Building bridges is goal of 'Hope Not Hate' gatherings

Building bridges is goal of 'Hope Not Hate' gatherings

by Delma Francis
Star Tribune
09/18/2004

In the past few months, World Trade Center survivor Paul Anton of Minneapolis has been giving a lot of thought to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, and their aftermath.

So have many others who were involved directly or indirectly. As a result, a series of town hall meetings called "Hope Not Hate" is underway nationwide, sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy and a coalition of other nonprofit groups. The first Minnesota meeting was held at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday. A second is scheduled for Sept. 28 at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

The purpose of the series is twofold, said co-chair Akbar Ahmed, chairman of Islamic Studies and a professor of International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C. "First, we want to build a bridge of understanding between non-Muslims and Muslims in the U.S. and then [secondly to] extend that bridge of understanding from the U.S. to the Muslim world."

A fine idea, said Anton, an economist and partner in Anton, Lubov and Associates. Three years ago, he was at a meeting of economists on the first floor of the South Tower when a hijacked plane slammed into the building.

"Trying to promote understanding between the U.S. and the Muslim world, in whatever form, is a good thing," he said. "To judge all Muslims by these few would be the same mistake as judging all Christians by those who shoot doctors outside abortion clinics."

In addition, Anton said, he hopes initiatives such as the town hall meetings will lead to "different rhetoric at the national level."

He said it irritates him when he hears that Islamic fanatics "hate freedom. They don't hate freedom; they hate us. They see us as part of their problem, playing ball with the Saudi regime."

Anton said he agrees with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who has written that the U.S. policy toward the Middle East has been "that it's a big gas station, and as long as the oil keeps flowing, we don't much care about human rights violations" and have been willing to turn a blind eye to misdeeds. "President Carter said human rights should be the cornerstone of our foreign policy. I thought he was hopelessly naive at the time, but I can see what he was getting at. We need to demand a different policy from our government than what we have now."

Hamdy El-Sawaf, executive director of the Islamic Center of Minnesota, who participated in Tuesday's overflow town hall meeting, said he left the meeting filled with optimism.

"It was a wonderful dialogue between the audience and the panelists, and offered wonderful insight into what people are thinking. All generations were represented -- some close to 80 and students 17 and 18," said El-Sawaf. But it was the young people who affected him most. "You could really feel the pulse of that young generation there. They will be at the forefront in the movement for change."

While the town meetings may, in effect, be preaching to the converted, those involved say the gatherings will nevertheless promote knowledge, understanding and respect that they hope will spill over to the larger population.

"What we're all trying to do is start a dialogue that is not rancorous, where people talk rather than scream, as on talk radio or TV," said Nikki Stern, executive director of the nonprofit Families of September 11. Stern, of New Jersey, lost her husband, Jim Potorti, who was working on the 94th floor of the North Tower.

That was the atmosphere Tuesday, where "people were calm and very eager to have precise answers to their questions," said El-Sawaf. "They were really eager to know where the truth is."

Delma J. Francis is at dfrancis@startribune.com.