The Concerned Citizens for Peace in the Greater Lansing Area held its first official meeting Monday night since its creation after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
“Prayer is one thing, but to put things into action requires a task force and a concerted effort by the citizens,” Amin Tejani, one of the group’s original coordinators, said. “Peace needs to be instilled here in everything we do. Violence begets violence, and we need to take a unified stand as a community so these things don’t go on.”
More than 40 people gathered at East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road, to address ways to maintain peace in the community and promote education of the differences between religious and ethnic groups.
“This is a community of immigrants, but also of many different religions,” said Vinnie Grewal, president of the Sikh Gurudwara of Michigan, 3100 Pine Tree Road in Lansing. “We American Sikhs are first American and then we are Sikh. We consider this as a crime against humanity, and the only way to tackle it is through education about languages and religions.”
Several members were concerned by the links between Islam and terrorism being made by the local media. The media task force - one of two created during the meeting - will attempt to reach out to local media and change the way Islam and Muslims are depicted. They will also continue to monitor local media outlets coverage of racial issues surrounding the attacks.
“When I sit in a group like this I feel safe, I feel encouraged that there are good citizens out there, but once I get out and I’m by myself, some things come to mind,” said Mahmoud Mousa, president of The Islamic Center of East Lansing, 920 S. Harrison Ave. “I feel, why does it have to be a Muslim who created this crime? And if it was, why do we have to say their religion? There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and I’m sure they’re not all terrorists.”
The second task force - a general committee - will meet this week to review and consolidate all the ideas for action brought to the table Monday night and create a list of group goals.
But Geneva Smith, president of the Lansing branch of the NAACP, said whatever the reason the group had formed, the most important result was that it had pulled the community together for a common goal.
“I see all these wonderful faces here,” she said. “Never before has this country come together in this way, and though it’s sad it took a tragedy, we’re here. We’ve come too far and we’ve lost too many innocent lives. We have to go forward and do whatever it takes.”
The group will meet again Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. in the East Lansing Public Library. New members are welcome.
