Regarding the arrest of Algerian Ahmed Ressam, accused of attempting to smuggle bomb-making components recently in Washington State, near the Canadian border.

On behalf of the more than nine million Muslim Americans and Arab Americans, we wish to unequivocally condemn all types of terrorism, whether homemade or foreign-made.

We caution the authorities and the media to be very, very careful in making clear distinctions between al-Islaam, the religion of peace, and the violent behavior of individuals who might have Arabic/Muslim names.

To link the words such as terrorism, militant or violence with Islam is wrong and is insulting to the more than 1.2 billion Muslims of the world, more than six million of whom are Americans. It is also equally wrong to link the same words with Judaism and Christianity. If there is a need to identify a person who is accused of such acts, then maybe his country of origin could be mentioned but not his religious affiliation because all divine religious teachings condemn terrorism, violence and all harmful deeds.

There should be no guilt by association at all.

There should also be no rush to judgment until all the facts are examined and proven in a court of law as to who is really sponsoring him.

It is important to remember how some media reporters rushed to judgment in the case of the tragic Oklahoma City bombing, when so-called "experts" immediately assumed and propagated the false accusation that Muslims/Arabs were behind it.

We support the due process of law and believe that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and not on the air waves or in the print media.

We call upon the FBI and the authorities investigating this and similar cases to cease and desist from leaking incomplete information to confuse the public, harm many innocent Americans and become an obstacle in the face of a fair trial in the future.

Al-Haaj Ghazi Y. Khankan

Director of Interfaith and Communication

Islamic Center of Long Island