The Christians asked about fatwas, divine revelation and the promise of paradise for terrorists, while the Muslims listened. Both groups wore sport coats, work shirts or lab coats, and a few women came with heads covered. But they all carried the same century-old logo on their ID cards, the blue oval encircling the scripted Ford.
Several hundred Ford Motor Co workers of many faiths and jobs -- engineers, designers, computer jockeys, plant foremen -- turned out on Thursday for "An Islamic perspective on the events of Sept. 11." The event was sponsored by Ford, the nation's second-largest automaker and a company in a unique position since Sept. 11.
Ford is based in this city, home to the US' most concentrated ethnic Arab community, and has hundreds of Arab-American employees in the area -- including, until recently, its chief executive, Jacques A. Nasser, an Australian of Lebanese descent who resigned two weeks ago after a stormy tenure in the position.
Ford officials have been sensitive in tending to relations with the city's Arab-American community. But much of the heavy lifting in fostering relations among its workers since the attacks has been done by the workers themselves.
While the company finances an interfaith dialogue group and a support group for workers of Middle Eastern descent, the meeting on Thursday was an outgrowth of impromptu "Islam 101" courses that one manager, Mona Abdelall, has been holding to explain her religion to groups of 50 to 100 non-Muslims since the attacks.
Abdelall, a leader of the interfaith group, invited an imam, Mohamed el-Sayed, to speak to the forum and answer the questions of a group of about 400 white-collar Ford workers.
Sayed is also a professor of mechanical engineering at Kettering University in Flint, so he easily broke into corporate-speak, talking about spiritual "enablers" like fasting during Ramadan and the bell curves of population distribution that left "2 percent on the extreme end" of most belief systems who could do such things as happened on Sept. 11.
"Islam came to make the earth and all life a better place," Sayed told his audience. "People think they can take verses out of context and do things to violate the mission. This mission is clear, to show mercy to humankind."
Mike Louzon, a 40-year-old engineer who works on the Ford Taurus sedan, said the event "gave a basic understanding of Islam for people in the company."
"I've worked here for 15 years," he added. "I like to see my co-workers understand what Islam is about. We need a lot more time to help people understand all of this."
Keisuke Taketani, a 26-year-old technician, said that workers at Ford tended to be open-minded.
"I have so many Islamic friends, because there is such a big community here," he added.
"That's kind of troubling, taking the whole for the mistakes of the few," said Naser Abdalla, 33, an engineer who wore a knit shirt bearing the Lincoln logo. "Some of us feel America is changing in the wrong direction."
For Mahmoud Ghannam, 35, a mechanical engineer who works on Ford pickup trucks and lives in nearby Windsor, Canada has seen his commute more than triple. Before Sept. 11, it might take an hour to get to his job in Dearborn.
"After the tragedy, it was very lengthy," he said, referring to the wait at the international border. "It would take three or four hours for the first three weeks."
The meeting was held in a high-ceilinged auditorium under tight security. But, for once, security was lighter post-Sept. 11 than before.
Normally, no photographs are allowed in the auditorium, part of the research center where new cars are developed. On Thursday, a few were snapped as non-Muslims asked Sayed questions like: "Is there divine revelation in Islam? Why did the attackers believe they were going to paradise? What would he do if he were president?"
"Maximize terrorism elimination," he responded to the latter, "and minimize hurting innocent people."
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? The state department said that using routine celebrations or public remarks as a pretext for provocation would undermine peace and stability Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech today as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said on Tuesday. Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai’s speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims. A state department spokesperson said it could not speculate on what China would or would not do. “However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS