Brookline's Bernard Greene: Can we have a moment of silence?

From the Town of Brookline's Select Board Chair Bernard Greene: Last Wednesday was the 18th anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 into a field in rural western Pennsylvania.

Here in Brookline, the Brookline Fire Department, like fire departments across the Commonwealth held a moment of silence at 9:55 am on September 11 and a special ceremony was held at Fire Station 5 in honor of Brookline native Manuel Del Valle, Jr. Del Valle, whose step-brother is Brookline fire fighter Peter Moyer, died while racing into one of the World Trade Center towers to save people while serving as a New York City fire fighter.

A bench was dedicated to Manny’s memory on the front lawn of Station 5 in Coolidge Corner in 2011.

I want to use the occasion of the anniversary of 9/11 to remember those who died, including over 200 Massachusetts residents and eight people, that we know of, with Brookline ties and to reflect upon the lessons of tragedies like 9/11 that will enable us to respond with moral strength and compassion instead of fear and hatred.

1. Christine Barbuto – 32 – a Brookline resident.
2. Kelly Anne Booms – 24 – a Brookline resident.
3. John Brett Cahill – 56 – born in Brookline but a resident of Wellesley.
4. Manual Del Valle, Jr. – a 1988 graduate of Brookline HS and a NYC firefighter assigned to Engine 5, one of the first fire companies to respond.
5. Gerald P. Dewan – 35 – a West Roxbury native and third generation fire fighter. His brother, Jack Dewan, served for many years as a Brookline Fire Fighter. Gerald Dewan was a NYC firefighter who was one of the first responders on September 11.
6. Karleton Fyfe – 31 – a Brookline resident
7. Lisa Gordenstein – 41 – lived in Needham but graduated from Brookline HS in 1977
8. Daniel C. Lewin – 31 – a Brookline resident. According to the TAB he was reportedly stabbed on Flight 11 as it was hijacked, making him the first victim of the attacks. This is evidence that the passengers on that flight also heroically resisted the terrorists.

I also would like people to reflect on the lessons of that day that speak to our values not our fears. Despite continuing Islamophobia in America and even here in Brookline, approximately 60 innocent Muslims are known to have died in the attacks – excluding of course the 19 terrorists. I want to mention two of those Muslim individuals with a nearby connection to give a face to those victims who are often victimized themselves by ignorant fears.

From a story in USA Today in 2010 we learn of a Newton, Massachusetts couple who lost their daughter Rahma, who was seven months pregnant, and Rahma’s husband, Michael, who were passengers in the jet that crashed into the north tower. Rahma’s Father was Ysuff Salie who with his wife Haleema live in Newton and in 2010 owned two bakery-cafes. After 9/11, several of their Muslim relatives were barred from international flights and almost missed the memorial service for Rahma and Michael.

Haleema felt compelled to tell reporters: “We would like people to know that we are Muslims and my daughter and son-in-law were Muslims. They were victims too.”

Some Americans allow their fears to blame 1 billion Muslims in the world for the acts of the few who pulled off this attack. George Bush, for all his faults, had the answer to that fear in a speech he made at the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. six days after the attack.

He said: These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith, and it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that.

The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, but let me quote from the Koran, itself. 'In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule'.

The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.

When we think of Islam we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace, and that's made brothers and sisters out of every race, out of every race. America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms, and dads, and they need to be treated with respect.

In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect. Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes. Moms who wear cover must be not intimidated in America; that's not the America I know.

That's not the America I value. We should heed the words of President Bush in our current times of demonization of Muslims, immigrants from Central America and elsewhere, and others and reach out to them with compassion and support as our way of honoring those who died on September 11, 2001.

Can we have a moment of silence to remember and to reflect.