Is Stereotyping a part of life for Arabs and Muslims?

November 7, 7:54 AMDetroit Top News ExaminerDarlena Taylor-Bonds

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Photo/ Council on American Islamic Relations                               Abdullah

The shooting at Ft. Hood comes at an especially difficult time for Muslims in Metro Detroit, which has one of the nation's largest concentrations of Arab-Americans nationwide.

At a town hall meeting Friday night at the Muslim Center in Detroit, more than 250 people expressed outrage about the imam's death, but moderators said they would not discuss the Fort Hood shootings. The discussion centered on the circumstances of the imam's death and what rights citizens have when being questioned by police.

"A lot of people are focused on destroying this religion, and it's not about religion. This is religion -- this outpouring of affection and support," said Abdullah El-Amin, imam of the Muslim Center, referring to the crowd Friday. "Our goal now is to educate and have our people focus on our community."

Just last week Luqman Ameen Abdullah, imam of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit, was killed by the FBI during a raid in which he was to be arrested on a raft of federal charges including conspiracy, receipt of stolen goods and firearms offenses. Many Muslim leaders have called for an investigation into his death and said a federal complaint painted him as a violent jihadist, even though neither he nor his 11 followers were charged with terrorism.

Omar Regan, one of the son’s of Luqman Ameen Abdullah told the crowd his father was a caring community member who is being misrepresented by the FBI. My question is since Abdullah was practicing under a Muslim faith why haven’t we heard from the Nation of Islam concerning his death? Aren’t they followers of the same faith?

Also Friday, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan urged law enforcement "not to participate in rhetoric that may serve to marginalize an entire faith simply because some members of that faith are implicated in alleged criminal activities."

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan, said: "The recent events have made people very on edge."

"It's sad we live in this type of environment," he said. "This (Fort Hood) crime was heinous, but there are heinous crimes committed all the time and the assailants' religions aren't brought into play. That seems to be the case for American Muslims."

Tarek Baydoun, a 25-year-old Dearborn resident and third-year law student, called the shooting horrendous.

"People need to know the Arab and Muslim community is just as appalled," he said. "It's an outrageous attack and it has nothing to do with religion. It was strictly criminal.

“Numerous organizations issued statements deploring the shootings and calling for understanding, including the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, the largest mosque in the United States. It issued a statement saying it "condemns the atrocious attacks on Fort Hood military base in Texas. This inexcusable act of violence must not be tolerated, and the perpetrators should be held accountable for their crime.

"Islam in no way accepts such violence and terror," the statement continued. "Islam is a peaceful religion with great reverence for human life."