Jamaat al-Muslimeen International Press Release (www.newtrendmag.org)
[Scroll down to THE PLACARD OF THE DAY]
America's Conscience Alive: Peace Rallies Denounce Bush war and Sharon
More than 100,000 Participated and Marched: CNN Claims 60,000
In Broad spectrum of Coalitions, Jamaat al-Muslimeen Focuses on
Political
Prisoners
"When comes the help of Allah and Victory, and thou dost see the masses
enter
the way of Allah of Allah in crowds, celebrate the praises of thy lord
and
pray for His forgiveness, for He is oft-returning (in forgiveness)."
(The
Qur'an 110:1-3)
"Allah himself is the enemy of a person who enslaves a free human
being."
(Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, Hadith, Sahih al-Bukhari)
Eyewitness report: April 20 was a historic day in the extremely
diverse
and complex history of Washington D.C. The challenge before America's
people
was to confront the fascist alliance of Bush and Sharon and to propose
a new
direction for America. The question also arose, based on the daily diet
of
propaganda fed to the country by the Zionist-controlled media, that
does
America have a conscience? Had the 9/11 attacks provided the Bush
clique an
excuse to suppress the ideals of the American people for an open
society
based on laws?
On April 20, the American people showed that the conscience
of
America is still alive. BUSH and SHARON are the enemies of the American
dream. Hundreds of organizations and groups participated. Would they be
able
to keep together and unite on a common theme? The people making
speeches were
as diverse as the old, worn out socialist Tariq Ali from a bygone era
to
Mahdi Bray, a stolid conservative Muslim, slow going and
non-revolutionary
from the W.D. Muhammad affinity. In between were a hundred shades of
red,
white and blue.
There were THREE different rallies:
1. Muslims {mosques from the entire eastern seaboard were represented}.
2. A broad left leaning and internationalist coalition with the acronym
ANSWER, led by former attorney general Ramsey Clark, famous for his
analysis
of U.S. crimes against Iraq.
3. A general coming together of environmentalist, progressive,
Christian, and
church leaning groups with a core provided by the Green Party.
When these three groups came out on the streets and marched on
the
streets from the general White House-Washington Memorial area towards
the
Capitol, their strength in UNITY became apparent. For miles, the
Washington
DC streets, broad enough for four lanes, WERE SO FULL OF PEOPLE
CHANTING AND
MARCHING that movement was extremely slow and took several hours to
cover a
mile. It rained during the march for half-an-hour but it was more like
a
blessing than a torrent.
Among the hundreds of themes and messages there were THREE
UNITING
THEMES:
1. CONDEMNATION OF SHARON (including denunciation of the Jenin
massacre).
2. Rejection of Bush's worldwide WAR ON TERRORISM policies.
3.PEACE AT HOME AND ABROAD to safeguard the rights of the American
people.
(One war veteran epitomized the spirit of the march as he kept
chanting:
PEACE - NOW to which thousands who were slowly walking past responded:
PEACE
- NOW.)
Something very strange is happening in America: Zionist Jews
are on
the defensive. They realize that they have lost the support of most
activists
across the country. THE LEFT HAS DUMPED ANY SYMPATHY FOR ISRAEL from
its
agenda. Thus the Jews are facing a new kind of opposition: They are
facing
people whom they cannot accuse of anti-semitism and who in fact accuse
the
Zionist Jews of racism against Palestinians.
[OUTSIDE THE POWER STRUCTURE of the DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN
PARTIES,
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE RISING UP TO DEMOLISH BUSH'S PROPAGANDA EMPIRE
AND TO
RE-TAKE THEIR RIGHTS USURPED BY BUSH-ASHCROFT-RUMSFELD.]
Jamaat al-Muslimeen worked within the non-Muslim coalitions on
April 20
for SEVEN HOURS, with volunteers and supporters from New York,
Baltimore,
Silver Spring [Maryland], Chicago, Milwaukee and Atlanta. JAM's focus
was on
Islamic political prisoners and on the Bush-Sharon massacres in
Palestine.
The political prisoner focus was on:
1. Imam Jamil al-Amin
2. Br. Sulayman Walker Lindh.
3. Ahmed Abdel Sattar (recently arrested).
(JAM workers handed out thousands of flyers about Ahmed Abdel Sattar
and
Sulayman Walker Lindh. At one point Green Party workers on a
loudspeaker van
accepted the JAM plea to chant slogans in support of Freedom for
Political
prisoners.) (A prominent Muslim family, supporters of JAM, the Kurters
from
Milwaukee, Turkish and Hispanic, are working with the Greens.)
MUSLIMS IN AMERICA are being gradually politicized and even radicalized
by
the oppression being meted out to them by the Bush administration. Many
have
realized that voting for Bush was a major and strategic failure of
leadership. Hundreds of Muslims joined the demonstration. There were
even
Pakistani women in traditional Pakistani garb marching down the streets
with
radical left winger ("white") radicals who were making fun of Bush's
policies. There were also numerous African-American Islamic women in
Hijab
("complete covering head to foot")
(Allah through 9/11 has changed the direction of history, one
Muslim
commentator says. The conservative, sleepy Muslims now have a choice:
STAND
UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS or ACCEPT BUSH AS YOUR god.)
One of the most photographed placards in the entire demonstration was
brought
by Sis. Nadrat. Numerous people pleaded with her to let them take the
placard. Some people even wanted to buy the placard. It says:
-------------------------------------
TERRORIST
ter-ror-ist - n.
ANY MUSLIM WHO
RESISTS U.S. IMPERIALISM
----------------------------------------------
Some marchers said it should be corrected to read: "ANYONE" instead of
"any
Muslim"
Supporters of Israel tried to infiltrate the rallies but were
very
much on the defensive. One of them had an argument with two JAM
brothers. He
said Muslims were very one sided in condemning Israel and not
condemning the
"suicide" bombers. A JAM brother told him: "Give the Palestinians tanks
and
helicopter gunships and there won't be any more martyrdom attacks."
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2002-04-26 Fri 20:21ct