OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is speaking out after the arrest of an Afghanistan man for conspiring to commit a terrorist attack.
CAIR Oklahoma said they want to check misinformation on Islamic beliefs following the arrest of 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, saying one man’s actions don’t represent the Muslim community.
“We just don’t want our community to become the targets of people who think this is representative of the whole,” said Veronica Laizure, deputy director of CAIR Oklahoma.
Tawhedi is behind bars for the alleged conspiracy of planning a terrorist attack on the behalf of ISIS. Tawhedi, who was originally from Afghanistan, was living in Oklahoma at the time of his arrest.
“When a Muslim person commits a crime or is part of an extreme ideology, Theres a tendency to ascribe that viewpoint to all of Islam and Muslims. Islam is an incredibly diverse religion,” said Laizure.
CAIR Oklahoma said their community is more likely to become a target of hatred because of misinformation, especially those re-settling in Oklahoma from their own country.
“You know they fled violence. They didn’t come here to import violence,” said Patrick Raglow, executive director of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma.
Laizure said this isolated attempt doesn’t define the religion as a whole.
“Extremist violence has no place in our society. No matter where that extremism is coming from. And ISIS is no more reflective of Islam as the Ku Klux Klan is of Christianity,” Laizure said.
CAIR Oklahoma said if you have been a target of any anti-Muslim or Islamophobic acts, report to local authorities or you can also report to CAIR by clicking here.