7260 west 93rd St. – St. 200; Bridgeview, IL 60455 - Ph.: 708.599.3200 – Fax: 708.599.3270
Contact: Kareem M. Irfan [Chairman, CIOGC - Ph.: 847.867.4304; irfank@squared.com]

PRESS RELEASE
Chicago - Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001

CHICAGO MUSLIMS STRONGLY CONDEMN TERRORIST ATTACKS AND APPEAL FOR MULTI-FAITH SOLIDARITY ACROSS THE U.S.

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (a federation of over 40 mosques, Islamic centers, schools and institutions representing more than 450,000 area Muslims) joins fellow Americans and the rest of the world in grieved shock, mourning and outrage over the senseless and tragic loss of innocent life and the shattering of peace brought about by the destructive attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Chicago-area Muslims, in unison, unequivocally condemn these grossly inhuman and monstrous acts and stand firm in seeking full justice against the perpetrators of these heinous deeds.

Muslims throughout Chicago and the U.S. — and all Muslims the world over who would seek to uphold the spirit, law, and ethics of the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — are distressed at this appalling display of disregard for human life and denounce such acts as blatantly barbarous and profoundly against the inviolable sanctity that Islam places on all life. In keeping with Islam’s strong injunction to show compassion and concern for all fellow beings, our heart-felt prayers and good-will go out especially to the families and loved ones whose lives have been so abruptly and devastatingly altered by these evil attacks. Muslims across Chicagoland are mobilized to conduct blood collection drives, fundraisers, prayer vigils, and numerous inter-faith services in relief of and solidarity with the many thousands struck by this national tragedy.

The Council fervently appeals to Chicago-area Americans for a calm and informed response to this tragedy. Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all other faith-groups, endure this tribulation together. We all feel the same sense of violation and outrage, of empathy for the victims, and a burning desire for justice. All fair-minded Americans will certainly recognize that this national tragedy transcends religious, racial and ethnic boundaries. We must all work together to raise high the perennial values of life, liberty, and justice for which, together, we all so strongly stand as a symbol to the world — a world with eyes now fixed upon the testing of American virtues in the crucible of our mutual adversity.

We are confident that all of us, as Americans, will agree that 10 million U.S. Muslims and Arab-Americans cannot be indicted by association. We must all ensure that these Americans and their institutions are not unfairly targeted for investigations or subject to retaliatory actions by over-zealous individuals angered by recent events or incited by incendiary comments, premature conclusions or misplaced calls for revenge. We also must not, as a nation, take indiscriminate retaliatory action that jeopardizes any innocent lives in the U.S. or anywhere in the world. The Council particularly appeals to the media to support this cause — so crucially vital to our core national interest — by cautiously and responsibly reporting these traumatic events and by creating an open forum for discussion of the American response in their aftermath.

Again, the Council and the Muslims of Chicago continue to denounce these inhuman acts of violence, to pray sincerely for the affected victims and their families, and to demand that the guilty be brought to scrupulous justice. We join hands with all fellow Americans in enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and in a stand of unqualified solidarity in these tragic times. May God bless us one and all and guide us as a people to the paths of peace!

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