Islamic Center remembers 9/11 with ice cream social

Chabane Maidi sat in French class at Bloomington High School South when he heard the news Sept. 11, 2001.

As weeks passed, Maidi’s teenage life took a heartbreaking spiral. Raised a Methodist on his mother’s side and a Muslim on his father’s, blame was senselessly directed toward his family. His brothers, who received their father’s tanned skin, were harassed at school.

“I got the easy way out because of my skin color,” Maidi said, describing his mother’s fair skin that he inherited.

Maidi is one of many American Muslims that were treated differently after the attacks of 9/11. Remaining in Bloomington to attend IU, he became a member of the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition.

For the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, he helped organize and attended the ice cream social event, Bloomington Sharing Heart 2 Heart.

Bloomington Sharing Heart 2 Heart kicked off the city’s 9/11 memorial events Friday evening at the Islamic Center of Bloomington. It was organized by the Monroe County Religious Leaders, and citizens from multiple religious backgrounds attended.

Attendees removed their shoes as they entered the mosque, and the memorial event opened with a speech from IU Professor M. Nazif Shahrani.

“I don’t think a single American or anyone around the globe wasn’t affected,” Shahrani said.

A member of the mosque, he said he hopes the Islamic Center will become more involved in the Bloomington community. Hosting the event at the mosque opened its doors to all citizens and will hopefully help settle ill feelings toward the American Muslim community, Shahrani said.

“I don’t want to pretend like everything is peachy,” Maidi said.

He explained an ongoing fear that exists between Americans and American Muslims because of the 9/11 hijackers’ Islamic heritage.

“We’re all Americans, and we’re all affected the same way,” he said.

Great care was taken in planning the event because some things meant to be good can always be misconstrued, he said. Emails circulated in an attempt to find a perfect social event to congregate all religious affiliations. The center decided ice cream and cookies were a simple and great way to unite people and invite them to reflect on the events of 9/11.

When the event was first announced, a friend asked Maidi, “Aren’t you nervous?” The question stemmed from multiple attacks of vandalism the mosque had endured since it first opened in 1993. Members of the Islamic Center said they hope the event will diminish fears citizens may have.

“If anxiety exists, which it does, that fear is a sign to make something happen here,” Maidi said. “Some of the worst persecution starts with people being afraid.”