Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 06:06:01 -0500 From: carol@carolmoore.net (Carol Moore) Subject: [libs4peace] Act now to prevent more raids. American Muslims increasingly Reply-To: libs4peace@yahoogroups.comPlease circulate
> ACT NOW TO PREVENT MORE RAIDS
> Defend the Constitution!
>
> American Muslims are increasingly besieged by
> government actions
>
> (WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/25/2002) - We are calling
> all people
> of conscience nationwide to defend their
> community against increasing
> governmental assaults on civil liberties and
> religious rights. Community
> members concerned about these assaults are asked
> to contact the White House
> and their federal representatives with a
> reminder that the Bill of Rights
> applies to all Americans, including Muslims.
>
> The fourth article of the Bill of Rights states:
> "The right of the people
> to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
> and effects, against
> unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
> violated, and no Warrants
> shall issue, but upon probable cause..."
>
> Article six states: "...The right of the people
> to be secure in their
> persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
> unreasonable searches and
> seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants
> shall issue, but upon
> probable cause..."
>
> Every American should understand that their own
> civil rights are
> violated when the rights of Muslims are
> trampled.
>
> RAIDS ON ISLAMIC INSTITUTIONS AND HOMES
>
> Last week, Muslims nationwide expressed outrage
> over law enforcement raids
> on a number of Muslim offices and homes in
> Virginia and Georgia. Targets of
> the raids included some of the most respected
> leaders and organizations in
> the American Muslim community, including the
> International Institute of
> Islamic Thought, the Graduate School of Islamic
> Social Sciences, the Muslim
> World League and the Fiqh Council of North
> America.
>
> Those whose homes were targeted say frightened
> mothers and daughters were
> handcuffed for hours, Muslim citizens were
> treated as foreigners and were
> denied rights guaranteed to other citizens.
> Again, no criminal charges were
> filed and no evidence was produced to back up
> the government's actions.
>
> In a packed news conference reacting to the
> raids, Muslim Public
> Affairs Director Jason Erb said: "Unfortunately,
> investigators are well
> aware that in the current climate of fear and
> prejudice, few people will
> ask the tough questions about why these
> respected individuals and groups
> were targeted...As in past incidents targeting
> American Muslim
> institutions, no one is being given their day in
> court to confront accusers
> or refute allegations...security need not be
> gained by destroying the civil
> liberties and standards of due process that we
> all hold dear."
>
> IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:
>
> CONTACT President Bush and elected officials in
> your state to let them know
> that Muslims should have the same rights as
> other Americans. Ask that he
> make a public statement in support of American
> Muslim civil rights. Also
> ask that he meet with American Muslim leaders.
>
> President George W. Bush
> The White House
> 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
> Washington, DC 20500
>
> TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1
> FAX: 202-456-2461
> E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov,
> AskDOJ@usdoj.gov,
> vice.president@whitehouse.gov,
> Judiciary@mail.house.gov, cair@cair-net.org
>
> To obtain contact information for your
> representative, go to
> http://www.house.gov/writerep/, or call
> 202-224-3121. Have your Zip Code
> ready.
>
> For senators, go to:
>
> ttp://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm
>
> TALKING POINTS:
>
> * The government is treating the entire
> community as if it harbored or
> coddled the terrorists. Not one of the September
> 11 terrorists was a
> recognized or respected member of the American
> Muslim community. They were
> outsiders.
>
> * The Bill of Rights applies to all Americans,
> including Muslims.
>
> * The use of secret evidence makes it impossible
> for those accused to
> defend themselves against undefined
> "suspicions."
>
> * Many of those attacked in the most recent
> round of raids have excellent
> relationships with departments of the American
> government. Throughout this
> crisis, American Muslims have done everything
> they can to assist in the
> investigation and develop relationships between
> the government and the
> American Muslim community.
>
> * This is America and we have inalienable rights
> guaranteed by the Bill of
> Rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of
> religion, freedom from
> unwarranted search and seizure, freedom to face
> our accusers and demand
> justice.
>
> * How long will we have to endure this
> harassment before the government
> stops viewing our entire community through a
> veil of suspicion?
>
> * These actions contradict the often-repeated
> assertions by government
> officials that the war on terrorism is not an
> attack on Islam.
>
> BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
>
> Since September 11, 2001, our government has
> taken a number of actions
> against individual Muslims and Islamic
> organizations that created an
> atmosphere of intimidation and apprehension.
>
> Within hours of the tragic events of September
> 11, every major American
> Muslim organization issued condemnations of the
> terrorist attacks. The
> Muslim community did what it could, through
> blood drives and other relief
> activities, to help alleviate the suffering of
> victims and their families.
> Many Muslims were also killed and injured in the
> attacks.
>
> Unfortunately, these actions were not enough to
> prevent an anti-Muslim
> backlash that involved threats, assaults,
> harassment, discrimination,
> attacks on mosques, and even a number of
> murders. There have been recorded more
> than 1800 such anti-Muslim incidents.
>
> In the first few days after the September 11
> attacks, government officials,
> including President Bush, made a point to reach
> out to the Muslim
> community. The president visited a Washington,
> D.C., mosque in the company
> of national Muslim leaders.
>
> But since that initial period of support, a
> number of government policies
> have singled out Muslims and created the
> impression that they have fewer
> rights than other Americans.
>
> MUSLIM DETAINEES
>
> An estimated 1,200 Muslims were detained
> nationwide after the Sept. 11
> terrorist attacks. They have been held mostly on
> immigration charges, but
> are treated as if they are terrorists.
>
> In a report earlier this month, Amnesty
> International (AI) stated: "Six
> months after the September 11 attacks, a
> significant number of the
> approximately 1,200 non-U.S. nationals
> originally detained in the aftermath
> of the tragedy continue to be deprived of their
> human rights in violation
> of international law and the Immigration and
> Naturalization Service's own
> standards...While the detentions have been
> surrounded by extreme secrecy,
> the organization's research confirms that basic
> rights have been violated,
> including: the right to humane treatment; to be
> informed of reasons for
> detention; to have prompt access to a lawyer; to
> be able to challenge the
> lawfulness of the detention, and to be presumed
> innocent until proven
> otherwise...Amnesty International has received
> reports of cruel treatment,
> including: prolonged solitary confinement; heavy
> shackling of detainees
> during visits or when they are taken to court;
> and lack of adequate
> exercise...
>
> TO READ THE FULL REPORT, GO TO:
> http://www.amnestyusa.org/
>
> SECRET EVIDENCE
>
> The U.S. Justice Department says it plans to use
> secret evidence to justify
> the financial sanctions it imposed on a
> Chicago-area Muslim charity.
> Bridgeview-based Global Relief Foundation has
> filed a lawsuit saying the
> government violated the Constitution in freezing
> the charity's assets in
> December.
>
> This the first time the government has tried to
> use secret evidence--which
> would not be shared with the charity or its
> attorneys--under a provision of
> the Patriot Act signed in October by President
> Bush.
>
> The head of Global Relief, Rabih Haddad, has
> been held in solitary
> confinement without knowing why he is detained.
> Congressman John Conyers,
> Jr. (D-Mich.) stated: "The treatment of Imam
> Haddad has highlighted
> everything that is abusive and unconstitutional
> about our government's
> scapegoating of immigrants in the wake of the
> September 11th attacks...This
> is a case of guilt by association where we
> haven't seen a shred of evidence
> that the accused party is guilty...I am deeply
> disturbed that the Bush
> Administration is championing secret
> proceedings, the use of secret
> evidence and cruel conditions of confinement
> against a man with no criminal
> record who has publicly condemned the terrorist
> act against our
> country...Imam Haddad is entitled to the full
> disclosure of any evidence
> against him."
>
> In a Florida immigration case, Dr. Mazen
> Al-Najjar, a stateless
> Palestinian, has been held in solitary
> confinement, on the basis of secret
> evidence since November 24 of last year. He is
> only allowed one hour of
> exercise each day and is strip-searched twice a
> day.
>
> Al-Najjar had previously been detained for 3 1/2
> years as the United States
> worked to deport him. A U.S. appeals court
> forced his release, saying that
> prosecutors could not try him with secret
> evidence. But that did not stop
> the government from jailing him again.
>
> As a March 24 St. Petersburg Times editorial
> stated: "Secret evidence turns
> our civil legal process into a farce. If we
> allow its use, especially at a
> time when every Muslim enterprise is viewed with
> suspicion, we are setting
> the stage for one injustice after the next."
>
> CLOSURE OF MUSLIM CHARITIES
>
> Along with the closure of Global Relief, the
> government shut down two other
> prominent and well-respected American Muslim
> relief organizations.
>
> In December, President Bush froze the assets of
> the Holy Land Foundation
> for Relief and Development (HLF), one of the
> nation's largest Muslim
> charities. The charity had been targeted by
> pro-Israel organizations and
> individuals for several years.
>
> In a joint statement issued at that time, the
> leaders of every major
> national American Muslim organization said: "We
> ask that President Bush
> reconsider what we believe is an unjust and
> counterproductive move that can
> only damage America's credibility with Muslims
> in this country and around> the world and could create the impression that
> there has been a shift from
> a war on terrorism to an attack on Islam."
>
> Benevolence International Foundation (BIF),
> another Muslim charity hit with
> financial sanctions by the Treasury Department,
> has charged federal
> officials with violating its Constitutional
> rights and jeopardizing its
> survival. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District
> Court in Chicago, BIF said
> the government improperly and unfairly froze its
> assets without a hearing
> and without any evidence of wrongdoing.
>
> No criminal charges have been filed in any of
> these closures. The frozen
> funds belonged to the Muslim community, not to
> any particular organization.
>
> UNCHALLENGED ANTI-MUSLIM STATEMENTS
>
> According to an interview with syndicated
> columnist Cal Thomas published on
> the internet site crosswalk.com, Attorney
> General John Ashcroft said:
> "Islam is a religion in which God requires you
> to send your son to die for
> him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends
> his son to die for you."
> President Bush failed to speak out in
> condemnation of these bigoted
> remarks. (Ashcroft says he was misquoted. The
> reporter stands by his article.)
>
> Since September 11, conservative commentators
> have launched a barrage of
> attacks on the faith of Islam. Referring to
> Muslims, televangelist Pat
> Robertson said, "They want to coexist until they
> can control, dominate, and
> then if need be destroy."
>
> Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham,
> stood by remarks in which
> he claimed: "The God of Islam is not the same
> God. He's not the son of God
> of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's
> a different God, and I
> believe it is a very evil and wicked
> religion...I don't believe this
> [Islam] is this wonderful, peaceful religion."
>
> William S. Lind, with the Free Congress
> Foundation, said: "There is no such
> thing as peaceful Islam...Islamics cannot fit
> into an America in which the
> first loyalty is to the American Constitution.
> They should be encouraged to
> leave. They are a fifth column in this country."
>
> The Middle East Forum's Daniel Pipes goes so far
> as to recommend "vigilant
> application of social and political pressure to
> ensure that Islam is not
> accorded special status of any kind in this
> country."
>
> Syndicated columnist Ann Coulter said America
> "should invade their [Muslim]
> countries, kill their leaders and convert them
> to Christianity." Coulter
> also called for the "mass deportation of
> Muslims.
>
> This Islamophobic rhetoric has gone largely
> unchallenged by top government
> leaders.
>
> An editor of a prominent conservative
> publication even suggested
> "sarcastically" that "nuking Mecca" would "send
> a signal" to Muslims.
>
> "VOLUNTARY" INTERVIEWS
>
> Attorney General John Ashcroft has announced
> that the government will
> conduct "voluntary" interviews of an additional
> 3,000 legal Muslim foreign
> nationals similar to almost 5,000 conducted
> since November. In reaction to
> that announcement, we mus say: "We
> believe...that
> rounding up the 'usual suspects' based on
> nothing more than race, religion
> or national origin is not an effective law
> enforcement technique and
> creates the perception of profiling."
>
> Again, Rep. Conyers criticized the move, saying:
> "While the Bush
> Administration speaks of uniting the nation, its
> continued racial
> profiling, interrogation and detention of
> thousands of Arab and Muslims is
> having the opposite effect. It is time for the
> President to realize that
> the only thing these practices will secure is
> the downfall of democratic
> freedoms in America."
>
> Fewer than 20 of the initial interviewees were
> arrested, all on charges
> unrelated to terrorism. The new interviews will
> be conducted with men from
> specific unnamed countries.
>
> An editorial in today's Christian Science
> Monitor states: "...concerns
> among Arab-Americans and Muslims that their
> communities are being targeted
> shouldn't be ignored. Building trust and
> honoring rights has to go
> hand-in-hand with the data-gathering. Civil
> liberties abuses of the past,
> as during the 'red scare of the 1950s or the
> internment of
> Japanese-Americans during World War II, should
> not be forgotten."
>
> TARGETING MUSLIM "ABSCONDERS" - Law enforcement
> authorities announced they
> will focus on apprehending illegal Muslim and
> Arab immigrants who have
> ignored deportation orders, despite the fact
> that the vast majority of
> 314,000 so-called "absconders" are not Muslim or
> Arab.
>
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>
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