The American Government and NATO have determined that Osama bin Laden was behind the attack. In truth, the Islamic culture is very peaceful, and the people who are like bin Laden are radicals. The peaceful Muslims in the United States are now under persecution because of their faith, and their mosques are subject to vandalism and hate crimes.

            On September 11, 2001, the CIA identified Osama bin Laden’s organization “Al-Qaida” as the organization behind the attack. Ever since then, the public eye has been turned against Muslims. Some people who were trying to simply fly from one destination to another had to take the train because many of the passengers on the flight were nervous that the people might be terrorists from the Middle East. This is prejudice.

            Senior Mohammed Safa explains that the attackers “ would not be considered Muslims. Killing people is not stated in the Quran. If I had the chance, I would ask these people to leave the Islamic faith, because their actions are not very Muslim.” Many of these attackers are radicals who are not following the guidelines of Islam. They believe that being a martyr, or a person on a suicide mission, will make them immortal.

The Taliban regime that rules Afghanistan is predominantly Muslim, but the government is not even following the basic guidelines of Islam. Islam states that one of the goals of being a Muslim is to learn new things. Although women are required to follow a dress code in the Quran, a woman’s face does not have to be veiled. The Quran did not say that Muslims should show contempt toward Christians, Jews, or any other religion. The Taliban government has augmented the entire system of Islam. A person could be jailed for preaching Christianity, having a beard that is not long enough, not veiling themselves if they are women, or for possession of a computer or a television.

            Ever since the attack, there have been a number of hate crimes aimed against Muslims. Many Muslims around the United States are the victims of prejudice just because of their faith. Mosques around the United States have been vandalized with paint balls. Muslim women are even afraid to go to the store with their head covering. Despite the assurances given by President Bush, some ignorant people wish to make peaceful Muslims pay for crimes they never committed.

            There are those Muslims, however, who are very radical. Many have seen pictures from the Palestinian refugee camps of children waving Palestinian flags, handing candy to the crowd, and saying "God is great" while they were listening to the devastation inflicted upon the United States. In Pakistan, to show support for bin Laden, many Muslims set fire to American flags and tortured effigies of President Bush.

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