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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| Yasin |
| 09/21/03 at 14:08:51 |
| Assalamu alaikum I never though that there are 15000 muslims in US millary, till i watch one evening on the news american muslim soldiers praying maghreb in iraq during the war...i couldnt believe it. Is this the begining of destoring the credibility of those brave men...who 've the dillema of FLAG AND FAITH [url]http://english.aljazeera.net/Archive/News/GlobalNews/2003_9/US+Muslim+chaplain+detained.htm[/url] |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| Caraj |
| 09/21/03 at 14:28:04 |
| [quote author=Yasynca link=board=ummah;num=1064164133;start=0#0 date=09/21/03 at 14:08:51]Assalamu alaikum I never though that there are 15000 muslims in US millary, till i watch one evening on the news american muslim soldiers praying maghreb in iraq during the war...i couldnt believe it. [/url][/quote] I notice many people are surprised about the number of Muslims in the militatry and I don't understand why. US really does have freedom of religion and I know there are brothers on my husbands ship. There is a sister who goes to our Naval hospital in hijab. I've seen her. We are in a military town area and this hate stuff is not tollerated. (most just hate to hate anyway no matter who their victim is, my daughter was just cursed at where she worked by a customer yesterday) There is a sister I know who works were my sons does and always is covered wearing hijab. There is a sister who goes to my doctor. Anyway back to the military thing, why are people so surprised about that. Oh and about this news artical, the news I read also mentioned this person had diagrams of the cells the prisioners are in and their names and names of guards. If this is true this is a big no-no. I have known people involved in prision ministries, then never drew maps/drawings of inmates cells. Not listed guard names. If I find that artical I will post it. |
| 09/21/03 at 14:30:22 |
| Caraj |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| Yasin |
| 09/21/03 at 14:32:05 |
| [url] http://english.aljazeera.net/Articles/News/GlobalNews/Features/Flag+or+faith+for+Muslim+GIs.htm[/url] The arrest of the Muslim US army chaplain James Yee, accused of spying in Camp X-ray, has reignited controversy over the tortuous position of Muslims in the ranks. There are up to 15,000 Muslims in the US military, according to the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council. They make up 1% of the forces on active duty around the world, and they face an unenviable dilemma: Flag or faith? The constant drumbeat of the “war on terror” has been the rationale that interventionist wars abroad preserve US national security. While the Quran tells American Muslims they should not fight other Muslims, it does concede that they are required to defend themselves if attacked. In the wake of the 11 September, 2001 attacks on America, while gearing up for war in Afghanistan, Islamic soldiers turned to their spiritual leaders for guidance. Fatwa On 11 October , Islamic scholars of the Fiqh Council of North America issued a fatwa that read, “It’s acceptable – God willing – for the Muslim American military personnel to partake in the upcoming battles, against whomever their country decides has perpetrated terrorism against them.” Though a fatwa is rather a statement of legal opinion than a religious decree, this and other such declarations gave a sheen of respectability to the role of Muslim US soldiers in the war. They were fighting to defend their country from further attacks by al-Qaida, who were based in Afghanistan, the justification went. The current situation is not as easy to rationalise. President george Bush has recently, after long equivocation, admitted that Iraq had nothing to do with the 11 September attacks. At a stroke, the Iraq war has become impossible to justify as a war of self defence. Muslim victims Despite US protestations that the wider “war on terror” is not a war against Islam, the vast majority of about 10,000 civilians killed in the assaults on Afghanistan and Iraq have been Muslims. The detainees at Camp X-ray in Guantanamo Bay, who have been held without trial for almost two years, are also predominantly Muslim. As well as being forced to fight fellow Muslims, they face racism and ignorance among their comrades. Three-quarters of respondents to a 1997 Department of Defense study on Armed Forces race relations said they had experienced a racially offensive incident. Khalil, a reservist with the US National Guard until 1999, claimed in May that his marine commanders discriminated against new Muslim recruits, Columbia News Service reported. He was appointed an Islamic lay leader, a person who conducts religious services for members of the same faith. However, when he filed complaints against superiors who withheld rations specially prepared for Muslims, and against those he said made racist remarks, his loyalty was questioned and his commanders forced him to step down from his religious post. Military leaders have realised that this treatment can make Muslim soldiers uncomfortable, which is partly why the recently arrested Chaplain Yee was in his job. In the decade following the first Gulf War in 1991, the military expanded its chaplaincy programme, increasing from one to 16 the number of chaplains who assist Muslim servicemen, and who educate non-Muslims about the faith. Other directives were issued, aimed at preventing harassment of US soldiers perceived to be Muslim, or of Middle Eastern descent. Grenade attack None of this was sufficient to dissolve the wrath of one soldier, whose opening salvoes of the current war could hardly be described as friendly fire. Sergeant Hasan Akbar, a Muslim American paratrooper killed two US officers and wounded 14 others in a grenade attack in Kuwait, as his unit prepared to move into Iraq. As Akbar was hauled off into custody, he was reported as saying, "You guys are coming into our countries and you're going to rape our women and kill our children." The incident sparked a fierce debate in the American media over whether Muslim soldiers could be trusted to put their allegiance to the star spangled banner before their devotion to their brothers and sisters in Islam. Objectors Servicemen who express their reluctance to make war on fellow Muslims in non-violent ways are also penalised. To qualify for conscientious objector status (and get an honourable discharge), they must prove they oppose all war. "They must be opposed to any and all war, and not any particular war," according to Bill Galvin of the Washington-based Centre on Conscience and War. "If someone articulates that this is their objection - that they would have to kill other Muslims - they don't qualify," he said. Conscientious objectors who do not see Iraqi Muslims as their enemies will recall heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. "No Vietnamese ever called me nigger," he said. |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| bhaloo |
| 09/23/03 at 01:34:43 |
| [slm] [quote author=azizah link=board=ummah;num=1064164133;start=0#1 date=09/21/03 at 14:28:04]Anyway back to the military thing, why are people so surprised about that. [/quote] Because they would be fighting and killing their brothers and sisters, and that's not something allowed in Islam. The following question was asked of Sheikh Munajjid Question: I work in the army of a non-Muslim state, and there are wars between them and the Muslims. What is the ruling if they send me with a division of this army to wage war against the Muslims? As a Muslim, my feelings are that I never want to fight against Muslims in any war. What should I do? What is the ruling if I go…? Answer: Praise be to Allaah. If you are sent to wage war against the Muslims, then it is not permissible for you to take part at all. Helping the kaafirs against the Muslims is a form of major kufr which puts one beyond the pale of Islam. Allaah says concerning one who supports the mushrikeen (interpretation of the meaning): “And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa’, i.e., friends), then surely, he is one of them”[al-Maa’idah 5:51] With regard to how you may get out of this situation, and what excuse you can give to get out of this dilemma if it happens, we ask Allaah to help you, and we suggest that you consult some Muslims who have relevant knowledge or experience. We want to emphasize to you the necessity of finding other employment and of leaving service in the army of the kaafirs, because that implies helping them, strengthening them and increasing the numbers of their fighters and supporters – unless your work can bring some benefits to the Muslims, such as giving information and secrets of the kaafirs to the Muslims so as to help the Muslims, or if your work is purely da’wah, such as giving khutbahs and leading prayers for the Muslims in the kaafir army whilst also advising them to avoid any work that will strengthen the kaafirs. We ask Allaah to keep you safe from temptation and to give you a good end in this world and in the Hereafter. |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| Trustworthy |
| 09/23/03 at 16:52:15 |
| [slm] Ya Rubb!!! My husband just told me about this cause he watches the news (I no longer since I hate the biased propaganda). The reason why he told me is because James Yee belongs to our communiyt. His wife is still in our community and the FBI just raided their apt. Confiscated their PC and phone list. My number is probably in it. Yee used to give Khutbah once in a while in the absence of our Imam. He never preached anything wrong or incorrect or hate of the US so this might be another one of their propagandas. I don't know. But if they take our Imam, you'll be finding me in the news. Because I work for the State gov't, they'll probably use the excuse that I had connections with Lee who had connections with Al-Qaeda and that should be enough. I have to lay low for a while. You never know. Now a days, this is allowed and acceptable----to detain you without reason. Ya Rubb!!! Allahu Alim. Ma-asalaama.... |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| saadia |
| 09/23/03 at 22:47:18 |
| [i] looks like this won't be ending any time soon.... Just found about this second brother today[/i] U.S. airman charged with espionage At least three others may be part of probe at Guantanamo Bay MSNBC AND NBC NEWS WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — An Air Force airman has been arrested and accused of spying for Syrian interests while working at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists in Cuba, part of what Defense Department officials told NBC News on Tuesday was a wider investigation involving at least three other people. The investigation came to light Tuesday after Pentagon officials said the man, later identified as Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, 24, of Detroit, was being held for investigation of possible misuse of classified information. After an NBC News report revealed an investigation into what U.S. officials said could be a “widespread conspiracy,” the Pentagon named al-Halabi, saying he had been formally charged on 32 counts sometime after he was arrested in July. In addition to al-Halabi, military officials told NBC News that other potential suspects included a member of the Army, a member of the Navy and a Marine Corps contractor. Intelligence officials said all four were Muslims. Al-Halabi, who worked as a translator for military interrogators questioning al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners at the prison camp, was charged with nine counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order and nine counts of making a false official statement, the Pentagon said. He was being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SPYING FOR SYRIANS ALLEGED Al-Halabi was arrested July 23 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., where he was en route to Syria, officials told NBC News. The next day, military authorities flew him to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., before he was transferred to Vandenberg. The 10-page indictment accuses al-Halabi of sending intelligence, names and serial numbers of detainees by e-mail to a known enemy. He was carrying a laptop computer with 180 electronic notes to be delivered to Syria, it claims. The indictment also alleges that al-Halabi carried two handwritten notes from detainees at Guantanamo Bay with details of U.S. intelligence-gathering and planning for the U.S. war on terror. Specifically, it says, he was carrying classified information on the interrogation of detainees, details of military flights into and out of Guantanamo Bay and detailed maps of the U.S. military installation there. It was not clear whether prosecutors believed the classified information was destined for the government of Syria or for individuals there working independently of the government, which the United States has declared a state sponsor of terrorism. The Air Force has already conducted an Article 32 proceeding, the military equivalent of a pretrial hearing. Maj. Gen. John D. Becker, al-Halabi’s commanding officer at Travis AFB, where he was assigned to a logistics unit, will determine whether he should face a court-martial. Some of the charges carry the death penalty. About 660 suspected al-Qaida or Taliban members are imprisoned at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay. U.S. officials are interrogating them for information on the terrorist network. The military has classified many details about the prison camp and the detainees and has not identified any of the men being held there. Military officials have said the fight against terrorism could be hampered if terrorist groups got such information. SEPARATE FROM CHAPLAIN’S CASE Army Capt. James Yee, 35, a Muslim Army chaplain who ministered to inmates at Guantanamo Bay, is also being held after he was arrested Sept. 10 in Jacksonville after getting off a flight from Guantanamo Bay carrying classified documents, law enforcement officials said. Pentagon officials told NBC News there was no evidence to suggest that al-Halabi was connected to Yee, whose case appeared to be a separate investigation that officials said was still under wayYee, who is of Chinese descent and reportedly grew up in New Jersey, converted to Islam from Christianity in 1991 after his studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He left the Army for Syria, where he received religious training. He returned to the U.S. military soon after. Steve Lucas, a spokesman at the U.S. military’s Southern Command headquarters in Miami, told Reuters that the military had 120 days to complete an investigation and determine whether Yee might face formal charges and a possible military court-martial. When asked during a January interview with NBC News why he converted to Islam, Yee instead spoke of Islam’s diversity. “One of the strengths of our culture is diversity,” Yee said. “A lot of people don’t know Jesus is part of Islam, but Muslims believe he was a prophet,” Yee said. “Surely people can be more open-minded.” Yee is married. Before Guantanamo, he was stationed in Fort Lewis, Wash. Since the detention mission began, Guantanamo has had at least three Muslim chaplains, the first being Navy Lt. Abuhena Saif-ul-Islam, who in 1999 became the Marines’ first Muslim chaplain. http://www.msnbc.com/news/969495.asp?vts=092320031825 |
| NS |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| Trustworthy |
| 09/24/03 at 13:30:14 |
| [slm] [quote]where he received religious training[/quote] This is a poblem. He didn't receive any religious training. He studied Islam for 4 yrs in Syria. It was religious studies not training!!! Subhanullah. I thought I heard in the news the other day that this guy was conneted with Yee. 32 counts of espioanage and Yee is looking at 8. Ma-asalaama...... |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| Moe_D |
| 09/30/03 at 11:46:32 |
| [i]here is more to add to the story[/i] Sep. 30, 2003. 01:00 AM Key U.S. Muslim leader allegedly got Libyan cash Activist has close ties to the Pentagon Accused of trying to have sanctions lifted DOUGLAS FARAH AND JOHN MINTZ SPECIAL TO THE STAR WASHINGTON—One of the United States' leading Islamic activists, a chief architect of the Pentagon's Muslim chaplain program, has been charged with illegally accepting money from Libya for his efforts to persuade the U.S. to lift sanctions against that nation. Abdurahman Alamoudi, who as leader of the American Muslim Council met frequently with senior Clinton and Bush administration officials, was ordered held in custody yesterday after being arrested Sunday at Washington's Dulles airport as he entered the country from Britain, six weeks after he allegedly attempted to smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars into Syria. U.S. officials said the final destination of the money is under investigation. Alamoudi's foundation is among the few Muslim groups that accredit Islamic chaplains for the Pentagon, and he is the second person affiliated with the chaplain's program arrested this month. James Yee, an army captain and Muslim chaplain at the U.S. Navy prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested Sept. 10 on suspicion of spying. Officials said yesterday the timing of Alamoudi's arrest was unrelated. Authorities described the arrest as an important step in the investigation of funding for terrorism in the U.S., a probe that centres on foundations and businesses based in Herndon, Va. Agents for the Department of Homeland Security alleged Alamoudi received the $340,000 (U.S.) from Libyan officials as part of a long-standing relationship with that government. In exchange for financial assistance for Muslim activist groups he founded in the U.S., authorities said, Alamoudi was trying to help persuade the U.S. to lift sanctions against that nation. Doing business with Libya remains illegal under U.S. law because of that nation's role in the 1988 bombing of an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. The United Nations removed sanctions against Libya earlier this month. Alamoudi, 51, a naturalized American born in Eritrea, is a senior executive of several of the Herndon charities. They were raided in March, 2002, by law enforcement agents seeking evidence that the network of interlocking organizations was funneling money to terrorist groups. U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan ordered Alamoudi detained after a hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., yesterday. Alamoudi's attorney, May Kheder, said he "has asked us not to comment.'' WASHINGTON POST |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| faith |
| 10/02/03 at 22:25:25 |
| [slm] I was watching FATAWAA on ART tv on saturday night, where Br. Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips was answering questions on rulings on islamic questions from calls in various countries. I remember that Yousef Yee called in to ask Dr. Bilal Philips whether it is permissible for muslim US military personnel to fight in Iraq. Dr. Bilal Phillips answered "no it is not permissible for a muslim to kill another muslim, and no to US muslim servicemen in Iraq. And during the time of the first gulf war, and war in Lebanon, US muslim military personnel who refused to fight were court-marshalled'. One week later, the news of Br. Yee's arrest by the military. :o :( I suspect that Br. Yee probably refused to fight, or advise other muslims against fighting in Iraq, and hence the military arrested him. Previously, the military could only court marshall their men, but now, with the "War on Terror", they can throw other false accusations at you like treason, assisting terrorists, etc. >:( Many other arrests took place after Br. Yee's arrest. I think muslims in america need to realise that the US government and its army are fighting against muslims, and they can destroy a muslim's reputation by falsely accusing them of committing terrorism. So Br. Bhaloo's quoation on a fatwas serves as a warning to US muslim servicemen Its like that hadith about the end of times, where rasulallah [saw] said, there will come a time when the muslims are many but useless, like the foams on the sea. [another one is] There will come a time where a Great Fitnah (trials/tribulation/false accusation) will befall upon the ummah, and not a single muslim can escape from it. [sorry, I forgot if it was in sahih muslim or another book] That time has come. |
| 10/02/03 at 22:35:35 |
| faith |
| Re: US arrests muslim chaplain |
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| timbuktu |
| 10/05/03 at 09:19:53 |
| [slm] my brothers & sisters, first let us pray for all those who are suffering at the hands of the war-mongers. May Allah (swt) ease their burden, bring them out successful from these trials, & reward them with the highest here & in the Hereafter. Trust in Allah, & do not fear any one other than HIM alone. For yourself & your community, there are duas for such occasions, & I am sure there are many here who will remember, but if they do not, I will try to find something online. At least say the ayatul kursi (2:255) & the last three surahs after fajr & maghrib fard salah. This is not a new situation. Muslims have gone through many such tribulations. & this is not just a physical attack; there is an effort to modify Islam to suit the Satanic forces. But this, too, has a historical precedent. Our job is to hold fast to Allah who will look after HIS deen. The end is not coming right now, but we must remind ourselves & prepare our younger generation. You see, the prophet (saw) told us to read Surah Kahf on Fridays so that the trials due to Dajjal do not effect us. May Allah protect you all & the rest of the Ummah aameen |
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