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  • 2009-09-17 (xsd:date)
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  • Did a Houston Store Close on September 11 to Honor a 9/11 Hijacker? (en)
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  • A sign taped on the glass of a Perfume Planet store at the Harwin Central Mart in Houston, Texas, caused a great deal of consternation (and outrage) among Americans in mid-September 2009, the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.: Many viewers took the sign's statement that the store would be closed on September 11 to commemorate to the martyrdom of the Imam Ali as a mean-spirited insult, interpreting it to mean that the proprietors were shutting down to honor one of the terrorists killed in the perpetration of the 9/11 attacks. Although the sign was real, its common interpretation was erroneous: None of the 9/11 hijackers was named Ali, and the word Imam is not a name but rather a title (akin to rabbi or minister) that refers to a Muslim religious leader. The Imam Ali was not a modern day terrorist; he was a 7th century religious figure, the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, whom Shi'a Muslims regard as the first Imam. (Disagreement over Ali's role in Islamic theology led to the division of Muslims into the Sunni and Shi'a branches of Islam.) Ali was attacked by an assassin while praying in a mosque on the 19th day of Ramadan and died two days later, so the 21st day of Ramadan is (among the Shi'a branch of Islam) a day of special significance, a day for honoring the martyrdom of the Imam Ali. Since the Islamic calendar is based on lunar months with years of 354 or 355 days, the months of the Islamic calendar move around from year to year with respect to the Gregorian calendar. In 2009, the month of Ramadan began on 21 August, and the 21st day of Ramadan therefore coincidentally fell on the date of September 11 by the Gregorian calendar that year. The Perfume Planet's manager explained his reaction to the confusion caused by the controversial signage: Several months later, the store's proprietors remained the targets of hostile criticism over the misunderstanding: In 2018, the month of Ramadan fell between May 15 and June 14 on the Gregorian calendar and had no intersection with the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (en)
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