Collateral damage

Chicago Reporter, The, May, 2003 by Rui Kaneya

Call it a Muslim American version of the government's duct tape advice: Consider reinforcing the doors of the mosque, develop an emergency contact list, don't open suspicious packages.

Throughout the conflict in Iraq, some Muslim leaders have suggested extraordinary precautions to protect members of their community from further backlash. "It's unfortunate that we have to do this, but it's obviously better to be safe than sorry," said Omar Haydar, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In March, the council began giving mosques and Islamic centers a nine-page "Safety Kit" that included tips on how to deal with bomb threats.

Anxiety is running high in a community that saw arson, assaults and other violence after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In ways large and small, the backlash has again intensified in recent weeks, many Muslim Americans say. Some are feeling compelled to change their lifestyles or lower their profiles. Others say they have again been made to feel like scapegoats.

And area authorities have reported several possible hate crimes, some of which have turned violent. Since the end of February, the FBI's Chicago office has investigated six such cases, according to spokesman Ross Rice.

In March, two teen-agers were charged with a hate crime after allegedly using an aluminum baseball bat to break a mosque window in west suburban Villa Park during a Friday prayer service.

Several days later, a parked van exploded outside a Palestinian family's home in southwest suburban Burbank. No one was injured, but authorities charged Burbank resident Eric K. Nix, 24. And, in west suburban Glendale Heights, the Muslim Society inc., a mosque and Islamic center, received a bomb threat.

Muslim leaders say many other incidents have probably gone unreported. After hearing reports of Muslims being deported or detained as authorities tighten enforcement of immigration laws, many people fear reporting these incidents, they say.

"People see the authorities as sort of a double-edged sword," said Haydar, who has documented at least 25 suspected hate crimes and other acts of bigotry since the war began.

"On one side, they want to report these incidents and work with the authorities to deter these types of incidents. But, on a flip side, they also feel that they are dealing with those who are looking at them suspiciously," he said.

Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, are partnering with local community leaders to reassure victims. Prosecutors have issued a public declaration that perpetrators of hate crimes will be charged to the fullest extent of the law.

"Brave men and women in our armed forces are fighting intolerance in nations across the globe," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said last month. "It is our duty to fight intolerance here."

Many in the community say they welcome the government's appeal for tolerance. "There was a feeling of mistrust between law enforcement and the community, but things have started to change," said Au Alarabi, national director of the Chicago-based United Arab American League.

But some say the intentions, while good, are still falling short.

"We haven't come to the point where people are not being intimidated or afraid," said Nareman Taha, co-founder of Arab-American Family Services, a social service agency based in Palos Hills, a southwest suburb. "We may have come a long way, but there's a long way to go."