veiled4allah: as 9/11/02 approaches

It seems likely that the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is going to be a big production in many parts of America and emotions will be running high on all sides. The following are some various thoughts on the matter:

1) It is important for Muslims to continue to stand firm in condemning terrorism and the killing of innocent civilians. It is our obligation at all times to speak up with the truth of Islam.

2) It is important for non-Muslims to take the time to listen and to learn about Islam if they have not already done so. Too many people make the mistake of assuming that everything that Muslims do is commanded by Islam. Muslims are human and fallible just like everybody else. Have you ever considered that maybe Muslims are failing to live up to their own religion? Most of all, judge Muslims and Islam as you would want yourself and your own religion to be judged.

3) In this country we need desperately to stop and think whether the policies the U.S. goverment has pursued, at home and abroad, are either morally correct or actually effective in their stated aim of reducing terrorism. Visit The Clipboard for resources and information on this issue. Some particular issues to look at are:
a) Is there any evidence of a threat of terrorism from inside the U.S. that could possibly justify the internal security measures that have been taken and the reductions of civil liberties that have occurred?
b) If al-Qa'ida is as great a threat as has been claimed, why have there been no further attacks even though almost a year has passed since 9/11? Is America fighting against shadows and spectres instead of a real enemy?
c) Was it necessary to make war on Afghanistan? What do we have to say about the fact that more innocent Afghan civilians have been killed by the U.S. than innocent American civilians were killed on 9/11? Are some lives worth more than others?
d) What about oppressive and dictatorial governments elsewhere who have used the rhetorical justification of the "war on terrorism" to crack down on their own enemies and to stifle dissent? Related to this, why are only Muslim guerrilla groups being targetted and not non-Muslim groups such as Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, Shining Path in Peru, IRA in Ulster, ETA in Spain? Either they're all terrorists or none of them are. Why the double standard?
e) What does Iraq have to do with anything?