A controversy in Town of Owego over a new monument in Hickories Park for a major terrorist attack in September of 2001. Its wording has upset some. The monument references, “nineteen Islamic terrorists” as being responsible for 9/11.
A spokesperson for the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier says that having the words “Islamic terrorists” on the monument is a broad brush against the many Muslims who live in the Southern Tier. The group has asked that the monument say “terrorists” or, if they must, use “al-Qaeda terrorists.”
We asked a town lead if the idea of using the term “Islamic terrorists” was a bad one in the era of political correctness? Town Supervisor Donald Castellucci says it is an accurate historical portrayal.
“I don’t live in a politically correct world,” he said. “I live in a historical fact world and cross-terrorism, whether it’s American, homegrown, Christianity, Islamic, you call it what it is. And, we don’t whitewash things, especially here. And, we think we done the accurate citing of what happened.”
Fox 40 will have more on this story on its Wednesday evening newscast.