Misunderstood modesty

Local Muslims believe the fate of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun simply rests in God's hands.

And that invisible faith has left network TV satellite trucks and the accompanying reporters with precious little to focus their cameras on in the past few days, as Hassoun's family members wait inside their West Jordan home, praying his life will be spared.

No photos of Hassoun with his extended family; no tape of grief-stricken parents agonizing over the potential outcome; no angry tongue-lashing of the Bush administration. The family's silence since Sunday's initial reports that Hassoun was being held hostage and threatened with beheading by Iraqi insurgents stands in marked contrast to the emotion spilled through TV images of other grieving families — and their outraged communities — the past few weeks.

While two public prayer vigils held at the Capitol on Monday garnered only a handful of participants, worship services at Salt Lake City's three mosques have included prayers asking for Hassoun's release. Some have wondered aloud after watching the public outpouring for families of other American hostages whether Hassoun's ethnicity or his military status have affected public response to the Hassoun family's private nightmare.

Yet members of the local Muslim community maintain there is no connection, saying religious and cultural differences have dictated both the Hassoun family's self-imposed privacy and the resulting community response.

Benan Zahawi, a local Muslim who lived in Iraq for 40 years, said the reaction of Muslims to such personal tragedies dictates introspection and personal prayer, not public pronouncements.

"Usually when these things happen, you don't go out and speak about it. You talk to friends and close family, but rarely go out to the news media. That's a difference between two cultures."

A worship service held Monday at the Khadeeja Mosque in West Valley City included dozens of local Muslims and three LDS women who wanted to show their support. It also included several reporters from both local and national news organizations. Zahawi was there to pray also. "Many of us actually didn't feel comfortable with media there. We understand it's an issue, but we just didn't feel comfortable with them there and we didn't want to talk with them. It's a cultural issue."

He didn't agree fully with the notion that the family's silence comes out of concern that insurgents holding Hassoun may be swayed by media reports.