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30 November 2010 By
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Assalaamu Alaikum
(Greetings of Peace):
The latest scare dominating
America's media mainstream is of a 19 year old
naturalized citizen, from
Somalia, who allegedly desired to do
catastrophic damage to a community in
Portland, Oregon. If
we accept the reports that have already been broadcast
on this unfortunate tragedy, on face value, it raises
many concerns…or it should.
Let me state clearly and
forcefully, up front, that if this young man indeed
desired to do what he's been accused of, I'm glad that
he's been taken off the street, and he should
be punished.
The punishment, however,
should fit the crime; and a
life sentence -
for what he merely wanted to do (with
FBI assistance) - would be brutally
excessive to say the least!
Late last month, Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Virginia was
arrested and accused of casing Washington-area subway
stations in what he thought was an al-Qaida plot to
bomb and kill commuters. Similar to the Portland
sting, the bombing plot was a ruse conducted over the
past six months by federal officials.
With that said, here are my
concerns.
1.
Does anyone believe
that the decision to arrest this disturbed young man
at this time - in what most reports are saying
was a months long investigation – was by mere
coincidence? (If so, how convenient for the TSA and
its supporters.)
2.
Again the question
arises, in yet another Muslim/terrorism related case,
of how far did the FBI go in building their case
around this young man. Were one or more
provocateurs involved?
3.
Why must the
government always allow plots to continue to the
extent that it allows them to bring multiple
charges which, when coupled with the "terrorism
enhancements" on the day of sentencing, allows for
draconian sentences that many (if not most) convicted
murderers in America don't even receive. ("The bomb
was an elaborate fake supplied by the agents and the
public was never in danger, authorities said.")
4.
I agree
wholeheartedly agree with
Somali Foreign
Minister Omar. This alleged terrorism attempt is
not representative of the
Somali people – nor is it representative
of Islam and/or the Muslim personality. If the reports
are accurate, something very specific happened in this
young man's life that caused him to be this way. What
was it?
In every one of these cases
there are one or more common threads that binds
them together: (a) anger/rage – in response to U.S.
foreign policy in the Muslim world; (b) intellectual
and spiritual immaturity; (c) emotional stupidity; (d)
mental imbalance; (e) the manipulation of financial
need.
I do hope that our
non-Muslim relatives and friends will bear this in
mind with each sensational case that briefly dominates
the airwaves and headlines; and with each malicious
anti-Muslim and anti-Islam propaganda assault that
follows.
I also hope that we,
Muslims in America (esp. leaders and organizations),
will do a better job of factoring this reality into
our individual and collective response each time we
feel ourselves to be on the never-ending defensive.
In the struggle for peace
thru justice,
Mauri' Saalakhan is a Metropolitan Washington, DC,
based human rights advocate, who serves as Director of
Operations for The Peace Thru Justice Foundation. |
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