Muslims face personal assaults; others deal with delayed shipments from Middle Eastern suppliers
St. Louis Business Journal - September 21, 2001by Margaret Jackson
Since Reza Jafarian left Iran Monday, the most difficult thing he's had to deal with as an American Muslim is tightened airport security.
Jafarian, who handles the wholesale business for St. Louis-based Asadorian Rug Co. Inc., flew from Tehran, Iran, where he was visiting family; to Frankfurt, Germany; to a business meeting in Dusseldorf, Germany, where security officers asked to check his bag.
"Normally, they would never do that," said Jafarian, a Muslim originally from Iran. "But I would assume that if you have a Middle Eastern appearance or features, you would be more likely to be stopped."
He was not stopped when he entered the United States through Chicago's O'Hare International Airport before continuing to St. Louis.
"I'm 45 years old and I have gray hair, and I don't look like one of those young kids," Jafarian said. "If I was in my mid-20s and had real Middle Eastern features, I probably would have been stopped. I've heard from some other friends who haven't been treated nicely."
Meanwhile, Jafarian's boss Rich Asadorian, co-owner of Asadorian Rug, said he hasn't been harassed, but is worried about his third-generation family business that imports and exports rugs. Sales hit $1 million last year.
Business had picked up after the United States lifted an embargo earlier this year on goods imported from Iran, including Persian rugs. Now, Asadorian is uncertain whether he'll be allowed to continue importing from there.
"If Iran doesn't cooperate, they might say we're going back to the embargo," said Asadorian, whose grandfather emigrated from Armenia in the early 1900s. "It's too soon to say what's going to happen."
Asadorian still is expecting shipments of rugs and yarn (for the repair end of his business) that have been delayed since the attack.
While Asadorian was born in the United States and his family is Christian, he also could be the target of attacks against people who appear to be from the Middle East.
Anna Crosslin, president and chief executive of the International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis, said it's not just Muslims who are likely targets of hate crimes. Anyone who has the appearance of being from the Middle East could feel the backlash from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"It's people who the community perceives as being Middle Eastern -- not just those dressed in the traditional garb," she said. "People can't tell the difference between our Afghan refugees, Afghans who are Christians, Indians or Pakistanis."
Others haven't been as fortunate as Asadorian and Jafarian.
Dr. Ghazala Hayat, a neurologist on the Saint Louis University faculty, said she and her family have received threatening phone calls at home. The callers have said, "Watch out, we're coming for you," or "Why don't you leave the country?
Hayat, who also is the chairperson of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, said the calls scared her 20-year-old daughter so much she was afraid to open the door -- a reaction Hayat discourages for the region's more than 50,000 Muslim residents.
"I'm telling the whole community to be careful, but please go out," Hayat said. "Don't go into a shell. There are a lot of people who don't know what the religion is about, and they won't if you don't tell them."
So far, there has been at least one report of physical abuse against a person from the Middle East. A 31-year-old immigrant from Jordan said he was beaten and hit on the head with a tire iron in a fight with a man and a woman because of his Middle Eastern heritage.
Crosslin said many of her organization's clients also have been verbally harassed, but there hasn't been any physical violence.
"People don't understand how broad Islam is and how you can have radical elements the same way you do in Christianity," she said. "We don't think all Christians are terrible because some radical Christians go out and shoot doctors and bomb abortion clinics. But that broad brush is being applied to all of Islam."
Malik Fazil, who owns a local leather importing and distribution business, said he hasn't received any threatening calls or been the target of any physical violence. Still, he's nervous enough that he asked that the name of business not to be published.
"Under other circumstances, I would be happy to get the free publicity," Fazil said. "I'm just a little nervous. There are strange people who you don't know what they can do. You don't want to be part of that statistic.
"People need to realize that we are just like them, and we are part of the system. If my neighbor his hurting, I'm hurting, too."
Fazil said he's also concerned that his nine-year-old company, which manufactures leather products in Pakistan and imports them to the United States, will suffer. The company has revenue of more than $2 million.
"The shipments are delayed," he said. "Our customers have been very understanding and cooperative with us -- nobody has canceled any orders. But our last shipment was a week ago -- just before the attack."
Mohammed Ibrahim, president of Ibrahim Engineering, said many of his clients have called to make sure he's OK. Ibrahim is only aware of a few incidents where his fellow Muslims have been treated badly -- and then it was more of a dirty look than cruel comments or physical abuse.
He hopes other Americans understand that the terrorists could not technically be Muslim.
"Anyone who would do that is not a Muslim," Ibrahim said. "The religion doesn't teach that you would hurt other people. You don't even hurt your enemy like that."
Zia Mahmood, a Muslim from Bangladesh, has not been a victim of harassment or intimidation, but the financial consultant at the St. Louis branch of the Royal Alliance brokerage firm said it's been difficult to carry on with business as usual.
"I'm so down, and I feel so bad about it," he said. "You don't feel like talking about business."
Mahmood, who has been in St. Louis for 21 years, has both Muslim and non-Muslim clients. He said there's been no distinction in the way each group has responded from a financial standpoint.
"Everybody is uncertain as to what to do," he said. A few people wanted to get out when the market opened Monday, but it's a very small portion. Some people want to be in just to show their support."
mjackson@bizjournals.com"
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