Military

DATE=11/23/01

TYPE=English Programs Feature

NUMBER=7-

TITLE=New Activist Group "Muslims Against Terrorism"

BYLINE=Carolyn Weaver

TELEPHONE=619-1999

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Nancy Smart

CONTENT=

_// ATTN: Islam, Americana, Terrorism//

INTRO: In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, many Muslim-Americans felt under attack. Some were subjected to hate crimes, others worried that the name of Islam itself had been tarnished by their fellow Muslims, the terrorists. All these concerns led to the birth of a new activist group, composed mostly of young American Muslims who want to teach other Americans both Muslims and non-Muslims, about their religion. Carolyn Weaver profiles one of the prime movers behind "Muslims Against Terrorism."

TEXT: Until last September, 30-year old Aasma [AHS-mah] Khan's life was ordinary. She's a lawyer and second-generation Pakistani-American who grew up in the middle western city of Peoria, Illinois. A devout Muslim, she felt comfortable in America, especially in multi-ethnic New York City, where she lives and works. But after the September 11th attacks, Aasma Khan says she and other activists became concerned that other Americans might not understand the peacefulness that she says is at the heart of Islam. And so she became one of the founders and the spokeswoman -- of a new group: Muslims Against Terrorism USA.

TAPE: CUT ONE AASMA KHAN

"The need for the organization Muslims Against Terrorism stems from the misconceptions that exist about Islam, both among Muslims themselves as well as what Americans know about Islam. [OPT] Part of that is because people like Osama bin Laden get to speak on international television and they get to use Islam as a justification for what they do, and that is wrong." [END OPT]

TEXT: Her work as spokeswoman for the new group is an unpaid job that consumes her night and day as on this recent Friday evening, when she was practicing for a speech to an interfaith group of Muslims and Jews at a synagogue on Long Island, outside New York City.

TAPE: CUT TWO AASMA KHAN

"Every one of us needs to speak out and take back our religion from the forces of hate."

TEXT: At the temple, she explains:

TAPE: CUT THREE (@29:45 on tape 2 to 29:58) AASMA KHAN and take applause under and lose:

"I'm talking about delegitimizing the message of people like Osama Bin Laden, by making it clear what Islam really stands for."

TEXT: The demands of her new group keep Aasma Khan's schedule full the rest of the weekend, too: Saturday afternoon, she's on the Columbia University campus in New York City to help train Muslims Against Terrorism volunteers to give presentations in schools. On Sunday, there's a seminar on how to monitor media portrayals of Muslims, led by guest speaker Sarah Sayeed.

TAPE: CUT FOUR -- SARAH SAYEED

"It's our obligation to speak out against injustice in whatever form we see it. And in doing that, we're enacting the Koranic concept of speaking out about what is just, even if it's against ourselves."

//begin opt//

TEXT: One issue Ms. Sayeed brings up is that photographs of Muslims at prayer are being used to illustrate news stories about terrorism:

TAPE: CUT FIVE SARAH SAYEED

"We have got to stop seeing this typification of terror with people who are prostrating themselves to God."

//end opt//

TEXT: But as Aasma Khan notes, Muslims Against Terrorism seeks not only to educate the non-Muslim world the tiny group of forty or so activists also wants its members ultimately to visit every one of the 1200 mosques in America, to teach Muslims about their own religion as well. (OPT) As she points out, many Muslims, like people of other faiths, don't always know where their religion ends and politics or culture take over: (END OPT)

TAPE: CUT SIX -- AASMA KHAN (around 29:00 on tape 4_

"And we're trying to bring to Muslims a level of understanding that allows them to articulate it intelligently to their own children, to non-Muslims, to their colleagues, so that they themselves understand their religion. So it's a type of education about an issue that is of vital importance right now. [OPT] But in the format of how we talk about it, it is also an education about how to engage in dialogue in a constructive manner, with Muslims and non-Muslims alike." [END OPT]

TEXT: Ultimately, she says, the group hopes to reach Muslims overseas as well.

TAPE: CUT SEVEN AASMA KHAN

"Right now our focus is the United States, but I think it's one of those things, that once the message starts being spread, and education is available, particularly since we're on the worldwide web, it's accessible to Muslims around the world."

TEXT: On the Monday after her busy weekend, Ms. Khan accompanied a reporter to the area near the ruins of the World Trade Center. Among those who died here were several hundred Muslims. She says the attacks changed the lives of many others.

TAPE: CUT EIGHT AASMA KHAN

"I think this attack has really woken up Muslim Americans, young Muslim Americans, because we've always felt fully integrated into American society and have participated fully as Americans, and for the first time we're feeling a need to respond to an attack from overseas, as Muslim-Americans, speaking out against what other Muslims are doing."

TEXT: Muslims Against Terrorism now consists mostly of New Yorkers, but the group hopes that chapters will form soon in other cities or countries. The web site address for Muslims Against Terrorism USA is www.matusa.org [Signed]

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