911 changes a lot in US society: US Congressman
DALLAS: The newly elected member of US House of Representatives from Dallas Fort Worth region congressman Marc Veasy has said that 911 has changed a lot in American society and he is concerned...
January 14, 2013
He said that he is confident that national security issues can be resolved without compromising our civil liberties. He was addressing a reception gathering in his honor by Muslim community leaders at Hussain Mahroof's residence in Arlington Texas, He said it is very important that our airports, our stadiums and our cities are safe and our economy is strong in order for us to raise our families and participate in the welfare of our society and country.
He said that Muslims living in California and New York were harassed even though they were innocent. However, they were targeted because of their faith. He said as a member of minority community he values civil liberties very high and is concerned about the current status of civil liberties.
He said it is our duty to stay vigilant on our rights. He said that we should see both sides of police actions, police sometimes go beyond their authority too but we cannot deny their services to our communities. He said that it is his wish to see Iran and Israel resolve their differences peacefully.
However, the way Iran is accelerating the arms race; it is not only a threat to Israel but will also destabilize the whole region of Middle East. He said a nuclear armed Iran will be a danger to the regional and international peace. He said that it is nothing but an attempt to create Iran's hegemony in the region.
He said that he believes in peaceful dialogs to resolve this standoff. Wars and bloodshed are not ways to resolve issues and innocent people get killed in them as in Middle East. He said Jerusalem is important to both Israel and Palestinian and he believe that the matter can be resolved through dialogs as nothing is impossible.
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front representative Mr. Muzaffar Kashmiri on this occasion highlighted the importance of issue of Kashmir in resolving conflict between two nuclear powers of Pakistan and India. A just resolution of Kashmir conflict is essential for the peace in the region.
He said that Kashmir conflict has affected a large number of families and there is no household in Kashmir that has not suffered a loss in this conflict. This is a human rights issue of people of Kashmir.
American Muslim Democratic Caucus President Syed Fayyaz Hassan said that civil liberties concerns are real and provide the fundamentals of our society. Highlighting the roots of Congressman Veasey as an African American he said that settled issues of race relations and civil rights are resurfacing in the backdrop of 911.
Hate mongering in the guise of freedom of speech and Muslims bashing in media and as political strategies are real concerns of Muslims in America. Mr. Hassan also stressed in supporting emerging democracies in Muslim World and in Pakistan.
Mr. Hadi Jawwad from Dallas Peace Center demanded to stop drone attack and stop violent actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said most of the victims of these attacks are innocent people. He requested to raise the question of drone in confirmation hearings of new CIA director and the question of number of innocents killed in these drone attacks should be asked in these hearings.
A number of community activists including Aftab Siddiqui, Ghulam Jangda, Emad Salem, Tariq Jaffery and Raja Zahid Khanzada also discussed the matter of interest to Muslim community including, healthcare, fiscal policy and international issues pertaining Muslim world.
