Responding to his critics

Re “Why are we honoring apologists for terrorism?” Opinion, Sept. 14

I am obligated to respond to the Op-Ed article by David Lehrer and Joe Hicks. Their diatribe against me and the organization I represent has nothing to do with my extensive work in Los Angeles County, which led the L.A. County Human Relations Commission to make me the first Muslim American to receive the John Allen Buggs Award.

I am an American Muslim with a deep commitment to life, not death. I oppose the violence Hamas or Hezbollah engages in against Israel. I do not now, nor have I ever, supported Hamas or Hezbollah, verbally or otherwise. I do not support any foreign groups or governments. I only support my country, America. I support the right of Israel to exist, just as I support the right of Palestine to exist. I believe in the futility of a military solution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

I have publicly condemned terrorist actions committed by these groups and countless others, have repeatedly and publicly condemned suicide bombings as a violation of Islamic teachings and have loudly stated Islam’s forbiddance against the targeting and taking of civilian life. I also oppose the violence engaged in by Israel toward the Palestinian people. I oppose terrorist behavior in all its forms, regardless of the perpetrator or the stated aim.

I am also against religious extremists who perpetrate violence and death in the distorted name of their faith. I am engaged directly on a daily basis in countering the ideologies of extremism and nihilism that lead to terrorism, and I continue to work closely with local and federal law enforcement to prevent further terrorism on American soil.

MAHER HATHOUT

Los Angeles