Muslims unfairly stereotyped
I read the article about the Religious Centers on Campus, which featured the Islamic Center in Tucson. And a few pages later, I read the editorial letter about Timothy McVeigh, and I went back and read about the religious centers. I like the quote from Sheikh Shahin: "I am an American. I care about my country and we want to live in peace. We are not terrorists. We are not enemies of anyone. We want to show people our religion."
Many in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will now celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the first mosque built in the US.
Thanks to the Wildcat and countless newspapers around the nation, Arab Americans as well as non-Arab Muslim Americans are accepted as common citizens. Reading the editorial about Tim McVeigh just reminded me how cruel and unforgiving the media was the day of the bombing in Oklahoma City. Not only did 168 people died, but the honor of 10 million Muslim Americans was attacked unfairly.
The largest religious minority in America was under attack in every corner. Mosques were vandalized from New York City all the way to Honolulu. The same week a mosque was burned down in Yuba City, California. After African-American churches, mosques became the major targets of hate crimes in America. During that week, mosques in Phoenix had countless protesters from the Phoenix community chanting, " Death to Arabs. "
Even though it was discovered that Tim McVeigh - an American War hero - was the actual culprit, Arab-Americans were still attacked by the media. An Arab-American was detained and questioned by the FBI before McVeigh was arrested. No one made any form apology to him or in general the Arab community.
Later in the summer of 1996, TWA Flight 800 crashed and again a fear rose of terrorism. Everyone in the media wanted it to be an act of terrorism, but it was mainly a mechanical failure. At the time, Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu told the Americans that Israel is ready to help in search of extremists involved. Again, all Arabs were under suspicion.
Thus, Congress passed the act of secret evidence where immigrants can be detained without charge (and) without a lawyer if they are under suspicion. With the exception of one man, almost all men and women arrested under the act of secret evidence were Arabs and/or Muslims. Countless Muslims were held due to secret evidence. Almost all of the men are now released and are free to
live in the US.
America needs to respect new immigrants and their faith. Muslim-Americans desire peace for their neighbors and desire the same success they have had here for their poor counterparts around the world and in the US. They desire their children to be well educated in places like the U of A as well as desire their neighbor's children to succeed as well.
There is an Islamic saying, "No one of you is a believer until he desires for others what he desires for himself."
Ahmad Saad Nasim
Business and Public Administration senior
McVeigh just a man
What's all the fuss about McVeigh? What he did is nothing compared to what
my parents helped do...to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were 500,000
dead, including 50,000 children (no better than anyone else).
I even met Paul Tibbetts, the B-29 pilot who actually dropped the Bomb. I didn't see anything unusual about him - no aura of "evil", which does not in fact exist.
In comparison to my parents, McVeigh is completely unimportant. Everyone stop masturbating about his tiny toll. Repentance is useless because you can't change the past.
Given the history of the time and the impetus of the Manhattan Project, the one man most responsible for rotating me into being is Adolf Hitler, without whom the US would not have moved to acquire the Bomb. No wonder I refuse to go on so about the Murrah building.
Last, when we die we are dead. There is no hell and there is no devil.
These are just childish fairy tales meant as psywar weapons to confuse and frighten the stupid and ignorant. McVeigh, who was in sober fact only a man, simply no longer exists, like a chicken slaughtered.
Tatiana Covington
Science senior
Catholics left out of religion story
When I saw (last Wednesday's) paper and the top story was on religion, I was excited because I am very involved in one of the major religion centers here on campus. However, as I read the article I was disappointed to not see the center to which I belong included. Granted, I know you can't fit in every religious affiliate that is here on campus so you tried to cover the big ones, the western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
However, you didn't cover all of Christianity and the centers that are here on campus. Most Christians on campus go to the Campus Christian Center, which you covered, but others - like myself - go to the Catholic Newman Center, which is located here on campus just like the other centers. Not only is it on campus, it's been here since 1926.
Like the other centers, we too try to reach out to young Catholic college students and even though we are separate from the CCC, the two centers do come together often to socialize and celebrate their common bond. For future reference, could you please make sure you have covered all the major ground before you publish something?
Shannon McDonald
Veterinary Sciences junior
