Talk to focus on bias Muslims face after 9/11

Two Japanese-American organizations will hold a panel discussion Sept. 10 on post-9/11 stigmatization Muslim Americans confront and the parallels to discrimination experienced by Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

"A Decade After 9/11: Acknowledging the Harms, Learning the Lessons and Shaping the Future," will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, 2454 S. Beretania St. in Moiliili.

The event, sponsored by the Japanese Cultural Center and Japanese American Citizens League-Honolulu Chapter, is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required but will be appreciated. To RSVP, email jaclhon@gmail.com.

"There were multiple victims of 9/11. Those who lost their lives and those who are Muslim, or perceived to be Muslim or Middle Eastern, and thus are subject to stigma and discrimination because many equate Muslim with ‘terrorist,’" JACL President Trisha Nakamura said.

Speakers will include author and filmmaker Tom Coffman, who will address racial tensions and how they were reduced during World War II; Mari J. Matsuda, a University of Hawaii law professor, on the 9/11 connection to current events and what they mean to social justice seekers; and Hakim Ouansafi of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, on the experiences of Hawaii’s Muslim-American community. Ellen Godbey Carson, an attorney and civil rights advocate, will moderate.

"A lesson should be learned from World War II, when Japanese-Americans were unlawfully detained in internment camps," Nakamura said. "The U.S. government can impose nonconstitutional laws when they use national security as a basis, and it’s all fear-based, pulling from the fear of the people to justify unlawful action."