The Patriot Post® · Muslims Want to Rewrite 9/11

Editor’s note: This is a truncated version of Mr. Starnes’ piece, “Muslims Complain About Town’s 9/11 Memorial,” which can be viewed in full here.

A group of New York Muslims has taken offense at a small town’s new memorial honoring those who died in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier fired off a letter to city leaders in Owego alleging that words engraved in the granite memorial would encourage hatred to Muslims. The memorial, which will be dedicated on Saturday, identifies those responsible for the attacks as “Islamic terrorists.” That’s a problem for the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier, based in nearby Johnson City, NY. A spokesperson told our Fox television affiliate that having the words “Islamic terrorists” on the monument is a “broad brush against the many Muslims who live in the Southern Tier.”

The facts surrounding 9/11 are very clear. Islamic radicals committed jihad on American soil. They were not shouting “Jesus Saves” when they flew those jetliners in the buildings. On Saturday, the citizens of Owego will commemorate the 15th anniversary of that terrible day by dedicating their memorial park — a park that honors a local resident who died in one of the twin towers. His name was Derek Statkevicus and he worked on the 89th floor of 2 World Trade Center. And his life was taken by an Islamic terrorist. That’s a fact.