Washington, DC — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) joined fellow Americans and leaders across the United States in marking the 6 month anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. ADC President Ziad Asali said “we join with the entire nation in remembering the despicable attacks of September 11, mourning those who lost their lives, and vowing that such a tragedy must never be repeated.”
“September 11 is a date which will forever remain burned in the memory of all Americans. It should serve as the ultimate reminder that what unites us as a people is far more important than the petty divisions that sometimes pull us apart,” he said.
Dr. Asali declared “such a horrible attack on our country, which was aimed at all Americans regardless of race or ethnicity, should highlight the importance of tolerance and unity within our diverse American society.” He concluded that “the Arab-American community lost many relatives and friends on that dark day. We shall never forget them.”
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Dr. Asali expressed “the deep shock, outrage and anger that the entire Arab-American community has felt as a result of the heinous and reprehensible attack against our society yesterday in New York and Washington, DC.” He affirmed that “this attack was aimed at all Americans without exception and the Arab-American community shared every bit of the heartache and anguish that all Americans have been enduring.” ADC emphasized that no ideology or rationale could ever justify such an outrageous crime, and has a long-standing policy strictly opposed to all attacks on civilians no matter who the perpetrators or the victims are.
ADC established and continues to maintain a worldwide Arab and Arab-American fund drive for the victims of the attacks, and participated in numerous public memorials at the national and local levels. Last month, ADC and the Islamic Institute held an event at the National Press Club to honor Arab-American and Muslim members of the police, fire and other rescue teams that heroically rushed to the scenes of the attack at ground zero in New York City and at the Pentagon.
The Arab-American community suffered the September 11 attacks as acutely as all Americans, but has also been dealing with a painful backlash in the form of hate crimes, discrimination and defamation. ADC notes that while reports of violent hate crimes have fallen dramatically since the first 6-8 weeks after the attacks, employment and airport discrimination continues, along with a steady stream of anti-Arab defamation from certain media commentators. ADC is committed to working with all parties to continue to heal the wounds and bring all Americans closer together.