BETWEEN THE LINES Syndicated Radio Newsmagazine
Muslim Mother of 9/11 Victim Asserts Islamic Center a Matter of Religious Freedom
Interview with Talat Hamdani, mother of 9/11 victim and member of 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, conducted by Scott Harris
During the sometimes ugly debate about the proposed location of an Islamic community center two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, family members of 9/11 victims have often been quoted as expressing opposition to the project. Many have said that the location at an abandoned Burlington Coat Factory building opens up old wounds, is too close to hallowed ground or just plain hurtful.
Arguments which counter that another mosque has been located for years just four blocks from the World Trade Center site fail to change the minds of many 9/11 family members who are still grieving for loved ones lost. But the mother of one 9/11 victim has a very different perspective from the majority of family members quoted in the media. Talat Hamdani's son Salman, a New York City Police cadet and Emergency Medical Technician, was killed on Sept. 11 when he went to the burning twin towers to assist in rescuing victims of the attack. When Talat did not hear from her son in the days after 9/11, she was told that as a Muslim, he may have been arrested by the FBI as a terrorist suspect. The New York Post newspaper in a sensational headline proclaimed that Salman was either "Missing or Hiding."
The unfounded accusations of her son's complicity with terrorism compounded the mother's grief when Talat was informed six months after the attack that Salman's remains were located under the World Trade Center rubble. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Talat, an active member of the group 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, who responds to those protesting the building of an Islamic center near the site where her son died as he attempted rescue victims of the attack.
Contact 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows at (212) 598-0970 (212) 598-0970 or visit their website at www.peacefultomorrows.org
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"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: http://www.btlonline.org
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Original: BTL:Muslim Mother of 9/11 Victim Asserts Islamic Center a Matter of Religious Freedom