Ideas for the Sept. 11 anniversary

The buzz has already started regarding the anniversary of Sept. 11. It is going to be a several week-long event as far as media is concerned. Some editors and journalists in your city will surely look for a Muslim angle. Therefore, it is important to think ahead for media opportunities as well as occasions to relate, participate and communicate at this time instead of remaining isolated and silent.

We recommend cooperative efforts instead of doing things on your own and/or limited to the Muslim community.

Note that cooperative efforts are most successful when the organizations believe they are mutually beneficial. The group should meet, decide how to work together, select a point person, assess each organization's strengths, and determine how responsibilities should be divided. A successful partnership will preserve each organization's strength and identity, operate in neutral territory, and multiply the assets the participating organizations can offer.

1. Learn about other’s events, publicizing and participating in them.
2. Talk to community groups and leaders. Who is discussing how the community should mark the Sept. 11th anniversary?
3. Contact local community organizations, such as firefighters, rescue workers, police, churches, community centers, boys & girls clubs, libraries, schools, civic organizations and veterans groups to learn what they are planning to do.

What is your city or village doing?

• Check from city hall what events they are planning for Sept. 11th and find a role for Muslims.
• If they are doing a prayer, there should be a Muslim who will be offering prayers as well.
• Select a Muslim with good English to offer prayers
• Select a portion of the Quran for recitation and translation
• If the city was not thinking of an interfaith gathering, volunteer to organize one.
• Note that it is normal to ask about the protocol beforehand and get a proper seating arrangement in advance.
• Some city halls maintain the list of events others are organizing. Get that and contact each one of them.
• If you pick certain events, make sure that Muslims are attending those events in large numbers.
• In large cities, maybe each Masjid can adopt one program to take their people to.
• You should also check what your state government is doing and whether the Muslim leadership is part of the plans or not.

Check what other civic groups are planning

• Check with veterans associations, students' unions, senior citizens groups, nursing homes and different clubs and associations around you, to see what they are planning.
  • See if you can help or participate.
  • Offer others the usage of Masjid facilities: auditorium, cafeteria, meeting rooms, outdoor spaces, gardens, etc.-for Sept. 11th observances or public events if your Masjid has available space.
    
• Is your newspaper developing a directory of Sept. 11th events?
  • If not, ask them to develop one and provide them your event list
  • In smaller cities you may be able to volunteer to develop one for your city newspaper.
    
• Foreign Policy Councils
  • If your city has any council on foreign policy, or a civic group who organizes serious types of programs, or an academic institution contact them in relation to September 11 observances.

Public schools
School is where the most creative people of the society are. Ask them what they did after 9/11. Some of them may do similar things again or cover similar topics. Not only you will get some ideas, but you may be able to help teachers get started early thinking about it. Remember that schools are closed now and by the time they open there will not be much time left before the anniversary so whoever is prepared with ideas and materials will have an easy time getting people to accept their ideas.

• Ask teachers who are active in school multiculturalism and improving race relations to come up with ideas on what their classes can do.
• Prepare a class presentation for different grades
• There should not be a lecture about Islam on 9/11 -- instead the lectures/presentations should focus on how stereotyping hurts everyone.
• How to understand each other
• How to build bridges
• How to break the ice
• If there are going to be classroom presentations, make sure that your child is well prepared for it.

Organize a Community Week: for Sept. 11-17
Get your Masjid to take the initiative and invite other faith groups to join in Community Week which can include a clothing drive, food drive or any other poverty-related drives whose beneficiaries are the poor in your city and the poor in Afghanistan.

Provide opportunities for persons young and old to do a community service project. The Participate America Foundation is offering grants of up to $1,500 to local agencies that organize and coordinate local events between September 11-17, 2002. For more info, contact Pam Fielding at (202) 955-3001 or pam@e-advocates.com.
Plan Freedom Garden: The America the Beautiful Fund, a nonprofit organization, is providing seed packets to communities nationwide to plant “Freedom Gardens” in response to the events of September 11. Go to www.freeseeds.org or call 1-800-522-3557.

What Peace Groups are Planning
There are several types of peace groups. Some focus heavily on foreign policy issues. If you have worked with them in the past on any issue, it will be beneficial to initiate a discussion on what could be done to bring focus towards understanding the world issues of war and peace and liberation movements.

• Ask them what are they planning to do.
• You can provide them topics and ideas if the opportunity comes up.
• It is important that Muslims not get into the type of discussion which may confuse some to think that you are “trying to justify” terrorism. Allow the peace group activists to provide the international context to the tragedies of Sept. 11.
• Offer others the usage of Masjid facilities: auditorium, cafeteria, meeting rooms, outdoor spaces, gardens, etc.-for Sept. 11th observances or public events if your Masjid has available space.

What Area Museums are doing?
Ask them to offer programs or exhibits that remember those who lost their lives, celebrate America's freedoms, or otherwise commemorate Sept. 11th in a way that diversity, respect for all cultures and religions is demonstrated.

• They can organize a “liberty trail” exhibition, outlining the struggle for freedom and liberty in the US.
• They can organize a smaller exhibit “The Backlash of September 11” on the side as well to document attacks on Middle Eastern-looking people.
• They can also organize a free screening of the movie “Majestic” which brings the memories of the McCarthy era alive.

Organizing your own event
If you decide to do a program in your community, try inviting other faith groups’ speakers and audience.

• Honor local firefighters, rescue workers, and police and their families.
• Host a community event such as a poetry reading or story telling program.
• Host a community conversation, panel discussion or lecture on America in times of crisis, the value of America's freedoms, religious tolerance or cultural diversity.
• Testimonial Reading: organize a reading of the survivors’ stories as well as the testimonials of those who suffered because of their religion or color.
• Bill of Rights reading: organize a bill of rights reading at a Masjid and invite neighbors to attend that.
• Invite local elected officials, religious groups, veterans' organizations, and/or other civic organizations to participate.
• Invite local elected officials and community leaders to a Day of Remembrance.

Parents: Special Considerations for Children
Children should choose the activities they would like to do around the September 11th anniversary. Possible activities could include:

• Writing in journals, using arts and puppets to express emotions,
• Doing a fundraiser based on their own ideas, and commemorating death with something life-giving, such as planting a tree.
• Opportunities to help each other; opportunities to understand other cultures and kinds of people, helping neighbors, helping clean up a park, and donating money and time.
• Anniversaries can mean different things to different people. For some families an anniversary is difficult and they don’t want to be around it.
• Give them a way to name their fears and address those fears so they can be dealt with. Suggest they make pictures or write a story or poem about their experiences, emphasizing that we’re in a different place today.

What Teachers Can Do
Prepare a lesson plan for different grades for Muslim full-time and Sunday schools based on http://www.jfku.edu/psych/parents.html

Print Flags with “Peace and Justice for All”
One way to participate and humanize a patriotic event is to print small American flags with “Peace and Justice for All” printed on it.

MSAs Can Organize a Film Festival
Check with "Special Events & Protocol" of the university about the 9/11 event planning and then propose some ideas that include your participation, instead of organizing your own event in which only Muslims will be sitting.

• Consider hosting the Human Rights Watch (HRW) film festival. Team up with other campus groups concerned with human rights, reserve a hall or room with enough seating. This year's selections include many several films focussing on regions of Muslim concern and HRW sends supporting materials to accompany the films and facilitate discussion. The films are available from September-May. For the complete list of available films and for more information, see: www.hrw.org/iff/2002/traveling/about.html Contact Ms. Andrea Holley, Manager, Traveling Festival. Telephone: 212-216-1839 ; Fax: 212-736-1300 ; email: holleya@hrw.org ((Note: Human Rights Watch has a High School film festival program for use in schools. For information on that program, see: www.hrw.org/iff/2002/classroom/about.html The contact for the high school program is: Ms. Helga E. Pérez, perezh@hrw.org)

Important considerations during the campaign
While we need to share our deep feelings for the loss of human life, we should not be defensive in vocabulary:

• You do not have to keep repeating Islam is a peaceful religion
• You do not have to condemn terrorism at every occasion
• Do not have to prove your loyalty to any one
• You do not necessarily have to wear a tie with American flag
• Just be there as Muslims and show your feel for humanity