As Hazeem Pudhiapura sees it, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, could not have served as a more damaging introduction of Islam to most Americans.
Never mind that innocent Muslim Americans were also among those killed in the terrorist attacks, or that the hijackers carried out their mission based on a distorted view of their faith. A decade later, Pudhiapura of Duluth, is one of many Muslims around the country who is still trying to perform image — if not damage — control in service of his faith.
On this anniversary, some are doing it adroitly by participating in the Muslims for Life National Blood Drive during the month of September.
“The blood drive is a non-violent action in response and it is to commemorate the innocent victims who lost their lives,” Pudhiapura said. “So we will give blood to save lives.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival was one of the first sites for the blood drive in metro Atlanta. Other collection events are scheduled for Friday at the Mansour Center in Marietta and for Baitul Baqui Mosque in Norcross. Across the country, there are 234 drives scheduled in 136 cities, organizers said.
There is symmetry in their goals. For the 10th anniversary, organizers want 10,000 people to participate in the drive. For the almost 3,000 lives lost in the attacks, they would like to collect 30,000 units of blood.
In partnership with the American Red Cross, the drive is part of a larger tolerance campaign directed by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., and one of the oldest Muslim communities in the nation. Since last year, the 90-year-old organization has been working on an appropriate, public way to observe the 10th anniversary of the attacks. Something that would depict Islam in a non-extremist light.
That effort intensified last summer after a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen was arrested in connection with the attempted car bombing in New York’s Times Square. “That really galvanized us into action to snatch the flag back from these terrorists,” said Waseem Sayed, national coordinator for the blood drive, who is based in Silver Spring.
“On 9/11, they hijacked our faith. It is our duty to go out and explain Islam. We want to convey to America that Islam’s message is to save life, not destroy it.”
So began the effort to give blood after so much was spilled. The community approached the national Red Cross, which agreed to sponsor drives on behalf of the Muslims for Life project. Tracye Bryant, a spokeswoman for Georgia Red Cross Blood Services, said the aid agency works with a number of groups on various blood drive campaigns.
Any effort is welcomed, Bryant said, when Georgia needs a minimum of 1,200 pints of donated blood per day — a goal that often falls short.
“We have gotten no push back from anywhere,” Bryant said.
Anyone wishing to donate blood as part of the Muslims for Life drive can do so at any Red Cross blood donation center. There will be a sign-up sheet for those wishing to give under the specific program, Bryant said.
Although all seven Atlanta-area donor centers are participating in the drive, the advertising for the effort has been low-key in the metro area compared to that in other cities.
The Ahmadiyya community has taken out ads on billboards, buses and trains from Washington to New York City, Los Angeles to Dallas. The community has also garnered the support of a few synagogues and churches, Sayed said. Locally, however, advertising has been mainly restricted to distributing fliers in Centennial Olympic Park and outside CNN Center.
The tangible goals of the drive, 10,000 people giving 30,000 units, is ambitious, the organizers said. The steeper challenge might be changing the minds of people who, after a decade, still view Muslim Americans with suspicion.
“It has taken 10 years for us to be vocal and say Islam is not a promoter of terrorism,” said Naseem Mahdi, vice president of the Ahmadiyya community.
“We hope to give a very strong message that though the blood of 3,000 was spilled, on the 10th anniversary we are giving our blood to save lives.”
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To learn more
For more information about a donation event near you, call 1-800-949-4752 or visit www.muslimsforlife.org.
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