thr 016                                                               


Press-OIC-US-Attacks   /GNR/                                          


  Daily lauds Khatami's call for extraordinary OIC meeting           


Tehran, Sept 19, IRNA -- `Kayhan International' on Wednesday praised  


President Mohammad Khatami's call, in his message to the Qatari Emir  


and chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), for 


an extraordinary meeting of OIC foreign ministers to discuss the      


critical situation faced by Muslims in America and elsewhere, in the  


wake of the recent devastating terrorist attacks in the U.S.          


    In view of the fact that all OIC member states have condemned the 


terrorist assaults and have even announced any type of terrorism as   


being "un-Islamic and an unpardonable sin," it is but natural and     


logical that "the OIC cannot and, it must be announced, will not      


remain apathetic to measures that may be taken by America against any 


Muslim nation, including Afghanistan, under pretext of retaliation    


against any individual or a group whose alleged crime is not duly     


proved," added the English-language daily in its viewpoint column.    


    It is highly regrettable that in a democratic country like the US,


Arab Americans are facing dozens of "retaliatory hate crimes" as      


admitted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, decried the daily.   


    FBI director Robert Mueller was quoted by international news      


agencies on Monday as having said that "40 hate crime investigation   


centers are functioning in U.S. dealing with the case of assaults,    


threats, arson and ethnically motivated murders, two reported so far, 


against the Arab and Muslim Americans," it noted.                     


    It is also incredible that in a so-called civilized society a     


Pakistani grocer in Texas and an Indian Sikh gas station attendant in 


Arizona were killed, most probably by some angry Americans, believed  


the daily, adding that the "Sikh wearing a turban and beard must have 


been mistaken as a Muslim cleric."                                    


    Likewise, in Britain, Germany and other European countries also   


Muslim citizens face harassment at the hands of angry Europeans, it   


noted.                                                                


    In view of these facts, the paper therefore hoped that the        


proposed OIC extraordinary meeting will be held as soon as possible in


order to "neutralize the danger by vigilance of Muslim leaders."      


    The first and foremost outcome of the proposed OIC meeting should 


 be the message to the targeted Muslims that "they are not alone",    


pointed out the daily.                                                


    And of course from the same platform, "a message of peace should  


also be sent to all who have been, unfortunately, misled about Islam, 


by the biased Western media or by the un-Islamic behavior of people   


like the Taliban of Afghanistan."                                     


    The OIC must also take the advantage and opportunity of the       


extraordinary meeting, "rather it should, to warn the US that it      


cannot feel free to act contrary to the international norms and       


conventions under the pretext of punishing a criminal," urged the     


daily.                                                                


    Considering that the recent US attacks have been condemned by all 


OIC member states as being "un-Islamic and an unpardonable sin", the  


paper expects that the OIC should not not remain apathetic "to        


measures that may be taken by America against any Muslim nation,      


including Afghanistan, under pretext of retaliation against any       


individual or a group"  without any proof of the crime.               


    "It is time the OIC asserts itself," it concluded.                


FH/HM                                                                 


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::irna    12:13