Muslims Fear Backlash from Fort Dix Terror Plot

According to several news sources, the Muslim community in New Jersey is fearing a backlash over the Fort Dix plot. Following September 11, hundreds of Muslim men were questioned by officials in New Jersey. None were connected with 911.

The New Jersey AP reports that now, Muslims fear a resurgence of anti-Islamic sentiment and incidents of bias.

"If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented many of the of detainees after the 2001 attacks told the AP. "But when the government says 'Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous. Don't equate actions with religion."

Per the NJ AP, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee's New Jersey chapter has been in contact with the FBI about the Muslim community's fears. "What we're all afraid of is a new backlash," said Hesham Mahmoud, group spokesman. The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee issued the following statement: "It seems clear that a potentially deadly attack has been averted. We applaud the FBI for its efforts and repeat the American Muslim community's condemnation and repudiation of all those who would plan or carry out acts of terror while falsely claiming their actions have religious justification."

The six suspects in the plot are Muslim, male, and in their mid-twenties, the same profile as those of the 911 attackers. The affidavit of Eljvir Duka, one of the accused Muslim jihadists, points to what appears to be his religious justification for the planned attack on Fort Dix. He is quoted in The Christian Science Monitor as stating, "and at the end when it comes to defending your religion, when someone is trying [to attack] your religion, your way of life, then you go jihad."

The tape of the New Jersey jihadists that was brought to the FBI's attention by a Circuit City Clerk contains scenes of the tape the men firing automatic weapons, calling for "jihad," and shouting "Allah Akbar" (God is great).

Some experts point out the similarities between the New Jersey jihadists and the July 2005 London train bombers along with those responsible for the Madrid train bombings in March 2004. The terrorists responsible for these atrocities were homegrown.

John Zogby, president of Zogby International in Utica, N.Y., whose polling firm has surveyed the Muslim-American community cautions that Muslim Americans shouldn't be judged by the actions of these six Muslim men. He told the Christian Science Monitor that the European Muslim experience is quite different than the American Muslim. "Here they assimilate: They buy into the American dream, and surveys suggest they succeed. They are not locked in as a permanent underclass."

Dave Brannan, Terrorism Studies, Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California calls the plot traditional terrorism. "It's a symbolic target coupled with the religious terrorism - the catharsis of killing many, not just one." He notes the theological nature of the New Jersey jihadists' plot. "This plot appears to be theologically motivated, not just generally religious: They make repeated comments about how their brothers, their religion is under attack."

While Muslim in New Jersey fears a backlash over the alleged actions of six Muslim men in their community, the Fort Dix jihad plot is not isolated. It follows in the wake of other recent jihadist attacks by Muslim men in the United States in which innocent civilians were murdered in cold blood.

On Febuary 13th, 2007, Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian Muslim refugee who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah opened fire with his shotgun, killing six people and critically injuring four others.

In San Francisco, August 29th, 2006, Ohmeed Aziz Popal went on a vehicular rampage killing one and injuring 13. He claimed that he "did it for Allah".

The New Jersey AP reports that at a news conference after the suspects appeared in U.S. District Court in Camden, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie was careful to differentiate between those charged in the plot, and the larger, law-abiding Muslim community.

"This should not be taken as a generalized indictment against the Muslim community in New Jersey," he said. "We would not want this to tar the reputation of the Muslim community in New Jersey and the work they do for law enforcement every day."

In an editorial "Wake Up Americans! We're at War!" at Philly.com today, writer Stu Bykofsky asks a compelling question. "How do we go about rooting out the jihadists without terrorizing peaceful Muslims?"

Sources:

Jihadis in New Jersey? The Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2007, http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0510/p01s03-usju.html

Muslims fear backlash from Fort Dix attack plot, AP New Jersey, May 10, 2007, http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--fortdixplot-musli0508may08,0,6750389.story Utah Shooting: 19^th Islamic Terrorist Attack Since 2002!, February 14, 2007, http://infidelsarecool.com/2007/02/14/utah-mall-shooting-19th-attack-by-muslim-terrorists-since-2002/ Wake Up Americans! We're at War!, Philly.com, May 10, 2007, http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20070510_Stu_Bykofsky___Wake_up__Americans__Were_at_war_.html