A mosque in Dayton Ohio was the subject of a chemical attack on the Muslims praying there to celebrate the end of Ramadan, including small children (toddlers and babies) last Friday. This follows the delivery to millions of Ohioans of the anti-Muslim propaganda DVD Obsession by two right wing neoconservative front groups last week.
Funny, but I don’t remember any national news stories on this outrageous assault over the weekend, but I guess it isn’t terrorism when Muslims are the victims. Here’s the local report in the Dayton Daily News
DAYTON — Baboucarr Njie was preparing for his prayer session Friday night, Sept. 26, when he heard children in the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton coughing. Soon, Njie himself was overcome with fits of coughing and, like the rest of those in the building, headed for the doors. […]
Njie was one of several affected when a suspected chemical irritant was sprayed into the mosque at 26 Josie St., bringing Dayton police, fire and hazardous material personnel to the building at 9:48 p.m.
Someone “sprayed an irritant into the mosque,” Dayton fire District Chief Vince Wiley said, noting that fire investigators believe it was a hand-held spray can. […]
The 300 or so inside were celebrating the last 10 days of Ramadan with dinner and a prayer session, but the prayer session was interrupted so those suffering from tearing, coughing and shortness of breath could receive treatment.
Wiley said an adult and juvenile were taken to area hospitals and others had their eyes or faces washed on the scene. He did not know how many people were treated at the scene.
Here’s how one of the people who was there, a mother of two, described the incident in an email delivered to Chris Rodda who wrote about this story for The Huffington Post:
(cont.)
“She told me that the gas was sprayed into the room where the babies and children were being kept while their mothers prayed together their Ramadan prayers. Panicked mothers ran for their babies, crying for their children so they could flee from the gas that was burning their eyes and throats and lungs. She grabbed her youngest in her arms and grabbed the hand of her other daughter, moving with the others to exit the building and the irritating substance there.
“The paramedic said the young one was in shock, and gave her oxygen to help her breathe. The child couldn’t stop sobbing.
“This didn’t happen in some far away place — but right here in Dayton, and to my friends. Many of the Iraqi refugees were praying together at the Mosque Friday evening. People that I know and love.
“I am hurt and angry. I tell her this is not America. She tells me this is not Heaven or Hell — there are good and bad people everywhere.
“She tells me that her daughters slept with her last night, the little one in her arms and sobbing throughout the night. She tells me she is afraid, and will never return to the mosque, and I wonder what kind of country is this where people have to fear attending their place of worship?”
“The children come into the room, and tell me they want to leave America and return to Syria, where they had fled to from Iraq. They say they like me, … , and other American friends — but they are too afraid and want to leave. Should a 6 and 7 year old even have to contemplate the safety of their living situation?
“Did the anti-Muslim video circulating in the area have something to do with this incident, or is that just a bizarre coincidence? Who attacks women and children?
“What am I supposed to say to them? My words can’t keep them safe from what is nothing less than terrorism, American style. Isn’t losing loved ones, their homes, jobs, possessions and homeland enough? Is there no place where they can be safe?
“She didn’t want me to leave her tonight, but it was after midnight, and I needed to get home and write this to my friends. Tell me — tell me — what am I supposed to say to them?”
I wonder how this story would have played in the national media if an antisemetic DVD was sent to millions of Americans by a Fundamentalist Islamic group and then a Jewish synagogue was subjected to a similar attack. Actually, you and I know how that story would have played out: 24/7 coverage on the cable news shows over the weekend. McCain probably would have used it as an opportunity to attack Obama at the debate.
But this is Bush’s America. Home of Republican Jesus. A nation founded upon Christian principles. So, if a few Muslims and their children are the victims of a chemical attack, so be it. They probably had it coming to them for believing in the wrong God. Right?
Well, not in the America I was led to believe in as a kid. That America believed in religious freedom for all faiths and protected the rights of all people. Then again, maybe I was lied to about my country, and it’s many failures to put the ideals it preaches to others in action here in the US of A. It wouldn’t be the first time.