For Hans Gerhardt, news of Osama bin Laden’s death came as a muted victory. A cause for celebration for so many, it was also a sobering reminder of the thousands of loved ones lost on 9/11.
His son, Relph Gerhardt, was one of them.
At 34 years old, Relph was vice-president of Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment bank in New York City. He worked on the 105th floor of the first World Trade Center tower and was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
His parents, Hans and Helga Gerhardt, live in Burlington.
“The death of anybody is nothing to celebrate. It didn’t bring our son back,” Hans said.
“But the man who was so full of hatred and brought so much pain is dead, and in that sense it’s a victory to have one less person like this among us.”
While bin Laden’s death is being celebrated as a military and intelligence victory for the United States, it also serves as a positive milestone for the global Muslim community.
McMaster’s Sharjah Chair in Global Islam, Prof. Liyakat Takim, said Muslims have had to be on the defensive since 9/11, and defend what Islam is:
“Bin Laden was hijacking the religion,” Takim said. “He was permitting these terrorist acts in the name of Islam, and Muslims were guilty by association.”
Hamilton’s Muslim community was greatly affected after 9/11.
The Hindu Samaj Temple in Mount Hope was burned by an arsonist in the days following the attacks; in the act of ignorant hatred, the anti-Muslim arsonist thought the Hindu temple was a mosque.
Hussein Hamdani, spokesperson for the Muslim Association of Hamilton (MAH), received multiple death threats. Hamdani, a lawyer, is an active volunteer in the city.
“It’s difficult …to be threatened with violence for something you never committed, never condoned or supported,” he said.
Still, he feels that the news of Osama bin Laden’s death is a positive step toward inclusion, and will bring people together in Hamilton.
“This man was not considered a Muslim leader, and did not represent Islam in any way,” Hamdani said in a MAH media release Monday. “The Muslim community in Hamilton is one that promotes peace and human dignity, which is something (bin Laden) had no regard for.”
Despite widespread fears of al-Qaeda retaliation, particularly against the United States, Hamdani is optimistic.
“We can’t control what’s happening in other parts of the world but we can in our own back yard,” he said.
“We hope this gives Hamiltonians an opportunity to reach out, to mix, and we hope that every member of the community is a member of the process.”
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