Groups join to remember 9/11

More than 250 students and faculty gathered in a packed Hall of Flags Friday night. Attendees came from across political and religious spectrums to remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

They were there for the inaugural 9/11 Ramadan Banquet, held to honor the victims and fallen heroes of that tragic September day. The event also honored the Twin Towers Orphan Fund for providing financial, as well as mental and physical, support to the children of the victims of the terrorist attacks.

The Muslim Students Association organized the event in collaboration with the College Republicans, Penn Democrats, Hillel, PRISM - an interfaith umbrella organization - the Undergraduate Assembly, the United Minorities Council, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women, the School of Arts and Sciences and a number of other campus entities.

The event began after sundown, which allowed the Muslim students fasting for Ramadan to eat.

MSA Communications Chair and College junior Roxana Moussavian reminded everyone that although Friday night's banquet celebrated the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, the banquet was about unification.

"The event is not apologetic in nature," Moussavian said, explaining that the participating groups joined together to honor and remember. "Everyone wanted to make this event happen."

The event began at 6:30 p.m. with a Qur'anic recitation and welcome address. Adnan Zulfiqar, the interfaith fellow and campus minister to the Muslim community, gave a speech entitled, "One Muslim Looks Back at 9/11," and was followed by Associate Vice Provost for Equity and Access William Gipson, who was formerly the University Chaplain.

The room was silent as each speaker conveyed his feelings and reactions to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, asking students to recognize that they all suffered on that day.

Some students were brought to tears as Zulfiqar recalled his experience of utter disbelief at the attacks. At the time, he was working on Capitol Hill as an aide to former U.S. Senator Max Cleland (D-Ga).

"A deep sense of sadness set in [and] a profound feeling of betrayal," he said. "Not only had I suffered tremendous loss as an American, but my faith, one of the most precious parts of my life, had been trampled upon and sullied by its very adherents."

Prior to the event, University Chaplain Chaz Howard reflected on the meaning of the banquet and the emotions behind the 2001 tragedy.

"The image when I think of 9/11 is sort of hands reaching for folks beneath the rubble and the ruins there," he said. "It's profound that such different groups can come together and pull this banquet off."

Howard also emphasized the religious aspect of the banquet, calling it "an excellent chance for education."

"By non-Muslims coming to an event like this, it really increases the religious literacy of our entire campus," he said. "They witness our MSA students going to prayer…those are just important things to be good global citizens."

Ultimately, sponsors said, the event was a representation of the unity of Penn's community.

"It's a 9/11 Ramadan Banquet, but it's not about 9/11 and Muslims," Moussavian said. "It's about 9/11 and America."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.