Jordan River Forum

I would like all IDS readers to know that the views expressed in my letter to the editor of Thursday, July 14 titled, "Mosque incident sounds like hoax," are my own and in no way reflect the views of the Hutton Honors College. In addition, my letter was not intended, in any way, to suggest that the incident at the Center was justified, regardless of how it actually happened. I'd like to reiterate that our security and safety can only be achieved through understanding, thoughtfulness and cooperation from each and every member of our community, including members who happen to be Muslim. We're all in this together. Mark Zacharias Hoax accusation jumps to new low Mark Zacharias' misguided letter insinuating that the crime committed Saturday morning at Bloomington's mosque was perpetrated by a Muslim is rife with ignorance and is downright hate-filled. As Muslims, but also as concerned members of the Bloomington community, we find it deeply offensive and irresponsible that any rational person would use such divisive rhetoric at a time when all people of conscience should be coming together and condemning all forms of hate and incitement to violence. What we find deeply disturbing is that the writer of this article comes shockingly close to justifying attacks on Muslims and Islamic holy places in America, citing such actions as a "natural" response to terror at home and abroad. This guilt by association mentality is no different than that of terrorists. The writer also attempts to advocate some twisted form of vigilantism by questioning the government's ability to protect us from extremism. In truth, such hate speech is a shameful display of insensitivity and intolerance and has no place in our society. I invite the writer to come to the mosque sometime and observe the Muslim community here in Bloomington. Perhaps such exposure will enable him to rethink his cynical outlook on life and to realize the goodness and sincerity of human nature. John Bava and Shahaab Uddin
Muslim Student Union Terrorism, hacker columns on target Just a note to let you know I appreciate seeing some letters as those written by Lindsay Kerrigan, Brian McFillen and Jeff Alstott. The righteous anger and indignation about the terrorists was refreshing. Most of your typical writers seem to possess a strong animus and agenda against the current administration and anything they do, good or bad. Alstott nailed it. I am glad someone sees the actions of these young hackers for what they are -- destructive. They are not just miscreant child prodigies looking for a way to express themselves. They wrecked people's lives, no differently than a drunk driver would. His angst over the slap on the wrist is shared by most of us. He should have gotten a bamboo cane applied to his ass repeatedly, and forced to work for free at the pleasure of the government, instead of getting a fat contract. I am a capitalist, but this was immoral. Jeff Mills
IU alumnus, class of 1983 Fire can be easily explained In a letter published on July 14, Mark Zacharias speculated that maybe the firebombing at the Islamic Center was an "inside job." So why would anyone be at the mosque at 4 a.m. with a jug of water? This question is actually easy to answer. Muslims are required to pray five times a day and one prayer time happens to be in the middle of the night. Just because many Christians pray only on Sunday morning doesn't mean there's something suspicious about this man's activities. The jug of water can also be easily explained. Before Muslims pray they must wash their hands, face and feet. Because it involves water this is usually done in the bathroom. Before jumping to conclusions that this hate crime was another "hoax," I would invite Zacharias to learn more about the practices and beliefs of Islam. Heather Akou
Assistant professor Terrorism columns were misguided Is Lindsay Kerrigan for real?! Every so often I pick up the IDS and subject myself to her painful nonsense column. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to respond to each one but I just had to after reading the Monday, July, 11 column (along with Brian McFillen's equally foolish offering). No Lindsay, the ends do not justify the means. As a matter of fact, if the end goal is winning the War On Terrorism, it seems that the means are operating counter to that particular aim. That is the message behind London. The attacks in London provide further proof that the Bush administration's war on terror (terror is a tactic, mind you, not an actual enemy, but I suspect that no amount of pointing that out will alter the fundamentalist rhetoric that currently excludes any intelligent debate in this country) is not making the west safer. Just in case the worsening situation in Iraq hasn't quite brought the message home yet. Occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan have provided powerful recruitment tools to terrorist organizations. The Bush administration itself has reported that global terrorist incidents in 2004 increased five-fold over previous figures it had released to the public. Karl Rove's crack at the liberal desire "to understand our attackers" does more than highlight his irreplaceable skill at diverting attention from real issues with macho sounding sound bites. It exposes a critical lack of thought behind U.S. policy. The implication is that we needn't bother to try to understand our enemies since we can just crush them like "real men" should. Doesn't the fact that they are getting stronger suggest that relying strictly on the military has been not only deadly but woefully ineffective? Surely there are other ways. I fully expect the accusation -- so frequently leveled at anyone who dares question the means of the War On Terrorism -- of lack of patriotism to be raised. Rather than relying on that typical conservative knee-jerk, why don't you consider this bit of wisdom from Aesop: "We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction." Aren't you getting tired of helping them out yet? Jennifer Hutton
Graduate student Withdrawal will send wrong message It is amazing that democratic members of congress, despite years of college and law school education still believe everything they read. Just because a terrorist manual says that the war against the U.S. is due to occupation of the middle east after the Gulf War, it doesn't make it true. Truth is, if bin Laden's cause was so holy and all, why isn't he out there strapping a bomb to his chest? It's because he can convince some poor sap who buys into their empty lies about the U.S. to do it for him. Pulling out of Iraq will only instigate more violence and send the same message that pulling out of Somalia did - that the U.S. is a paper tiger. The terrorists don't have reasons for why they kill. It's all in the name of power. They kill randomly as in London, New York and Washington. Now they even kill the same people they claim to support. The fact is, things will get worse before they get better. Still, H.C.R. 35 is a bad move and I ask everyone to encourage your representative to vote against it. Todd Waugh
Student