Muslims in America ignore Osama Bin Laden's call for holy war.
Bay Area Muslims think more peaceful measures should have been taken by the U.S., but say the suspect has no legitimacy
By Sandy Kleffman and Sonia Krishnan, Contra Costa Times, October 8, 2001

The majority of Muslims throughout the world will reject Osama bin Laden's call to join in a holy war against the United States and its allies, Bay Area followers of Islam predicted Sunday.

"Osama bin Laden has absolutely no legitimacy whatsoever in the Islamic world, so he's talking to the wind as far as I'm concerned," said Maha Elgenaidi, director of the Islamic Network Group in San Jose.

Shahed Amanullah, an Oakland resident and member of American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism, agreed.

"I'm confident that is going to land on deaf ears," he said. "Bin Laden is happy with what happened in New York. That alone is enough to put him outside the Muslim community of the world.

"He's just very obviously trying to paint this as a war against Islam -- as if Islam is personified by him," Amanullah added. "He's going to see a very silent reaction from the Muslim world."

Only Islamic states can declare a holy war, or jihad, and that is typically based on findings of scholars, noted Hamid Siddiqui, a member of the Islam Center of Livermore.

"This war is not against Islam," he said.

Yet bin Laden's plea may draw support among some Muslim groups in other countries that are angry about U.S. policy in the Middle East and the attack in Afghanistan on Sunday, noted Farid Younos, a Bay Point resident and president of Afghan Domestic Violence Prevention.

"I don't think that the liberal Muslims like myself will mind," Younos said. "But the reaction of the radical Muslims is different. I hope there is not a backlash in the radical circles. That's my concern. Bin Laden's network is very strong."

Younos is worried that a backlash could trigger additional terrorist attacks in the United States and other countries.

He stressed, however, that such radical groups represent only a small portion of the followers of Islam.

"To me, bin Laden's a murderer," Younos said. "How could you murder innocent people? That's not Islamic at all. He's just insane to many, many millions of Muslims."

The American action Sunday prompted mixed reactions among many local Muslims, who wanted to bring bin Laden to justice but were concerned about the impact on civilians in Afghanistan.

Some said America should have taken additional nonviolent steps before resorting to military action.

Younos said American leaders should have persuaded the United Nations to intervene and attempt to get the Taliban to surrender.

"They should have taken more peaceful measures before attacking," Younos said. "Afghans are starving -- famine, drought. That country is just falling apart."

But he added there is widespread support among Muslims in the United States to get the Taliban out of power.

"I guarantee you that 99 percent of Afghan Muslims living in the United States are anxiously waiting that the Taliban is finished," he said.

Naim Shahab, a native of Afghanistan and member of the Darulislam Masjid, a mosque in Concord, said he had hoped the United States would choose diplomacy over violence.

"I'm very, very sad," he said, noting that he has several relatives in Afghanistan and is worried for their safety.

"Personally, I think this attack is not right," he said. "If Osama bin Laden is behind it, then he should definitely, 100 percent, be executed. But at this point, he's a suspect. And to just go kill the Afghans ... This should have been handled through the U.N."

Others noted that while bin Laden will receive little support for his call to join a holy war, there is broader concern among numerous Muslims about U.S. policies in the Middle East, which are viewed as favoring Israel.

"Even non-radical Muslims -- they do not support the United States policy in the Middle East at all," Younos said. "They feel the United States should wake up and do differently."

Muslim organizations throughout the Bay Area were slated to hold a fund-raiser in Newark on Sunday night for the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The Muslim community is really praying for a quick resolution to this," Shahed Amanullah said. "We want Afghanistan to start rebuilding."

Source: Contra Costa Times