CHAPLAIN URGES RESTRAINT AGAINST MUSLIMS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A Muslim prison chaplain told high school students Tuesday that the Sept. 11 terrorist acts defy the principles of Islam, which forbid the killing of innocent people.

Abdul-Wahab Omiera called the terrorists ``so-called Muslims'' whose actions are contrary to the Koran and the teachings of the prophet Mohammed.

``The barbaric and savage actions of the horrific crime that these terrorists committed, Islam and Muslims are not responsible for,'' said Omiera, 53. ``The Koran doesn't say kill innocent civilians, murder people and blow people up.''

Omiera spoke at Palmdale High School, where an anonymous note was found last month threatening five students the author identified as Muslim.

Elsewhere in the Antelope Valley, an unknown gunman fired shots at a gas station owned by a Syrian immigrant, and two Lancaster men were charged Tuesday with attacking a Latino motorist they mistook as being Middle Eastern.

Omiera gave his talk in the library, where about 70 students gathered, and his remarks also were fed live to classrooms and the gym.

Born and raised in Damascus, Syria, Omiera immigrated to the United States in 1969. A father of five children, he has been the Muslim chaplain at the prison in Lancaster since 1993.

He had earlier talked at Littlerock High School, and plans to visit middle-school students next week.

Omiera was invited to talk to Palmdale students by Barbara Walsh, a member of the Antelope Valley Human Relations Task Force who is a school secretary.

``It's important that we all understand that the violence that was perpetrated on our country was not by a race, it was by a group of evil people,'' Walsh said. ``We need to realize that we can't go out and perpetrate evil on Muslims and Arabs simply because of their race.''

Omiera strived to dispel misconceptions about Muslims and Islam. While the Arabic word ``jihad'' means to many waging an armed conflict against America, Omiera offered a different definition.

``Jihad is striving to do good, to go out and earn bread for your family. It is what I'm doing. This is the highest form of jihad, speaking to you. It's not to blow yourself up with innocent people. The word is misused, misconstrued, misinterpreted.''

Omiera advised students not to react with blind anger.

``Don't let the terrorists win. Don't misplace your anger,'' Omiera said. ``Please be angry but be angry the American way. If you see a Muslim or Arab, give him a hug and words of assurance. Don't put the image of terrorists on an American face.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Prison chaplain Abdul-Wahab Omiera spoke Tuesday to students at Palmdale High School.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer