Local Muslims Show Concern for Iraqis

Muslims in Southern California voiced concerns Wednesday that the U.S. strikes against Saddam Hussein will once again harm innocent Iraqis--just days before the holy month of Ramadan begins. But they also decried the Iraqi leader’s brutal dictatorship.

Imam Mostafa Alqazwini of the Aasadiq Foundation, a Shiite Islamic Center in Pomona, said he supports the air and missile strikes as long as they are confined to government targets, including Hussein himself.

But, the native of Iraq said, the strikes will probably backfire against the United States--and Iraqi civilians--because Hussein will probably “emerge from his bunker and be declared a hero” by denouncing the bombing as a political ploy by President Clinton to stave off impeachment.

“The timing is very bad because of impeachment and Ramadan,” Alqazwini said. “People will be very angry with that, especially if there are civilian casualties. Usually, people are preparing for the peace and tranquillity of Ramadan, but this has been shattered by the bombing.”

Aslam Abdullah, the editor of Minaret magazine and a board member of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said the bombing reflected a misguided policy of “ad hoc-ism” that would be better grounded in attempts to aid the anti-Hussein opposition in Iraq.

“I wish we could have dropped food rather than bombs because this is what the people of Iraq need at the moment,” Abdullah said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Holy Month

Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, emphasizes fasting, repentance and spiritual renewal. The sacred four-week period begins at the sighting of the new moon and ends with the spotting of the new moon of the 10th month. On Friday in Southern California, the moon sets only 14 minutes after the sun, and it cannot be seen. On Saturday, however, the moon sets 62 minutes after the sun and should be visible as a very thin crescent low in the west-southwest between about 5 and 5:15 p.m. The start of Ramadan varies around the globe, depending on latitude, and even within one locale will sometimes vary from mosque to mosque.

Sources: “Essentials of Ramadan, The Fasting Month,” by Tajuddin B. Shuaib; John Mosley, Griffith Observator