FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 11, 2001

TOLEDO, OH-- The United Muslim Association of Toledo, expresses its deepest regret at the death of our fellow citizens around the United States. The United Muslim Association condemns these acts of senseless violence. As American Muslims we are saddened by this loss of life. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and pray for the recovery of those injured in the explosion. We call for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragedy and full disclosure of the findings.

UMAT urges the local media to exercise restraint and not jump to any conclusions about the attackers.

Dr. M. Y. Ahmad, the President of UMAT said, "We all remember what happened after Oklahoma City. Everyone said that it smelled Middle Eastern, and later we found out that it wasn’t. We have to make sure that we don’t assign blame to any group of people and cause them discomfort and distress as they try to live their normal lives. We had many incident of Muslims being harassed after the Oklahoma City incident. We don’t want that to happen again. I hope the media outlets can stress this, that we should not jump to conclusions and harass anyone."

"It’s really an unfortunate. We condemn this type of senseless violence. I pray for the victims who have lost their lives and I pray for the safety of the rest of us. I hope for a quick recovery for the injured and a speedy and expedient investigation. Things like this really should not happen. It just doesn’t make any sense."

CONTACT PERSON:
Mohammed S. Alo
Secretary General
472-6613 work
343-0061 cell
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