Conversations aim to help Purdue cope with attacks

By Kurt Esposito
Assistant Campus Editor

Muslims have no look.

Muslims can be anyone and can come from anywhere.

This was the message of Dorothy Simpson-Taylor, director of the Diversity Resource Office, Wednesday afternoon. She said that after the Sept. 11 suicide attacks everyone should come together and understand what Islam is about.

"It pays to get to know one's neighbor," she said.

She was one of the speakers at Wednesday's conversation "Perspective of Muslim and Near-East Community on Our Recent Tragedy." It was the first of a series of conversations intended to help the Purdue community cope with the events of Sept. 11. Topics for upcoming discussions include media coverage, civil liberties and ways to combat hate.

Simpson-Taylor said Muslims and Arab-Americans come from 22 countries in Africa and Asia. She also said Muslims and Arab-Americans have been in this country for many generations and have contributed much to our history.

Yosef Hafiz, a senior in the Schools of Engineering, began the conversation by discussing what the religion of Islam is about. Muslim is based on the teachings of Koran, which are from the words the angel Gabriel spoke to Mohammed. The words of the Koran have not been changed since they were written in the earlier part of the first century.

He said Islam forbids the killing of innocents and preaches kindness to your neighbors, "whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim."

He said the actions that occurred Sept. 11 are prohibited by Islam and are condemned by all Muslims. "Those who committed such crimes are the worst kind of people," he said.

Marko Nilsson, a graduate student in the School of Liberal Arts, is a Muslim from Finland, which has had permanent Muslim residents since the 1800s. He said there is no conflict between the religions; he has seen Muslims, Jews and Christians praying together.

He said he was worried because of a column he read that said the Christian nations should fight against the terrorists. He said he knew this was only an individual who was still angered by the attacks, but he feared an "us versus them" mentality. Especially since he is a Muslim from a Christian country as many Muslims are.

"We should not fall prey to such conflict," he said.

Khaled Al Masri, a junior in the School of Technology, shared a personal story that occurred just a week ago. As a student in aviation technology, he was working at the Purdue Airport and was closing down a plane.

He said a woman stared at him as he walked away from the plane. Soon after he saw the woman come up to him with two men that turned out to be police officers. He said she pointed her finger at him and said "That's him."

He was searched and questioned. He had to miss his Organizational Leadership and Supervision class and test. But his professor and classmates called him afterward to apologize and see how he was doing.

The event still angers him; however, he said it is not representative of Purdue.

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Conversations aim to help Purdue cope with attacks

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Campus editor: Laura Pelner

Assistant campus editors: Kurt Esposito, Dave Stephens

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