A week ago, I had the pleasure of appearing on Fox News to discuss the Taheriazar case.

Let us state clearly - we condemn Taheriazar and his actions. His actions were against the peaceful teachings of the Quran, which clearly states that in times of war, one's opponents need to be notified and dates of war must be set.

More importantly, we disagree with Taheriazar, with regards to his stances toward America. With its great prosperity and emphasis on sharing freedom with all, America is the closest we have ever been to realizing the dream land that Prophet PBUH described in the Quran, itself.

However, we refuse to support any ideas of Taheriazar being labeled as a terrorist. No, this is not a battle of political correctness, as some have called it --- such a person is overlooking the fact that, labeling Taheriazar as a "terrorist" will have major consequences.

Consequences that will include giving free license to Homeland Security to haphazardly setup checkpoints all over every college and university campus, in addition to forcing students to pay for FBI checks on themselves, upon admission. Strigent policies that overall, will be implemented haphardly and will only prove to be a waste of time and a barrier against commerce.

In addition, we here at Muslims For America are committed to killing all Al-Quaida terrorists. Calling Taheriazar a terrorist, suddenly changes the terrorist profile, forcing us to spend more time, energy, and money on finding non-existant terrorists at our local DMV, rather than inside caves of Afghanistan, where real terrorist plans are being plotted.

Gary Bernsten has already highlighted the remarkable relationship between American Muslims and the CIA, and talks about how cooperative American Muslims have been in the fight against terrorism. We as American Muslims want America to win, because if there is no America, there simply is no Islam, because there is no other country where Islam can be practiced so freely.

And lastly, every American Muslim organization has denounced Taheriazar, as well as the Muslims of the University of North Carolina campus.

Let Taheriazar get the punishment he deserves, but don't call him a terrorist - the consequences of that label are much more severe than any supporter of that thinks.

Peace and love to you all!

- Muhammad Ali Hasan
March 2006
 

It is was an ordinary Friday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, except that in the evening I would be stage managing a charity show concerning the genocide in Sudan. The organization that arranged the show was S.U.D.A.N. (Students United for Darfur Awareness Now), and it works toward educating people about the genocide and sending aid to refugees in Darfur. Around 11:30 that morning I went to pass out flyers for the show in front of Lenoir Dining Hall with one of my Muslim friends. She ran out of flyers, so as I grabbed some flyers from a nearby table, I heard a really loud noise. Thinking that one of the tables in front of Lenoir had fallen over, I turned around to see something I would have never expected. There was a shiny, silver Jeep Grand Cherokee between Lenoir and the Pit. After seeing it, I failed to notice the man that had already been hit and thought the vehicle may be in the Pit for a stunt for a certain organization. Suddenly, the Jeep accelerated and students began running in both directions to get out of the Jeep’s path. While many did manage to get out of the way, there was one girl who did not. She was struck and flew head first into a stone trashcan beside the Pit. Then, the Jeep took a left turn between Lenoir and Davis Library and quickly disappeared.

After hearing that this UNC alumnus had done this to “avenge the death of Muslims around the world,” I wondered, “What if he had hit or even killed me or another Muslim?” He could have easily injured a Muslim, since there were several in the Pit area. If he had killed a Muslim, then it would have totally contradicted his intention of committing this horrible crime. As a Muslim, I was taught that Islam promotes peace and killing innocent people is not acceptable under any circumstances. The Quran says, “If anyone murders an [innocent] person, it will be as if he has murdered the whole of humanity.” What this individual did was unacceptable and there is no legitimate excuse for such an act. As an American Muslim, I love this country just as much as any non-Muslim, and this individual’s views do not represent the views of all American Muslims.