Muslim, Jewish Community Leaders Reflect on War and Security Post-bin Laden

News of the al-Qaida leader’s killing has everyone talking, including spiritual leaders in the Silver Spring area.

“This is a big victory for the United States of America, there’s no doubt about it,” said Naseem Mahdi, national vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a national organization based in the Colesville area of Silver Spring.

Rabbi Reuben Landman of Har Tzeon Agudath Achim, a conservative synagogue in Wheaton, also had a positive reaction to bin Laden’s death.

"It was exciting…the sense of unity with this country, that we reached this milestone, he said. “What [bin Laden] represents, you feel the sense of victory of what happened." 

But both men agreed that the security is now a concern.

"I think there's still the same uncertainty, at this point, we want to be more careful of security issues,” said Landman. “In terms of going forward, I'm not thinking this will change much."  

“This is not over until it is over,” said Mahdi. “This war is going to continue for some time until we have finished those breeding grounds [of terrorists].

“And how can we finish that? By educating people, by taking the message away from those clerics who are exploiting the religion of Islam and telling them, ‘This is not Islam, and you have been mislead’ and the proper education has to start,” Mahdi continued.

Mahdi says that his community’s interested in dispelling myths about their faith. 

“We have been very strongly condemning any kind of terrorism in the name of Islam,” he said. “This is not a war against Islam; this is a war against terrorism.”

Landman said that for his congregation, they’re taking some extra safety measures.

"We're getting information from the community council asking for us to take precaution, asking us to keep the building locked, and be much more cautious who comes in the building,” he said.