families struck by this tragedy. Mr. Abdel Qader Al-Husseini, son of the late Palestinian leader Faisal Al-Husseini led one of the vigils.

- Jerusalem University students, along with the President of the University and the Deans of the various Faculties, began a blood donation drive in East Jerusalem. Students and professors went to hospitals in order to donate blood for the American victims who need it.

- The 1 million Palestinian students in the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, stood five minutes in silence to express their solidarity with the hundreds of American children who have been struck by this strategy, which resembles in its shocking effects their daily sufferings. (see image to the right)

-In Iran, Tehran's main soccer stadium observed an unprecedented minute's silence in sympathy with the victims.

-Iran's Ayatollah Imami Kashani spoke of a catastrophic act of terrorism which could only be condemned by all Muslims, adding the whole world should mobilise against terrorism.

Words of Wisdom, Words of Compassion

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it...
Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate.

In fact, violence merely increases hate....

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.

Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Images below are from a peaceful candlelight vigil on the streets of Tehran, Iran. (September 18th, 2001)
The pariticipants lit candles, mourned, and prayed to showed their grief over the loss of innocent life in the tragedies of Sept. 11th.

The following image is from a peaceful rally in the Muslim country of Bangladesh,
who were showing this sympathy with Americans
who have lost loved ones in this Tragedy

Image of Tibetan female monks
in meditation, after 9/11

An eye for an eye
and the whole world goes blind.

Mahatma Gandhi

-The Council on American Islamic Relations puts the number of reported attacks on at 785. In the past few days the number has risen from 300 to 542 to 625, to 785 reported cases, as of October 2nd. The 48 hours after the WTC tragedy already saw more hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs than the entire previous year. The attackers have often lashed out against anyone with a brown skin tone or accent. Some of the hate has been directed against our Hindu and Sikh friends, who are neither Arab nor Muslim.

Here are some of the most serious attacks:

• Crowd of 300 demonstrating in front of a Chicago Mosque: One of the demonstrators, Colin Zaremba, 19, told The Associated Press, "I'm proud to be American and I hate Arabs and I always have."

• New York man tries to run over a Pakistani woman: Huntington, N.Y., a 75-year-old man who was drunk tried to run over a Pakistani woman in the parking lot of a shopping mall, police said. The man, Adam Lang, then followed the woman into a store and threatened to kill her for "destroying my country."

• San Francisco Police Investigate Hate Crime: (BAY CITY NEWS - 9/12/2001) - The San Francisco Police Department reported today that someone left a bag filled with a red substance thought to be blood on the doorstep of the Islamic Community Center and investigators are treating the incident as a hate crime.

• Dallas-area mosque target of shooting :(ASSOCIATED PRESS - 9/12/2001) - At least six bullets shattered windows of a North Texas Mosque this morning, causing about $3,000 in damage, officials said. Windows at the Islamic Center of Irving were found shot out when workers arrived at the mosque about 6 a.m. Nobody was at the mosque when the shooting occurred and no injuries were reported.
  
• Bus with Muslim school children stoned (Washington Post, 9/13/2001)

• A Sikh man in Arizona is killed. Officials are investigating to see if the murder was racially motivated. The murderer might well have mistaken the Sikh turban for an indication that the man was Muslim. (September 16th, 2001) Two other gas stations in the same town, Mesa, Arizona, have also been shot at. The operators of the other gas stations are of Arab origin.

• Fearing for the safety of its children, all Canadian Islamic schools close.

• A mosque in Denton, Texas was fire bombed.

• A crowd chases a Muslim woman and her children out of a Wal-mart at Lamarie, Wyoming.

• A primary Muslim school in New York, The Islamic Institute, receives death threats against its 450 children. The caller threatened to "paint the street with the blood of the children."
• Disturbing reports of attacks on international students across college campuses.

• Click here for the image, featured in Time Magazine, of an burnt down Arab restaurant.

• Click here to see the picture of the vandalized car of one of my own friends. This friend, a former student at Duke University, is now a student at McGill University in Canada. The graffiti on the car (broken window) reads: "go home Arab". (The student is not Arab.)

Moveon.org ("Justice, not Terror")

To combat terrorism, we must act in accordance with a high standard that does not disregard the lives of people in other countries.
If we retaliate by bombing Kabul and kill people oppressed by the Taliban dictatorship who have no part in deciding whether terrorists are harbored,
we become like the terrorists we oppose.

We perpetuate the cycle of retribution and recruit more terrorists by creating martyrs.
Please do everything you can to counsel patience as we search for those responsible.
Please ensure that our actions reflect the sanctity of human life everywhere.

Thank you. We've mounted a petition campaign, called "Justice, not Terror", that delivers exactly this message. Please add your voice at: Moveon.org petition

STATEMENT FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

"We must stand up for human rights"

The attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001 amounted to an international tragedy. The victims included US citizens as well as Asians, Latin Americans and Europeans, Muslims as well as Christians and Jews. The identity of the perpetrators has yet to be fully determined but there is evidence to suggest that they come from several different countries. Grief and outrage at the atrocity have affected people all over the world. This global tragedy demands a global response - based on global values of human rights and justice.

As the world braces itself for a ''robust reaction'', world leaders are speaking the language of war. It is at times like these that we must be alert to the risks posed to human rights. The voice of the defenders of human rights must not be drowned out by the clarion call to arms. We insist that states respect human rights and international humanitarian law at all times, under all circumstances.

Already we have seen a wave of racist attacks directed at people because of their appearance or religion. The threat perception is encouraging an environment of racism and xenophobia. In north America, Europe and elsewhere, Muslims, Arabs and Sikhs have been shot, stabbed and beaten. Mosques have been firebombed. Shops have been looted. Schools have been forced to close because of intimidation and harassment.

Governments must take strong action against racist attacks directed at the Muslim, Asian and Middle Eastern populations in their countries, whether they are citizens or foreigners. You cannot claim to speak in the name of freedom if all those on your territory do not feel equally protected.

Governments are using the ''war on terrorism'' to introduce draconian measures to limit civil liberties. The US and EU governments are considering provisions that would allow them to detain immigrants indefinitely, even if they have not been charged with any offence. Such measures are unlikely to deter attacks but they are likely to stifle dissent and curtail basic freedoms. For this reason, they must be resisted.

In reaching a balance between security and individual freedom, the internationally recognized safeguards to protect human rights must not be sacrificed. Even in the most extreme crisis, Governments do not have a completely free hand. Even if they are at war, they must abide by the basic rules that protect civilians' lives.

The human toll of this crisis must not fall on those who are the most vulnerable - refugees and asylum seekers who are themselves fleeing repression and terror. Some governments are exploiting the climate of public fear to tighten up asylum laws and policies. Australia and the European Union are rushing through measures that will undermine the rights of refugees and cause more human misery.

A humanitarian crisis of epic proportions is developing on the borders of Afghanistan as Iran and Pakistan turn away famine-stricken Afghan women, children and men fleeing in fear of military attacks. We need to act now to prevent a repeat of the calamity we saw at Blace as refugees fled Kosovo. The international community must insist that Afghan refugees are allowed to enter neighbouring countries. The international community must also share the cost and responsibility of hosting them.

The victims of the 11 September attacks, like all victims, deserve justice, not revenge. But how should that justice be delivered?Governments are fast defining their options in terms of force. Our concern as human rights activists must be to insist that justice is rendered according to the rule of law. Both the pursuit and any subsequent trial of the suspects must be in accordance with internationally recognized standards governing the use of force and fair trial procedures. The death penalty should not be imposed.

The 11 September attacks highlight once again the need for a system of international justice. Some atrocities demand international accountability. In some circumstances, international cooperation to bring suspected perpetrators to justice can be more easily forthcoming through an international tribunal. Unfortunately, many governments including the USA have not ratified the International Criminal Court and resisted, during the drafting of the Rome Statute, broadening its jurisdiction. As the need for international cooperation to address transnational crimes become evident, the US Government should consider supporting the establishment of the court.

All victims, whether they are killed under the eyes of the world's media or perish in a remote conflict, have the right to justice. The response to the 11 September tragedy must not create new victims or be used as a pretext for an attack on human rights. Instead, it should lead governments to build an effective system of international justice that could end impunity for all perpetrators of gross human rights abuses, whether committed in the USA or the Middle East, in Chechnya or Sierra Leone.

Irene Khan
Amnesty International Secretary General

The US Bombing of Afghanistan
(Starting on Sunday October 7, 2001)
and various responses of the international community

One of the challenging points about trying to convey a sense of the range of the responses of the international community is that much of the national news has focused on two extremes: the majority of Americans (80+%, according to CNN polls) support these actions. In this campaign, we are supported by the British and other allies. The other extreme has been the angry backlash in Pakistan, which has also been receiving a great deal of national attention.

Our aim here is to go beyond both of those extremes, and document some of the wide range of ambiguities and ambivalences that exist internationally.
Some of these responses come from prominent humanitarian groups, ranging from the UN Human Rights Commissioner to Doctors Without Borders to Oxfam.
Other responses from other countries.

The international medical aid agency Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) said the humanitarian action was "a piece of military propaganda aimed at making the U.S.-led attack more acceptable to international opinion." "What sense is there in shooting with one hand, and giving medicine with the other?" the group asked.

*Also, read here for a fuller interview with Austen Davis, the General Director of Medeins Sans Frantiers: "Q& A: Afghanistan's Humanitarian Crisis". This was reported on the Christian Science Monitor.

spokesman for Oxfam -- a UK-based development, relief, and campaigning organisation -- told Reuters: "We would say that...what's being done is confused and almost completely unprepared for a crisis of this scale. "Dropping things from the air is more PR than a well prepared aid effort. Air drops are very random. "You don't know whether you are dropping food to a city, you don't know if you're dropping food to the Taliban, you don't know if you're dropping food to the people who need it."

"The use of armed forces or a war to kill innocent people and aggravate regional situation and disturb regional stability contrary to the purpose cannot be justified under any circumstances," said a foreign ministry spokesman.

Quoted by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), he added: "We hold that the action of the United States should not be a source of vicious circle of terrorism and retaliation that may plunge the world into the holocaust of war."

Further Readings on Islam

• .Suggested readings on Islamic culture, Civilization, and the Tragedy of September 11th.
  The list is provided by Michael Sells, for the general readers and non-specialist students.

• Some Suggestions for further study, on the Islamic Faith, by Omid Safi.

• NPR program on "The Spirit of Islam", as part of the series "First Person: Speaking of Faith."
  The interview was conducted by Krista Tippett, and featured Seemi Ghazi and Omid Safi.
  See here for a description of the program. See here for Michael Sells' kind words about this program.