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CNN Live At Daybreak

America Under Attack: Arab Community in Danger

Aired September 14, 2001 - 07:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: One of the things we wanted to focus in on now are some of the reports coming from all over the country of harassment against people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, or even those who actually just appear to be. They are increasingly becoming targets of this kind of harassment and violence by civilians. There have been reports of this happening from Texas to Chicago to Long Island.

There have been reports of arson, personal attacks and the police stopping men in Middle Eastern style head coverings. A firebombing of a mosque in Denton, Texas, and attacks on two others are among those incidents. No one was hurt in the Texas attacks. Muslim owned stores had been vandalized and their owners threatened.

Joining me right now is Hussein Ibish, who is a spokesman for the Anti-Arab Discrimination Committee. Thanks for joining us this morning, sir.

What else can you tell us about this wave of attacks?

HUSSEIN IBISH, AMERICAN-ARAB ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE: Well, I think the first thing I'd like to say is that Arab-Americans were certainly among the victims of this horrible crime that was committed on Tuesday. There were several hundred Arab-Americans working in the World Trade Center and we have all been attacked, all of us, as Americans.

Now, unfortunately, as you were pointing out, some of our fellow citizens are turning towards those of us of Arab ethnicity or Islamic faith and pointing the finger of culpability in our direction simply because of our ethnicity or our religious identity. It's very unfortunate.

One of the most serious attacks, I think, was a shooting in Indiana. Masked men entered a gas station and opened fire on two Yemeni-American clerks there, and thankfully they were behind bulletproof glass and so they weren't hurt. But I think it was kind of very fortunate that they weren't hurt.

And what I can tell you about the attacks is that we had over 30 documented cases of physical violence on Wednesday alone. Yesterday, the number of attacks became, I think, countless, and we're still working very hard to corroborate and tally those attacks. But basically people are being harassed and assaulted and beaten all over the country. No one has died yet and I certainly hope that that doesn't happen. But it's still the case that too many Americans are channeling their understandable rage, rage we all feel, against fellow citizens at a time when we should all be coming together to deal with this national nightmare.

ZAHN: Let me ask you this, Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday publicly for the first time that Osama bin Laden is a prime target for these multiple terrorist attacks. Is there any indication that although that has been vastly speculated, that that has led to any increase in this kind of attacks overnight?

IBISH: No, I don't think that it hinges upon what government officials say or don't say. I think it comes out of -- I think these attacks are spontaneous. I think they come out of the anger that we all feel and some people unfortunately don't know how to focus their anger and have given way to raw prejudice and blind hatred.

But I think that what is more significant is that many government officials and other prominent Americans have spoken out against these attacks. The Senate passed a resolution yesterday condemning attacks on Arab-Americans. The president, the secretary of state, the mayor of New York and the attorney general have all spoken out against these attacks, and many other prominent Americans, as well.

So at the same time we have been on the receiving end of a wave of hatred while we, like other Americans, are trying to cope with this nightmare, we've also been on the receiving end of a tremendous wave of compassion. We've received as many messages of reassurance and of compassion as we have death threats and threats of violence.

So at the moment there are sort of two competing Americas, an America which in some cases lashes out in blind hatred. But there is also the compassionate America, the tolerant America. And I think that in the end, and it's already happening, that the better angels of our nature will triumph and that we will be able to unite as a nation.

ZAHN: There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of days as to what extent U.S. policy in the Middle East might have played some role in this. Do you believe that is what made America more vulnerable to attack by terrorists?

IBISH: Well, look, the first thing that has to be said is that nothing can justify an attack like this. I mean we have been viciously attacked and innocent people have been slaughtered on a mass scale.

That said, I mean I do think that the motivation has its root in American policies, in American behavior and the perceptions of some people of an unfairness of the United States.

But, you know, I mean I think that that perception is held by many people around the world, including in the Middle East, and by many Americans, as well. But most people...

ZAHN: All right, so Mr. Hussein...

IBISH: Hold up. But most...

ZAHN: Hang on one second. So it wouldn't surprise you, then, in an interview with King Abdullah that I had two days ago that he said had some sort of peace accord been reached in July of the year 2000 this might not have happened?

IBISH: I don't think so. I don't think that this is really rooted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think if you, if it is the handiwork of Mr. Bin Laden and people like him based in Afghanistan, then it's probably much more linked to the American presence in the Persian Gulf and the American military presence and the role the United States plays in the Persian Gulf region and not very much to do with the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

The point is that, you know, there's nothing that can justify these attacks. At a certain point we probably do need to revisit our policies but I think that, you know, we have to separate a criminal act which might be motivated by some objection to our policies and real criticism of the policies that are legitimate. And there's a world of difference between the two and we can't just lump it altogether.

ZAHN: We're going to have to leave it there for this morning.

Hussein Ibish, thank you very much for your time. Appreciate your dropping by.

IBISH: It's great to see you again. Thanks.

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