A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| sofia |
| 03/23/02 at 08:48:56 |
| As-salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullah Seems US federal agents are still at it. And still no evidence or links to terrorism found in the past 6 months. Interesting how our tax money is going into "draconian legislation in the name of security," aimed at us and an extended "war on terrorism" aimed at our brothers and sisters abroad. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION? ----------------------------------------------- MUSLIM GROUPS CRITICIZE US RAIDS By JENNIFER HOYT, The Associated Press, 3/21/2002 http://freep.com/news/nw/probe22_20020322.htm WASHINGTON (AP) - Islamic groups said Thursday that searches of homes and businesses in Virginia and Georgia were improper government raids seeking nonexistent evidence. Wednesday's searches by 150 law enforcement officers from several federal agencies were part of an effort coordinated by the Treasury Department to cut terrorists off from their funding. The Customs Service said 14 search warrants were executed in northern Virginia and one was used in Georgia, but that no arrests were made. "The Muslim community is deeply concerned about what appears to be a fishing expedition by federal authorities using McCarthy-like tactics in a search for evidence of wrongdoing that does not exist," said Jason Erb, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. One woman whose Herndon, Va., home was raided described men breaking through her door, pointing a gun at her 19-year-old daughter as she tried to call 911 and handcuffing them for three hours. "My daughter and I are citizens of good standing," Aysha Unus said. "We feel the system has humiliated us." Laura Jaghlit, a high school English teacher from Fairfax Station, Va., described the raid on her home as "the most un-American thing I have ever seen." Officials rifled through photos of her children, threw the contents of her drawers on the bed and took her family's computer, credit cards, passports and bank account information, Jaghlit said... "It seems like the government is declaring open season on Muslim American groups," said Abdulwahab Alkebsi, executive director of the Islamic Institute. Shaker El Sayed, coordinator of the National Muslim Leadership Summit, said the raids were designed "to give the impression that there is an efficient war on terrorism." SEE ALSO: Officials say raids were fair By Vaishali Honawar, The Washington Times, 3/22/2002 http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20020322-23330888.htm The sites raided include the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in Herndon and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences and the Fiqh Council of North America in Leesburg, Va. Louay Safi, director of research at IIIT, said the agents confined workers to a room without showing them a search warrant and tried to conduct interviews without any attorneys present... Muslim community members packed a conference room in the office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Capitol Hill yesterday to register their protest at what they said was a "McCarthylike witch hunt." Aysha Nudrat Unus, 62, of Herndon, said she heard loud banging on the door of her residence at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Her husband works for the IIIT. "I was afraid to go out," she said, adding that all she could see was a man in a black jacket and the barrel of a gun against the glass door. Her 19-year-old daughter started to call the police when the agents broke open the door, she said. One pointed a gun at her daughter and asked her to put the phone down, Mrs. Unus said. She said the agents did not present them with the warrant or even show an ID badge. Her daughter and she were handcuffed and held on their family room sofa for six hours, she said... Another resident, Laura Jaghlit of Fairfax, said she was born and raised in Minnesota and lost a brother in the Vietnam War... --- Federal raids on charities anger U.S. Muslim leaders By Kevin Murphy, Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, 3/22/2002 "All of our community is against the terrorists and terrorism," said Johari Abdul-Malik, a Muslim chaplain at Howard University in Washington, whose premises were not raided. "All of the communities will cooperate, but please don't treat Americans in any other way than you would wish to be treated..." Jason Erb, director of government affairs for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, disagreed. Erb, whose group advocates for Islamic causes in Washington, suggested that investigators were using the climate of fear of terrorism to justify unwarranted searches. "Vague and unsubstantiated references to 'links' or 'ties' to infamous names and organizations should not be a substitute for credible evidence," Erb said. "As in past incidents targeting American Muslim institutions, no one is being given their day in court to confront accusers or refute allegations." --- U.S. Raids Continue, Prompting Protests By JUDITH MILLER, The New York Times, 3/22/2002 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/21/national/21FREE.html On Wednesday night, federal customs agents also seized documents, files, three desk-top computers, numerous diskettes, and copies of a recent academic manuscript from the home of Taha Al-Awani and Mona Abul-Fadl, both associated with the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Va. Mrs. Abul-Fadl, who teaches political science and women's studies, said federal agents stormed into their home in Herndon, Va., at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Mrs. Abul-Fadl, who said she was alone, said she was awakened as they broke in the front door, with guns drawn. "They claimed to have knocked," she said. Mrs. Abul-Fadl, who said she felt as if she had been raped, was clearly shaken as she described the incident almost 24 hours later. "Normally, if one is in that situation, one would call the police," said Mrs. Abul-Fadl, 56. "But now, there is something ironic, even pathetic about it. "What police would you call now?" --- Pollster's relationships might have led to warrant By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN, St. Petersburg Times, 3/22/2002 http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/22/Worldandnation/Pollster_s_relationsh.shtml Khalil Shikaki is one of the Mideast's most respected pollsters, a propeace Palestinian who works with an Israeli university, writes for a U.S. magazine and has twice been the guest speaker of a Jewish organization. So what is Shikaki's name doing on a federal search warrant that calls him a terrorist? "If (the warrant) was produced by the same kind of federal bureaucracy that gave visas to terrorists six months after they died, this is the flip side," said Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine. "He's not a terrorist. He's one of the most objective, intelligent and perceptive observers of Palestinian politics around. We're proud to publish him and would hope this is yet another case of federal agencies not being able to keep their records straight." The U.S. Customs Service won't say why Shikaki's name appears on warrants federal agents executed Wednesday in Virginia as part of an investigation into the funding of terrorist groups. But the reason apparently lies with Shikaki's long-ago ties to an Islamic think tank at the University of South Florida... --- US Muslim community outraged by raids on Muslim offices and homes By Sharon Behn, Agence France-Presse, 3/21/2002 WASHINGTON, March 21 (AFP) - US Muslim groups Thursday expressed their outrage over law enforcement raids on a number of Muslim offices and homes including those of respected leaders and some of their families. "This is a great tragedy, not only for the Muslim community but for the American community at large," protested Imam Johari Abdul Malik of the raids that took place Wednesday in the greater Washington, DC area... No-one was arrested in the sweep, which, according to Jason Erb of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was not related to the Justice Department's national call for voluntary interviews with 3,000 people who hail primarily from Middle Eastern countries. "According to the FBI there is no link," Erb said. "But this is part of an overall pattern." "This is part of a policy of disruption and they are after innocent people and destroying people's lives. We are trying to cooperate but we are tired of being targeted." ----- ACTIVISTS URGE INVESTIGATION INTO ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES By CLARE NULLIS, Associated Press, 3/22/2002 GENEVA (AP) - Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other groups joined together Friday in an appeal to governments not to trample human rights with new measures meant to clamp down on terrorism. "The events of Sept. 11 were a crime against humanity that shocked and changed the world," said Irene Khan, secretary-general of Amnesty International. "However, many governments have seized the moment to step up repression." "Many governments have introduced draconian legislation in the name of security: measures such as indefinite detention without trial and special courts based on secret evidence, creating a shadow criminal justice system," said Khan. In a joint declaration to the annual meeting of the 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission, non-government organizations called for an investigation into the human rights implications of counter-terrorism measures. They also said human rights considerations should be given more clout in the U.N. Security Council's anti-terrorism committee. The declaration was signed by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies... |
| NS |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| ahmer |
| 03/23/02 at 10:30:07 |
list of targeted american muslim organizations and homes..! appeared on ININ, if you haven't seen it..! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* AMERICAN MUSLIM ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA AMANA (THE ORIGINAL NEWS BRIEF AROUND THE AMERICAN MUSLIMS) This Message will be read by more than 10,000 Members and more Than 200 news agencies (AMANA SHURA COUNCIL IS BEHIND WHAT TO DELIVER!) It is good to reach by the AMANA Voice (The Islamic Center for Reaching & Preaching) *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Updated List of 24 American Muslim Organizations and 9 Homes Targeted and/or raided by U.S. government agencies. Washington, DC- Solidarity USA has compiled the following updated list of American Muslim organizations and Muslim households targeted and/or raided yesterday by the U.S. government agencies in Northern Virginia and Georgia. MWL and its affiliates: Muslim World League (MWL): A reportedly renowned worldwide Muslim Organization, as recognized NGO by the UN, with cultural and religious activities and services spread almost all over the world, including The Americas and Europe. International Relief Organization (IRO) International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) Success Foundation: A reportedly renowned American charity organization. Safa Groups and others, including: International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT): A renowned worldwide organization with offices and affiliates around the world. IIIT activities include organizing educational and intellectual workshops and symposiums, research and publishing of books and papers. IIIT is reportedly well known for its mainstream teachings and positions. FIQH Council: A national Muslim group, which is composed of a handful of mainstream leading American Muslim Scholars and Jurists to provide interpretations, guidelines and positions on religious issues. It reportedly constitutes the main religious reference for the majority of the Islamic centers and Muslim worshiping places in the United States and Canada. Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences: Reportedly known for its track record and mainstream policies and teachings. Reportedly known for its established business relation services with some government agencies and departments. SAAR Foundation SAAR International Safa Trust Mar-Jac Holdings,Inc. Mar-Jac Investments,Inc. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. Mena Corporation Sterling Charitable Gift Fund York Foundation York International African Muslim Agency Humana Charitable Trust Aradi, Inc. Grove Corporate Inc. Heritage Education Trust Reston Investment Inc. Sterling Management Group, Inc. Houses of Renowned National Muslim leaders and activists: Dr. Jamal Barzinji, Dr. Ahmad Totunji, Dr. Yaqub Mirza, Dr. Mohammad Jaghlit, Dr. Taha Al-Alwani, Dr. Iqbal Yunus, Mr. Tarik Hamdi, Mr. Muhammad Ashraf, and Mr. M. Omar Ashraf. Adverse Reporting of Government Agents' misconduct: While, all directors, staff and household members of the targeted and raided organizations and houses has reportedly fully cooperated with the government agents during these raids, some government agents had reportedly misconducted themselves: House of Dr. Iqbal Yunus: The household' wife, an elderly U.S. citizen, was by herself. At the time of the raid, she was handcuffed and mistreated for failing to be quick enough to open her house door for the agents. House of Dr. Mohammad Jaghlit: Agents roamed the place, broke cabinets, threw private belongings including personal and family photo pictures, albums, and left the house in a total mess. Among the very private things confiscated are household members' ID and passports, boxes of freshly printed and clearly marked cards and envelops of invitation for Jaghlits daughter's wedding party scheduled for later this month. All the Jaghlits are U.S. citizens. Raiding and confiscating office records and equipments of the American Muslim Foundation (AMF) which shares the office floor with Success Foundation. The AMF was neither on government's target list nor was it served with a search warrant. Dozens of mid class American Muslim families are suspected of losing their jobs and their sole source of income as a result of the virtual closure of their workplaces. |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| mujaahid |
| 03/23/02 at 16:16:57 |
| [slm] The Taliban will beat and humiliate thier forces aborad, inshallah. |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| jannah |
| 03/24/02 at 06:16:55 |
| mujaahid that's probably the most idealistic statement i've ever heard in my life. anyway the news of the raids is quite horrible...that list is full of some of the best islamic organizations we have out there. ..and what they did to the muslim families :( so terrible... subhanallah... this on top of imam jamil's conviction.. it's just criminal...justice means nothing to some people, it's twisted to serve their means.... |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| ahmer |
| 03/24/02 at 10:17:29 |
Listen to Dr. Louay Safi, director at IIIT, first hand accound of what happened.. http://islamicity.com/m/mediadisplay.asp?ref=3710 |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| ahmer |
| 03/24/02 at 10:21:35 |
Confusion Over Why Muslim Scholars, Intellectual Institutions Targeted American Muslims are shocked by FBI raids By Ayesha Ahmad, IOL Washington correspondent WASHINGTON, March 24 (IslamOnline) – The American Muslim community was shocked by yet another series of raids Wednesday, March 20, conducted by federal agents on the premises of their institutions, businesses and charities. This was not the first time such raids – part of an ongoing investigation into financial and other support for organizations deemed “terrorist groups” by the U.S. – have occurred, and it is not the first time Muslims and their organizations have pled their innocence of such charges. What made these raids particularly striking – aside from the raids on the homes of individuals associated with the organizations raided – was the focus on several well-respected, well-established institutions of Islamic thought, learning and religious studies. What many Muslims feel is that Islamic scholars who provided intellectual voices of moderation in the American Muslim community are being targeted. Specifically, the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GSISS), the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the FIQH Council of North America were all listed on the search warrant. Muslim scholars associated with the groups – like Dr. Iqbal Unus of GSISS and Dr. Jamal Barzinji of IIIT – were personally affected when agents raided their homes with guns drawn. “All three of those entities up until now were thought by everyone to have good relations with all kinds of government agencies,” said Sharifa Al-Khateeb, a Washington-based Muslim scholar, activist and president of the North American Council of Muslim Women. “The question that comes to a person’s mind is, if the government wanted to get information on any of these, they could have gotten that information… without anyone ever knowing it,” she said. Al-Khateeb told IslamOnline that the targeting of Islamic intellectual institutions and scholars by the government was deliberate. “The only thing I can imagine is that it was intended to give… the intellectual elite among the Muslims in this country [the message] that they no longer have freedom of speech.” She felt that the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush was making an effort to stifle the dissent felt by many Muslims – and non-Muslims – towards what they perceive as the misdirection of the war effort, especially with regards to U.S. policy on Iraq and the possibility of further warfare. “After the statements were made… about possibly using nuclear arms,” Al-Khateeb said, referring to the president’s remarks on his willingness to use nuclear weapons against Iraq, “there was a lot of negative reaction to it among Muslims.” “I think that our government would like to have a free rein to do whatever… they want to do, and they don’t want to hear any negative retorts to whatever they propose doing. Everything’s supposed to be acceptable because it is done in the name of security.” However, Jamal Barzinji, whose home was raided on Wednesday by federal agents in a dramatic search-and-seizure repeated in at least six other households over two days, said that the raids expressed the wishes not of the administration, but of elements within the government, media and scholarship who were unhappy with the positive attention being given to Muslims. “Unfortunately, the best guess that we have is that there is tremendous pressure on the administration, the Justice Department and so on from some elements that are extremely unhappy with the prominence that Muslims are receiving,” he said. Barzinji did not elaborate on exactly what these “elements” might be, saying that they could exist among both Muslims and non-Muslims in America. He said that the trail of suspicion could lead back to self-styled Middle East “experts” like Daniel Pipes and Steven Emerson, widely suspect among American Muslims for anti-Islamic theories. Their reports on what and whom they suspect of supporting terrorism are sent to federal agencies, which use the information without considering ulterior motives or hidden agendas, he explained. Pipes and Emerson are examples of people “who do not want to see Muslims develop such excellent relations with the government… assuming political rights,” he said. A widely-known Islamic scholar with IIIT himself, Barzinji seemed deeply shocked that these Islamic intellectual institutions, which have made themselves fully available to the Administration for information and support in the anti-terror war, would be suspected in such a way. “It is unthinkable that places like the FIQH Council… really the equivalent of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England - this should be untouchable, really,” he said. “Not only this… but these places are being so cooperative with the administration… with its regard to understanding the Muslim world.” The FIQH Council, for example, was the Islamic American authority that gave a ruling at the start of the Afghanistan campaign allowing Muslims to fight on the side of American forces against other Muslims, for the sake of justice. GSISS trains Muslim chaplains specifically for the military with “the right attitude” and an “appreciation of what we have in this nation,” Barzinji said. "That is what makes it so outrageous, what makes it so unthinkable, that they would target these… institutions,” he said. “Why target the very groups who have been most helpful, who have been most understanding of the needs of our government?” Barzinji said that the “line of moderation” pioneered by most of the institutions and individuals targeted in these raids was seen as a threat by anti-Islamic “elements.” Al-Khateeb, however, saw the threat against moderate Islamic voices as a greater crackdown on the presence of Islam in America. “That’s the whole point,” she said. “If you stomp down the doors of moderates, then what about the people who are outspoken?” Such measures as these raids, she said, “would serve to disempower the middle-of-the-road Muslims who are cooperative tax-paying people, who have middle class jobs and who need to keep them, and they’ll send a message to them that, you know, your position in this country is tenuous, and that if in fact we as a country decide to do whatever it is we feel like doing… we need to count on your silence.” Al-Khateeb’s deep concern for the implications of the raids, and her shock at the tactics used in the invasion of individual homes, were keenly apparent in her voice. “It’s a very critical juncture for our community,” she said firmly. “To stand together, to insist that we will have our freedom of speech, and we will not allow ourselves to be treated the way Jews wera treated in Germany before they were rounded up.” She left no room for argument with the words she chose to describe the federal raids. “A rose by any other name is still a rose, and a Hitler by any other name is still Hitler,” she said. “And Gestapo tactics, whether they are used by World War II Germany or… [now] in the United States, are Gestapo tactics. We can’t pretty them up, they’re Gestapo tactics.” “As Americans, if our rights – whether [they’re] destroyed by incipient means or whether it’s done by a proclamation saying that no one is allowed to disagree with the head of state or the government; if that is what is happening to… our basic constitutional rights, then is this the same America that we had pre 9-11?” she asked. “And what I think is that if they want to redesign America, then they need to make some constitutional amendments and they need to do it in writing.” Barzinji insisted that he did not want to project the raids in the context of the administration’s responsibility, but he stressed the need for the administration to realize the impact of such actions on the image of America worldwide. “We keep hearing from President Bush, from Attorney General [John] Ashcroft, from [Defense] Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld and Secretary [of State Colin] Powell, we are losing overseas… the PR war,” he said. “Unfortunately, an event like this… picked up the same night by international media – it’s going to do a lot of damage,” he added. “People are not going to understand. They’re going to blow it out of proportion, it’s going to hurt our image, it’s going to hurt our war against terror.” http://islamonline.net/english/News/2002-03/24/article01.shtml |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| ahmer |
| 03/24/02 at 10:35:13 |
| Exclusive: Muslim Leaders, Victims Denounce Federal Raids on Homes, Businesses and Institutions By Ayesha Ahmad and Neveen Salem, IOL Washington correspondents WASHINGTON, March 22 (IslamOnline) - It seemed like an innocent delivery at first. At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a deliveryman approached the home of Aysha Nudret Unus in Herndon, Va., bearing an appliance, accompanied by another man dressed in black. An hour later, the man in black was banging at the door, demanding, "Open the door!" in a very loud voice. "All I could see was the man in a black jacket," Unus said, speaking at a press conference Thursday, March 21, about her ordeal. "I could see the barrel of the gun [through the peephole] of the door." Unus, an American citizen of Pakistani origin, yelled for her 19-year-old daughter, who was sleeping upstairs, to call 911 and "tell them someone is at the door with a gun." Her daughter came downstairs and picked up the phone, but at that point, the man broke down the door and entered the house, pointing his gun at them. The two women are Muslim, and because they were in their home, neither were wearing her hijab - the Islamic head-covering women are required to wear in front of non-related males. The man ordered Unus'sdaughter to drop the phone and raise her hands. He then proceeded to handcuff them both, Unus said. Not until they were handcuffed and seated were they told that the man was an officer with a search warrant. "I was actually relieved at the time," Unus said. "At least they are government people." The invasion of Unus's home was part of a series of federal raids conducted on Muslim homes and Muslim-owned businesses and institutions on Wednesday, March 20, in search for information based on alleged support for terrorist groups. Fourteen search warrants were issued for the Northern Virginia region, and one in Georgia; all the groups and individuals involved were Muslim. Publicly the Customs Agency, which helped conduct the raids through the warrants issued by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., was reported to have claimed that no one was handcuffed during any of the raids. Unus's husband, Dr. Iqbal Unus, is the dean of students at the Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences in Leesburg, Va., which was also raided Wednesday. Both were present at the press conference held Thursday at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Capitol Hill. Unus also told reporters how she and her daughter were both photographed without their head-coverings, despite asking to be allowed to cover themselves; after one officer attempted to put the scarves on the two women, their handcuffs were removed and replaced in front so that they could don the scarves themselves. When she showed her driver's license to the agents, they told her it was fake, before they checked it out and found it to be legitimate, she said. "We feel the system has humiliated us," Unus said. "As American citizens, we feel we deserved better." The Unus home was one of several others invaded; Laura Jaghlit, also an American citizen and a schoolteacher in Fairfax, Va., whose home was also raided, told reporters she knew of at least six homes involved in the search. Jaghlit, who came home Wednesday afternoon to find her home turned upside down and her 62-year-old husband speaking with the supervisors of the federal agents who surrounded his house earlier that day, denounced the raid on her home as un-American and began to weep as she told her story. "What happened to us yesterday was the most un-American thing I have ever seen in my life," said Jaghlit, whose father fought in World War II and whose brother died in the Vietnam War. Jaghlit told reporters that federal agents targeted their home because of her and her husband's associations with organizations listed on the search warrant; her family's personal trust accounts were also mentioned in the warrant. She told IslamOnline that agents told her family they "might even find Osama bin Laden in the basement," when they searched her house. Muslim leaders at the press conference denounced the raids as serious civil rights infringements and a "fishing expedition" targeting Muslims and Arabs. Many expressed concern that the "war on terrorism" has become what some Muslims have been saying all along - a war on Muslims. "This is a sad day," said Mohamed Omeish, the president of Success Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian relief agency that was raided. "This war claims to be against terrorism, but it is against Muslims and Arabs. The track record of this administration does not show otherwise." Louay Safi, director of research at the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), said that the raid shocked his organization; federal agents entered the building around 10 a.m. and kept the staff confined in a room for several hours without showing them the search warrant initially. "My organization is a research organization," Safi said. "We are committed to reforming Islamic thought… and working… to integrate the Muslim community into the American system. We are very much surprised and even shocked at agents… looking for terrorist support [in our offices]." Safi told IslamOnline after the press conference that the agents treated staff members like criminals. "They were trying to intimidate us. They tried to take people's pictures without individual warrants. Without those warrants you cannot treat an individual like a criminal," Safi told IslamOnline. "The fact of the matter is that they [the agents] do not realize that they are dealing with people who know their rights," he continued. Safi told the press conference that such measures would only serve to further remove American Muslims from their community. "This effort to fight terrorism is heading now in the wrong direction," he said, decrying what he called the government's "attempt to alienate even the most moderate Muslim voices." Shaker el-Sayed, head of the National Muslim Leadership Summit and of the American Muslim Foundation, whose offices were also swept because of their proximity to those of Success, also warned about the effects of the raids on the American Muslim community. "This is a blatant harassment of respected Islamic institutions and families, and it sends a hostile and chilling message to the American Muslim community and contradicts President [George W.] Bush's repeated assertions that the war against terrorism is not a conflict with Islam," he said. Abdul-Wahab al-kebsi, executive director of the Washington-based Islamic Institute, said that although his organization has stood by the president in his war on terror, these raids constitute harassment and raise serious civil rights concerns, making American Muslims feel targeted. "If such raids and targeting of Muslims continues, the community will begin to feel as though they are part of the problem when in fact they have always cooperated and vowed to be a part of the solution," Al-kebsi told IslamOnline after the conference. "The American Muslim community, as law abiding and patriotic Americans are uniquely positioned to be able to help the government, but such a blatant disregard for their civil rights has made them victims twice over… once on September 11 and again now by our government." Asked what the American Muslim community expects the U.S. government's next steps should be, Al-kebsi had harsh words for U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, demanding that he assume responsibility for the violations and put an immediate end to the targeting of Muslims. "Ashcroft must call for an immediate halt to the sledgehammer approach to the 'war on terrorism'," he said. He also called on Ashcroft to "stop the media circus," and to explain why media officials were told about and "practically invited" to the raids. IIIT staff also told IslamOnline that at least one television station was close at hand when their offices were raided. A CAIR representative, Jason Erb, said that the destruction of civil liberties was not needed for the sake of security, calling the raids "a fishing expedition by federal authorities using McCarthy-like tactics in a search for evidence of wrongdoing that does not exist." Al-kebsi said the Federal Bureau of Investigation "categorically" denied any involvement with the raids; however, witnesses said that FBI agents were present, and media reports said Wednesday that FBI agents were part of a team of about 150 law enforcement authorities who carried out the raids. El-Sayed told reporters at the press conference that the Muslim groups were planning to meet to discuss the next step for both the organizations and the individuals whose civil rights were infringed upon. But he said that the government had so far not been responsive, turning a "blind eye and a deaf ear to our calls." Erb, whose organization has been working for years as a champion of Muslim civil rights, said that the raids were the latest in a long line of measures that target Muslims and Arabs, including anti-immigration laws and secret evidence. "We're tired of telling people in the government that we don't like [what's happening] and [then] not seeing any policy changes," he said. Other groups that were raided included the FIQH Council of North America, a non-political religious organization which gave a religious ruling in October in support of Muslims joining the U.S. anti-terror effort, the Muslim World League, the International Islamic Relief Organization, and twenty-two other groups, including those mentioned above, some of which shared office space with each other. All of the organizations subjected to the raids are well known and respected religious organizations in the U.S., as were the individuals whose homes were raided, and all have time and again denounced acts of terrorism. The organizations represented at the press conference asserted their innocence of the allegations stated in the warrant and reaffirmed their stance against terrorism and the killing of innocent civilians. Muslim community leaders also stated that Friday's congregational prayer services would focus on how to mobilize American Muslims towards proactively seeking to ensure that the civil rights of all persons living in the U.S. are protected and enforced by the government. http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2002-03/22/article20.shtml |
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| khanzadeh |
| 03/25/02 at 04:16:58 |
| [slm] [quote] The FIQH Council, for example, was the Islamic American authority that gave a ruling at the start of the Afghanistan campaign allowing Muslims to fight on the side of American forces against other Muslims, for the sake of justice. GSISS trains Muslim chaplains specifically for the military with “the right attitude” and an “appreciation of what we have in this nation,” Barzinji said. "That is what makes it so outrageous, what makes it so unthinkable, that they would target these… institutions,” he said. “Why target the very groups who have been most helpful, who have been most understanding of the needs of our government?” [/quote] Very interesting. |
| NS |
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| humble_muslim |
| 03/25/02 at 10:32:06 |
| [slm] Hm, time to get out maybe ? |
| NS |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| bhaloo |
| 03/25/02 at 10:53:35 |
| [slm] Where would you think of going? Would you be accepted there? |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| humble_muslim |
| 03/25/02 at 11:52:33 |
| [slm] Allah SWT says in the Quran that the earth is large enough to find somewhere to live in. And Allah SWT knows better than you or I. I am REALLY frightened that the time may be near when under the Shariah, we will have to do Hijrah from the USA. |
| NS |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| ltcorpest2 |
| 03/25/02 at 20:07:20 |
| Hamayoun, or anyone else who feels like answering, How do you feel like you are treated in the USA? Outside the cultural and religious differences, do you feel like you are treated bad by some, few or most people you run into? |
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| Abd_al-Rashid |
| 03/26/02 at 01:42:53 |
| [slm] [quote]The FIQH Council, for example, was the Islamic American authority that gave a ruling at the start of the Afghanistan campaign allowing Muslims to fight on the side of American forces against other Muslims, for the sake of justice. GSISS trains Muslim chaplains specifically for the military with “the right attitude” and an “appreciation of what we have in this nation,” Barzinji said. "That is what makes it so outrageous, what makes it so unthinkable, that they would target these… institutions,” he said. “Why target the very groups who have been most helpful, who have been most understanding of the needs of our government?”[quote] Let me get this straight, first they allow for Muslims in the US armed forces to kill their fellow believers, and then call it "outrageous" and "unthinkable" when they are raided by the same government they gave allegiance to. NEWSFLASH: THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS! GEORGE BUSH IS NOT OUR BROTHER IN ISLAM!!! What's really outrageous and unthinkable is that a lot of Muslims are under the false illusion that America somehow owes them something. WAKE UP!! America does not care about you! We're trying to fit in, be accepted, when the reality is that groups and peoples that were here before us have dealt with this many times before. Ask the native americans, if there are any left in your area. Ask the black people, who have been trying to fit in and be accepted for 400 years. It's ok if you want to be a modernist and be blinded by love for America, just don't complain when your local organization is raided. [wlm] |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| ahmer |
| 03/26/02 at 19:11:02 |
| N.Va. Muslims Gather to Decry Raids Hundreds Hear Speakers Call for Hearings on Hill By Rosalind Helderman Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 26, 2002; Page B03 Several hundred people met last night in Sterling to hear speakers denounce last week's searches of Muslim homes and businesses in Northern Virginia as reminiscent of government tactics in the McCarthy era. The speakers promised to seek congressional hearings into the raids and called on listeners to support the fundraising efforts of the groups that were searched. Speakers also pledged a renewed effort to organize the American Muslim community. "You have been law-abiding citizens. . . . I want you to be strong. Hold your head up. You have done nothing wrong," Mohamed Magid, the religious leader of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, told the audience at the Sterling Library. The crowd filled the room and spilled into a hallway. At that point, organizers announced that another meeting would be held at the Muslim group's center, also in Sterling, and they later said 150 people attended that meeting. The searches last week, led by U.S. Customs Service agents, were intended to identify organizations that may have contributed to international groups that sponsor terrorist activities, sources said. No arrests were made and officials did not close any organizations. Among the businesses raided was Leesburg's Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences, which trains Muslim clerics, including for service in the U.S. military. Several of the businesses were centered in Herndon, including the International Institute for Islamic Thought. Officials have said that group gave money to a Florida group that the Justice Department said raised money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Describing the raided groups as moderate and responsible, people at the meeting called the searches a turning point. "For American Muslims, a new day has been etched into our hearts and minds. That day was March 20," said Manal Omar, a meeting organizer. A woman whose house was searched described how federal agents opened briefcases and file cabinets and rifled her bedroom. "I'm not the same person I was when I woke up Wednesday morning," Laura Jaghlit said. "I can't tell you how sad I am for my country and my people." |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| se7en |
| 03/27/02 at 04:08:32 |
| In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful CAIR ACTION ALERT #325 ACT NOW TO PREVENT MORE RAIDS American Muslims are increasingly besieged by government actions (WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/25/2002) - CAIR is calling on Muslims and other 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..." CAIR has decided to undertake this initiative because it is central to our mission to defend the civil rights of all Americans, including Muslims. 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, CAIR Governmental 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. (Call CAIR to receive your free "Know Your Rights Pocket Guide.") 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: http://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. CAIR alone 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, including CAIR's executive director. 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, CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad said: "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. - PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE AT FRIDAY PRAYERS - |
| NS |
| 03/27/02 at 04:16:34 |
| se7en |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
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| humble_muslim |
| 03/28/02 at 07:18:21 |
| Mike, I feel at the moment that I am being treated very well in the USA. But these kinds of incidents send shock waves thru me. It could be my kids Islamic school next, or even my home. It looks like muslims are being targeted at the moment just for being muslims. If things get worse (and who knows what will happen), and I start feeling uncomfatable, I can't see myself staying in the US. |
| NS |
| Re: US Raids Muslim Homes |
|---|
| ahmer |
| 04/04/02 at 09:23:36 |
| Muslim Raid Victims Urge Community to Unity and Action By Ayesha Ahmad, IOL Washington correspondent ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 2 (IslamOnline) - For Hana Unus, and for many others whose homes, businesses and institutions were raided by the federal government on March 20 in a search for alleged links to support for terrorism, it's really starting to sink in now, almost two weeks later. "The impact that it had on us mentally - it's really starting to sink in now," said Unus, 19, who was handcuffed for nearly five hours along with her mother after federal agents broke into their home with guns drawn and pointed at them on the morning of March 20. "It has an incredible impact on you emotionally." Unus was speaking Monday night at a town hall meeting in Alexandria sponsored by the northern Virginia Dar al-Hijra mosque and the Muslim American Society; it is the latest in a series of local meetings designed to keep community members abreast of what national Muslim organizations are doing in response to the raids and provide the community a platform for their concerns. The high school senior, who says that school is becoming difficult for those students whose homes were raided as the memory of March 20 seems to grow more painful, was one of a number of other raid victims who spoke at the meeting about how the impact of the raids affected them. Her mother, Nudrat Unus, spoke very briefly only to say how despite her more than 30 years of citizenship in the U.S., her confidence in the American promise of "freedom and justice for all" had been badly shaken. For Laura Jaghlit, an English teacher in northern Virginia whose home was raided and whose family trusts were listed on the search warrant for the raids, there has been a nearly overwhelming series of emotions since March 20, "from shock to a sadness to outrage to just… complete disbelief of the whole situation," she said. Mona Abu Fadl, a political science professor at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GSISS), which was raided on March 20, was asleep and alone at home when federal agents broke into her house, coming up the stairs to stand next to her bed as she woke up. "Only in retrospect, only after everything was gone, [I realized] that if I had really been aware of what was happening, I would have lost my mind," she said. She also described "various phases" of emotions that she had undergone since the raids - beginning with "utter disbelief," which she illustrated by the fact that when the agents were preparing to leave, "I told them, I'm sorry I didn't offer you coffee." Now, Abu Fadl said, she was barely composed enough to come to the town hall meeting. "I am not feeling very well still," she said, adding that she had been "hesitating between my reluctance to come… not being able to articulate my thoughts… and the sense of duty, of obligation I feel to my community." She said the question had only occurred to her after the agents were gone: "Why should they search? I realized they took everything… in one fell swoop. If they had tortured me… how much could they have taken out of my life?" Abu Fadl urged the Muslim community to "live up to the essentials, to the essence of what we as a community mean," to show the truth of Islam by its actions and to bring to America the value of "the sanctity of the home." Jaghlit also called on her community and its leadership to take action. "We have to make a change in our community," she said. "Stand up tall, stand up straight and scream loud because if we don't do it, no one will do it for us." Also speaking at the meeting were community and organization leaders, including Mahdi Bray, political advisor for the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Imam Johari Abdul Malik of Howard University, Louay Safi, research director for the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Mohamad Omeish of the Success Foundation - both of which were also raided - and Ray Bush, a legal advisor for the American Muslim Council (AMC), among others. Imam Abdul Malik told the community to develop a strategic plan, both for response to these raids and for preparing against further such incidents; Bush encouraged Muslims to take the lead role in bringing America back to the principles of freedom and due process it was founded upon. Safi echoed Bush's remarks, challenging Muslims to overcome the "duality" of being unable to meld Islamic and American identities. "Muslims have to stand for justice, for human rights, for civil rights and for due process," he said. "And to do that… we have to claim this country because it is ours… make it truer to its own values." Community members who spoke after the leaders voiced their concern that they did not have enough time to speak, but acknowledged it was one of the first such town hall meetings. Muslim leaders also promised a wider platform in upcoming meetings. Imam Abdul Malik expressed the need for having such meetings "over and over and over again." Among other issues, Bush described some of the actions that had already been taken; leaders had met with police departments and congressmen, letters had been written and plans had been made for a meeting at a senator's office Tuesday. |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |