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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."
• 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.
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 officialsincluding 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.
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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.
An estimated 1,200 Muslims were detained throughout the
United States since Sept. 11 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/
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.
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