Disabled Arab Writer Overwhelmed by Hate Mail!, 9-22-04

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
Disabled Arab Writer Overwhelmed by Hate Mail!

Chicago, Illinois / Arab writer and Chicago resident Aladdin Elaasar is overwhelmed by the hateful responses his article on the third anniversary of 9/11 generated in the US.

Mr. Elaasar wrote an article titled "Let's not let fear cripple us expressing the viewpoint of the Arab and Muslim communities in the US."

The article was written for the Progressive Media project and distributed by the Night Ridder/ Tribune Information Services. The article was published by six newspapers around the US and was posted online by the Free Republic, a self-declared conservative republican activism group in the US. Members of the Free Republic group poured their outright hatred and prejudice against the writer, Islam and Muslims in the USA.The response of the members of the group has angered and saddened Arab and Muslim Americans. The group posted abrasive hateful commentary referring to Mr. Elaasar's article and to Islam and Muslims in the US as follows: "There is no god but the moon demon allah and mo-ham-head (piss be upon him) is his prophet, Anyone who worships a demon via a book written by a mass murdering baby raper who says the way to heaven is to kill non believers, and that ragheads are the master race can go to hell, . There are no innocent muslims, If you don't like it, get the Hell out! The people of this planet will only be safe when the lie that is islime is completely destroyed, burned with fire, and it's foul memory obliterated.

Elaasar sustained back injuries in a car accident in 2003 before Christmas time and resigned as Vice-President of the National American Arab Journalists in the USA. He lives in Chicago with his wife and four children. He is author of “Silent Victims, the Plight of Arab and Muslim Americans in post 9/11 America. We're not the enemy. Arab and Muslim Americans can be our best asset to win the War on Terror. They should not be blamed, feared or scapegoated. The terrorists behind 9/11 and al-Qaida wanted to divide us as a nation and spread fear amongst all Americans. We should not let them achieve that. My article was meant to heal the nation and call for tolerance. This is why I wrote this article and dedicated my book Silent Victims for the victims of 9/11. I have always spoken out against hate. My wife and I are saddened by the amount of hate out there and we are trying to shield our children from that, said Mr. Elaasar.No one should be singled out for hatred, prejudice or blame based on his or her ethnicity or religion. American unity and democracy is founded on this immortal ideal. "Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital components. Hate destroys one's sense of values and objectivity...It causes those so inflicted, to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true", Said Elaasar quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.-END-For inquires about this press release, please contact:

Aladdin ElaasarTel: 773-396-3019 Cell
Or Email: omaraladin@aol.com
For more info on hate expressed by members of the Free Republic, please visit:
http://www.freerepublic.com/
focus/f-news/1213487/posts