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It's a grim reality that whenever someone who's a member of an ethnic group does something horrendous, the decent, law abiding members of that same group must prepare for the fallout. And so it is in the wake of the Ft. Hood shootings... Muslims all across the country are being advised to be very careful. The local head of the Council on American Islamic Relations watched in horror as the grim realities of the Ft. Hood shootings was revealed.
Karen Dabdoub, C.A.I.R. Executive Director: "The first thing that goes through all of our minds is please God don't let it be a muslim."
But the shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan is indeed Muslim...and that puts Muslims across the country at risk from those of narrow minds who look for reasons to hate.
"It's really horrible what happened and, of course, our first thoughts are for the victims and their families and for a speedy recovery for those who have been injured, then after that our worries switch to backlash... And the very real chance of backlash against our community."
For Karen Dabdoub, that backlash began today with two hate filled emails, from people who clearly don't understand Islam.
"The Koran is very clear and says, if you kill or take the life of an innocent person God considers it as if you took the lives of all of humanity... All of humanity... So, if you want to talk about a really big sin it's taking an innocent life and it's no different in Christianity or Judaism."
But a ray of hope came in from a Christian friend leaving on vacation.
"She called and said, I just want you to know you're in our hearts and prayers and you have our support cause we know what's coming and it wasn't a half hour later I got another call from a Jewish friend saying the same thing...I really feel for you guys, know what you're going to be facing, but you have our support... So, yeah, there are some real nut cases out there, but there are some really good people, too."
The council on American Islamic Relations actually has a Muslim community safety kit that you can find online, and they've also launched an online anti-terror petition drive called "not in the name of Islam." They are urging that, for the time being, all Muslim families take appropriate precautions to protect themselves from possible misguided retaliation. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.
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