Lodi Muslims Afraid of Persecution
Little Green Footballs
An apparent ring of terrorists has been uncovered in Lodi, California,
and the FBI warns that the investigation will widen.
But according to the SF Chronicle, Muslims in the area are more worried about a “backlash” than they are about the fact that terrorists are living and plotting among them:
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LODI REACTION: Muslims shaken, fearful of backlash as after 9/11.
Lodi, San Joaquin County — After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, angry people threw eggs and shouted insults at the Pak-Indian Spices Grocery store downtown.
After the arrest here this week of two Pakistani American men and the detention of two Pakistani Muslim religious leaders, Mohammed Shoaib, 53, a shopkeeper, fears another backlash.
“People don’t know who’s who and what’s what,” said Shoaib, who immigrated here as a child, following his father, who had followed his uncle, who arrived here in the 1930s.
Many Pakistani Americans were shaken Wednesday, some convinced that the arrests were the result of a misunderstanding and that the men who were being held would eventually be cleared.
Shoaib said he and many of his customers believe that opponents of the religious leaders told federal authorities about them. The opponents, also members of the Pakistani Muslim community, want to block the detained men’s plan to expand a Lodi community center and add a clinic, school and other facilities. ...
A man standing outside a house that serves as an informal gathering place on South Central Avenue in the heart of Lodi’s immigrant neighborhood talked about Pakistanis’ fears in the wake of the arrests.
“It’s one individual who makes everyone look bad,” said the man, who gave his name only as Shah. “We are scared because of what happened, how other people will look at us (will be negative).” ...
Shah said he supports expanding the Farooqia Center with a school so non- Muslims can learn more about Islam there. Also, Muslim women, who cannot attend the Lodi Muslim Mosque, could meet at the new facility and study their religion.
Shah said his father, a cannery worker, taught him to value education and religion above all. “The imams are good people, respectful, who teach peace, who were up front and always out in the open” said Shah. ...
“It’s sad to see this ruin people’s lives,” he said of this week’s arrests. “In the end, the government apologizes for its mistakes. This happened to others, like the Japanese people,” Shah said, referring to the internment camps of World War II.
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