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| 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Out |
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| jannah |
| 09/15/02 at 08:25:01 |
| [slm] How sad is this...They also got kicked out of the hospital they were studying at.... A whole new level of harassment. What can a person do when it's institutionalized and part of the psyche of some people... sigh :( ************* ACTION ALERT For Immediate Release Muslim Medical Students Detained, Released, No Charges Filed (Washington D.C. 9/14/02). Muslim students are outraged that Florida law enforcement officers detained three Medical students on a highway for nearly 17 hours before releasing them without finding any evidence to support their charges or filing a single charge against the students. The unfortunate incident is now being labeled a hoax and further confirms the Muslim community’s assertions that Muslim and Arab Americans continue to be unjustly profiled. The Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada (MSA) supports all efforts to investigate credible leads in the war on terrorism. However, we are appalled that law enforcement officers detained the students, Kambiz Butt, Omar Choudhary, and Ayman Ghaith in response to a tip-off from a woman and her son allegedly overheard the three students at a restaurant discussing alleged plans for an alleged attack. Despite intelligence gathered which confirmed the students’ enrollment in medical school and their clean person records, law enforcement officers chose to make a spectacle of these upright students at roadside. Furthermore, we are appalled that law enforcement officers allowed media outlets to broadcast the investigation live without any respect for the dignity and honor of these students. No investigation should be launched merely on suspicions rooted in a xenophobic and racist assumption that Muslims and Arab Americans are de facto suspects in the war on terrorism. Ayman Ghaith (UIC ’00, Biology) stated (via telephone) that “my crime in the Shoney’s restaurant was that I looked like a Muslim. This woman made claims false claims about a topic – 911 – which we never even discussed. She claims she heard us speak in Arabic and English and the amazing thing is that of the three students, I [Ayman] am the only one that knows how to speak Arabic. It would have been odd for me to be talking to myself.” The students have denied making any comments that could even remotely be misconstrued as plans to launch an attack. They were discussing “bringing down” a car for one of the students and another student from the group offered to help, saying he had contacts to help bring the car down. Muslim students demand that Governor Jeb Bush launch a thorough investigation of the incident, followed by a public apology to these three students. Furthermore, law enforcement officials in Florida should be required to attend in-service training programs sensitizing them to the Muslim and Arab American communities. Ayman Ghaith told MSA via telephone that he wanted to share this message with the Muslim students: “Each and every single one of you matters. You cannot think that you standing up alone in the face of injustice will not change anything. It will change everything if you try and Allah grants you success. The Prophet Muhammad taught us to stand up against injustice, it is one of the core points of our religion.” What you can do: 1) If you are in Florida or can tune into Florida radio stations discussing this issue, call in and defend the honor of our brothers as well as Islam and Muslims 2) Call Governor Jeb Bush’s office repeating the three demands: an investigation, an apology, and sensitivity training for the law enforcement officers 3) Take a minute now to send an email to Governor Bush repeating the three demands. Write or e-mail: Governor Jeb Bush The Capitol Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 Email: fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us Telephone: (850) 488-4441 or FAX (850) 487-0801 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Muslim Students Association of the US and Canada http://www.msa-national.org This is from the Citizens for Legitimate Government site: http://legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news The hospital says it's received 100 threatening e-mails. Oy....Bill ------- 3 can't train at hospital: South Florida Muslim leaders and the families of the three medical students suspected and then cleared of being terrorists were outraged to learn Saturday that the men are no longer welcome to study at a South Miami hospital. Quick Action!! Contact Larkin Community College Hospital Administrator who will not let the three innocent men in phony Fla. terrorism "incident" Dr. Jack Michel 305-284-7500 FAX 305-284-7545 Larkin Community College 7031 SW 62nd Ave South Miami, Fl 33143 info@larkinhospital.com AND jmichel@larkinhospital.com http://www.larkinhospital.com/ --- 3 can't train at hospital By Shannon O'Boye and Ardy Friedberg | South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted September 15, 2002 South Florida Muslim leaders and the families of the three medical students suspected and then cleared of being terrorists were outraged to learn Saturday that the men are no longer welcome to study at a South Miami hospital. "It was a difficult decision," said Dr. Jack Michel, president and chief executive of Larkin Community Hospital. "It's not safe for them to be here -- for them, for the hospital or the patients." Michel said the hospital had received more than 100 hostile e-mails since Friday's incident, with only one telling him to "look at all the facts" before making a decision. "Probably people only remember bits and pieces of what they saw on TV and are drawing conclusions from that," he said. The three men, Ayman Gheith, 27, and Kambiz Butt, 25, both of suburban Chicago, and Omer Choudhary, 23, of Independence, Mo., were detained for 18 hours Friday after police got a tip that they might be plotting a terrorist attack on Miami. A Collier County deputy sheriff stopped their cars just past the western tollbooth on Alligator Alley about midnight Friday. Police were looking for the two cars because a woman told authorities Thursday she overheard the men at a Calhoun, Ga., Shoney's restaurant making "alarming" comments that sounded like threats, said Mickey Lloyd of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. The Georgia woian, Eunice Stone, 44, said Saturday that if she heard those same comments again she would still call police. "I don't feel badly about what I've done," she said. Bomb-sniffing dogs and a robot searched the cars for explosives or other evidence of a plot but found nothing. The men were released about 6 p.m. Friday and no charges were filed against them. A 20-mile stretch of the east-west leg of Interstate 75 was closed for 18 hours during the search. The men, who recently completed medical training at Ross University in Dominica, an island in the eastern Caribbean, denied making threatening comments at the Shoney's. They said they were driving from Chicago to South Miami to find an apartment before starting their nine-week clinical rotation at Larkin on Monday and only discussed school issues at the restaurant. Ross University officials could not be reached for comment Saturday. Altaf Ali of the Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations at first said he was considering legal action against the hospital for violating the students' civil rights. He was more measured later after Michel, president of the 112-bed hospital agreed to meet with him today to discuss the issue further. Michel is an advocate for South American immigrants. He is a member of the National Association of Colombian American Organizations, a coalition fighting for the rights of Colombian immigrants. "I implored him to not make a hasty decision yet," Ali said from Tampa on Saturday afternoon. "I reiterated to him we cannot succumb to pressure based on hate. If he is receiving hate and hostile e- mails, we can't succumb to that kind of intimidation. "If society allows this to take place, it's setting a bad precedent for the future," he said. Gheith is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Jordan, Choudhary is a U.S. citizen born in Detroit, and Butt is here on a visa, reportedly from Iran. The men could not be reached for comment Saturday, but their families reacted strongly to the news that they would not be allowed to do their medical rotation and said the students had not been notified that they were not welcome. "He went through two years of school; he's got nine weeks left and they're going tell him he can't? That's not fair," said Abdallah Gheith, Ayman's brother. "He wasn't convicted of anything and we're in America," he said. "What happened to the Constitution?" Choudhary's father, Javed, said "The situation used to be Americans are innocent until proven guilty. Now it's the other way around." Wire services were used in this report. Shannon O'Boye and Ardy Friedberg are reporters for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper. Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| Abd_al-Rashid |
| 09/15/02 at 10:30:04 |
| [slm] Here is what I wrote to Dr. Michel: Dear Dr. Jack Michel: I read with sadness and frustration how you have unjustly denied Ayman Gheith, Kambiz Butt, and Omer Choudhary the right to finish their studies at Larkin. They commited NO crime, were NOT CHARGED with any crime, and were RELEASED by police. If they were admitted to Larkin prior to this incident and were in good standing, why dismiss them now? I implore you to please reconsider your decision. According to a Muslim Students Association of US and Canada statement, Ayman Ghaith (UIC ’00, Biology) stated (via telephone) that “my crime in the Shoney’s restaurant was that I looked like a Muslim. This woman made claims, false claims about a topic – 911 – which we never even discussed. She claims she heard us speak in Arabic and English and the amazing thing is that of the three students, I [Ayman] am the only one that knows how to speak Arabic. It would have been odd for me to be talking to myself.” The students have denied making any comments that could even remotely be misconstrued as plans to launch an attack. They were discussing “bringing down” a car for one of the students and another student from the group offered to help, saying he had contacts to help bring the car down. Thank you very much for your time and once again, please do not commit this unjust act against three innocent men. Sincerely, ----- Although I'm not a big fan of writing letters and petitions (I feel they accomplish nothing and don't even get read), I felt compelled since I heard one of the brothers is a friend of a friend. We make dua'h that Allah ease their burden and tarnished reputation. [wlm] |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| amatullah |
| 09/15/02 at 17:32:04 |
| Bismillah and salam, Baraka Allahu feeka. it is good. Don't think it is no use because look at what he said helped him decide to begin with against it is the emails he received right? |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| Abd_al-Rashid |
| 09/16/02 at 11:55:20 |
| [slm] [url=http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4082338.htm]Update[/url] Key quotes: Last Thursday, a Georgia woman told authorities that she thought she heard the men discussing a terrorist attack in South Florida on Sept. 13 while they ate at a Shoney's restaurant. The men, who are all American citizens, were traveling to start a nine-week clinical rotation at Larkin Community Hospital in South Miami. The woman, Eunice Stone, also told police that they joked about the Sept. 11 attacks. ''Not once did we mantion 9/11. Not once did we mention anything about 9/13, nor did we joke about anything of that sort,'' Butt said. ``She was probably just eavesdropping on our conversation and might have heard a few key words that she misconstrued.'' ---- I'm sorry, but this is funny: "The interstate was shut down for hours as the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Miami-Dade's bomb squad, Collier County Sheriff's Office and Florida Highway Patrol all investigated the men. Ports were alerted, potential terrorism targets were identified, and authorities searched for any links to radical organizations. Bomb-sniffing dogs and bomb-detecting robots were used." Subhana'allah...all because she thought she heard them say something [wlm] |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| Muneerah134 |
| 09/16/02 at 18:34:18 |
| [slm] Sister Jannah is right, it is so sad, it is part of the psyche. Profiling is sooo familiar in my community. It is painful and extremely destructive - I have had close friends and one employee who had to reconstruct his entire life after he was profiled. An African American in the wrong neighborhood (turns out he had just bought a house there, which he later sold) at the wrong time (at night) in the wrong kind of car (his car) accused of a horrible crime that he didn't commit. Guilty until proven innocent. Like him just the arrest alone could have turned worse for these brothers. Alhamdullilah no one was hurt physically. This woman in Florida went back to Shoney's - went back to work, these brothers could not "go back to work." And I suspect the situation will worsen. Can you imagine, closing down half a state for something someone "thought" they heard from people who looked like what? What does that mean? No wonder they have problems counting votes! Reminds me of Rosewood and Oklahoma City and The Black Wall Street, the Japanese concentration camps, Guantanamo Bay and countless other incidents. We have to write and email because if we don't the steamroller will continue to roll until it rolls over all of us. If I wasn't a Muslim, I would be afraid, but you all know what I fear. Muneerah May Allah remove this burden from them and provide them ease. And may He give us the strength to face the trials to come. |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| ltcorpest2 |
| 09/17/02 at 18:45:23 |
| I thought it was pretty bogus for them to lose their residencies. Maybe she was doing the right thing, but i always think of southerners as real backwards people (hope that doesn't sound too predjudiced). |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| ltcorpest2 |
| 09/17/02 at 18:46:50 |
| also, i heard Shoneys was like Denny's. That kinda explained it all to me. |
| Re: 3 Muslim Medical Students Detained & Kicked Ou |
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| jannah |
| 09/18/02 at 04:34:42 |
| [quote]Maybe she was doing the right thing,[/quote] When was she doing the right thing? When she eavesdropped on other people's conversation because they 'looked like terrorists', when she made up the fact they were 'speaking Arabic', when she lied to the police and told them there were three college age students planning an 'attack on America'...? People like that are disgusting, the fact that the 'establishment' is now protecting people like to the detriment of others is really, really sad. |
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