AMLEOA - American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association

AMLEOA IN THE NEWS

Muslim Officers and Firefighter Honored for 9/11 Heroism

(Bush says they are among country's greatest)

^{01February2002 By Laura J. Brown}^{Washington Staff Writer}

Washington -- The American Muslim community recently honored five of its heroes: four police officers and one firefighter who assisted in the rescue operations after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11.

The Islamic Institute and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) hosted a "Tribute to Muslim and Arab-American Heroes" luncheon in Washington January 26. The luncheon was organized to recognize the work of officers Adil Almontaser, Rafet Awad, Faisal Khan and Ahmed Nasser, all of the New York Police Department, as well as Ronald J. Kuley, a firefighter in Fairfax, Virginia.

The police officers participated in the rescue operations at the World Trade Center in New York, and the firefighter was involved in the rescue work at the Pentagon.

"This is a reminder to Americans of what it means to be American," said Ralph Boyd, assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. "In addition to suffering alongside the rest of us, our Muslim and Arab brothers and sisters were also involved in rescue operations in the aftermath of the horrific attacks on our country."

Boyd's Civil Rights Division is charged with investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, most recently the backlash incidents against Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and South Asian Americans after the terrorist attacks. Since September 11, the division has investigated more than 200 such cases, seven of which have resulted in federal charges.

"In the wake of September 11," Boyd said, "opportunities and challenges abound for us as individuals and as a nation to treat each other with deep respect and dignity. We have the opportunity to acknowledge our oneness, our togetherness, the opportunity to reassess what we value, and to understand who our real heroes are."

ADC President Ziad J. Asali praised the honorees for their commitment to public service and their efforts to help people in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

"We hold you up, you and so many others who lay down their lives every day to uphold law and order in their community," he said. "You have many things to be proud about today."

The Islamic Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, was founded in 1998 to connect the American Muslim community and the political mainstream of the United States. The ADC, also a non-profit organization, was founded in 1980 to promote and defend the rights of people of Arab descent.

Several other groups were represented at the luncheon, including the American Muslim Council, the American Muslim Foundation, the International Institute of Islamic Thought, Yemen Heritage and Research Center, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Akram Yosri, a candidate for Congress in New Jersey's Fifth District, also attended.

The honorees received certificates "in grateful recognition of your selfless courage and dedication in serving fellow Americans on September 11, 2001." President George W. Bush also praised the group in a letter, saying they were "among our country's greatest heroes."

Officer Almontaser gave an emotional speech in which he paid homage to the families of September 11 victims. "Your pain is our pain," he said. "We know it could have been any one of us here responding to the scene that day, coming down with the towers."

The officers from NYPD announced plans to establish the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association, a fraternal group for Muslim officers. Almontaser said he hoped the association would encourage other Arabs and Muslims to go into law enforcement.

"We need to shed a different light on Muslims," he said. "This [association] is to bridge the gap between law enforcement departments and the Muslim communities here in America."

^{(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov

Muslim Sister Builds a Bridge to Peace
     ESSENCE MAGAZINE
By Stacey Salimah Bell (as told to Eisa Ulen)
On Sept. 11 New York Corrections Officer Stacey Salimah Bell reported to her unit just south of the World Trade Center. After the first crash, she and her colleagues walked 2 Ã‚Â½ blocks uptown to see if they could help, when, Salimah says, "we heard this eerie sound as a shadow came over our heads. The second plane darkened the street, and we watched it crash right in front of us. I ran to get a picture of my family, my Qur'an, and my prayer rug to put in my car. As we helped clear the streets to let firefighters through, I remember one gave me the thumbs up. I still don't know if he survived."
When the first tower was falling, I resigned myself to never seeing my family again. I just dropped to my knees to pray as I was covered in that white dust.
Although I survived, I couldn't sleep or eat for two to three weeks. I kept seeing that plane. I kept seeing the towers falling. I kept seeing those people falling. I was angry. [As a Muslim] I was angry with people who would call themselves Muslim and do this, so I knew that something would have to be done to change people's perceptions about Islam. I joined a group of Muslims working enforcement here in New York City to form the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association. Because I am in law enforcement, I know everyone is entitled to due process. I have no qualms whatsoever with law enforcement going after terrorists, because Muslims know terrorism is against Islam. However, I would hate to see someone not receive that right because of terrorism. I think the distinction has to be made between Islam, Muslims, and criminal activity.
[For example, one day] I didn't have on my uniform, but I always wear hijab (the scarf or head covering that Muslim women wear). Restaurants around ground zero were offering discounts to all ground zero workers. I went to a local restaurant with my co-workers. When I placed my order, I showed my ID, but it came to the regular price. When I asked the cashier why, she gave me a dead-pan stare and then said, 'Oh, I can't help you.' When I asked her why she said something to her manager in another language. He came over and said they only give the discount to people who are 'nice.' Then he said I had to wear a uniform. There were a lot of people, construction workers and a co-worker of mine, who never wear uniforms. My co-worker was getting a discount every day. My co-workers became very angry and argued with him, but I just had to walk out and clear my head.
The AMLEOA [can act as an agent of change]. It was formed as a national organization uniting law enforcement officers all over the country. It's organized the same way 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care was organized and Eric Adams (the group's president and founder) was instrumental in helping us. Like them, we hope that we can advocate for the needs of Muslims on law enforcement issues.
Since we organized, we have started two Girl Scout Troops in Brooklyn, introducing immigrant girls to the Girl Scouts USA. We've worked with the Brooklyn District Attorney 's Office Civil Rights Bureau in getting the message to the Muslim community that the D.A. is ready to prosecute hate crimes and/or bias attacks. There were lots of complaints after 9-11 about junior and high school girls getting teased on the subway, their hijabs being pulled, rocks being thrown at them. We had a community forum on Aug. 23 at Al-Noor School in Brooklyn, which included the New York Police Department, Corrections Department, Immigration and Nationalization Service, Department of Justice, Mayor's Office on Immigrant Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Housing Preservation Department, Consumer Affairs and the Brooklyn D.A.'s office. The school allowed local residents to walk around, visit the tables of the offices and see what services they offer. During Ramadan (the Muslim's month-long period of fasting) this year we'll invite non-Muslim organizations to celebrate with Muslim law enforcement officers.
As African-American women, Muslim and non-Muslim, we need to form a sisterhood - in the true sense of the word. All sisters. Sometimes, when we walk past each other on the street, we don't even smile at each other. Your smile can affect someone's day. That won't solve the problems of world peace, but it might help that sister's problems for one day.
www.essence.com/news_entertainment/news/articles/muslimsisterbuildsabridgetopeace/

AMLEOA President, Detective Ahmed Nasser & NYPD Chaplin Imam Khalid Latif
featured on the cover of Newsweek (July 2007)

NYC Detective Ahmed Nasser featured on PBS "Caught in the Crossfire"
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/caughtinthecrossfire/ahmed.html
President of Muslim Officers Society, Ahmed Nasser speaks on MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/20730236#20730236
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20730904/page/2/
AMLEOA on ARAB NEWS
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=12531&d=3&m=2&y=2002
AMLEOA ON USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-09-15-muslim-police_N.htm
AMLEOA ON PHILADEPLPHIA WEEKLY
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/17660/news
AMLEOA on BET

http://blogs.bet.com/shows/meetthefaith/?cat=13}