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Islamic
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Phone: 410-435-5000.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are not necessarily
shared by editorial committee.
Responses (positive or negative) up to 250 words are welcome.
Names will be withheld on request.
--------------------------------------------
THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
Like Cassandra, New Trend cried out but the
Muslims would not listen. Now we
know from the Israeli Intelligence chief himself
that Saddam Hussain was a
"strategic" threat to the existence of
Israel.
If
you missed that quote, now here
is Colin Powell:
"Saddam was a strategic threat to Israel...."
Fox News.
June 30, 2003.
When will Muslims learn? It was not the oil,
stupid! It was Israel.
"Strategic" means that Saddam was not against
Israel for any tactical or
propaganda or local consumption or temporary
purposes. He could see that if
Israel survives, the Muslim world would be
enslaved.
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BAIL HEARING FOR BR. HAMMAD ABDUR-RAHEEM
A bail hearing for Hammad Abdur-Raheem and
other Muslims recently
arrested for connections with Lashkare Taiba will
be held:
July 2, Wednesday.
9.30 AM
U.S. District Court, Alexandria, Virginia.
Directions: Take Telegraph Road from Washington
DC Beltway, 495 South.
[look up Alexandria map on the Internet for exact
street address.]
Jamaat al-Muslimeen
urges the large local Muslim
community to turn up and
show support.
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SHOW SUPPORT FOR The Virginia 11
These are INNOCENTS GRABBED by FBI for being
MUSLIMS
By Umar ben-Ivan
A crime has been committed. A crime that has
rocked the very foundation of
the nation that we live in. Eleven law-abiding
Muslims (nine of them citizens)
have been snatched away from there families for
the crime of being Muslim and
caring for their fellow Muslims.
Nine of the Muslims, who are ages 23 to 35, are
U.S.
citizens, and the others
are a Yemeni and a non-resident alien from
Pakistan.
Five men born in this country where arrested
Friday morning:
Randall Todd Royer (who goes by the name of Ismail), 30;
Masoud Ahmad Khan, 31;
Hammad Abdur-Raheem, 35;
Donald Thomas Surratt (Idris) 30;
and Caliph Basha Ibn Abdur-Raheem, 29.
A sixth Muslim, Mohammed Aatique, 30, the
Pakistani national and H-1 visa
holder, was arrested in the Philadelphia area.
The indictment also charges two Muslims who were
already in custody: Ibrahim
Ahmed al-Hamdi, the Yemeni national and
non-resident alien who was being held
on a weapons charge; and Yong Ki Kwon, 27, a
naturalized U.S. citizen born in
South Korea who was being held on immigration
charges.
The remaining three Muslims are said to be in
Saudi Arabia
U.S. citizens
Sabri Benkhala, 28, and Seifullah Chapman, 30,
and Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, 27, a
naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan.
The thirty-eight page federal indictment includes
forty-eight counts alleging
that the brothers where training for
jihad
during
paintball exercises in
Northern Virginia. The government alleges that
the brothers where planning to
fight with the Laskar et-Tayaba Mujahudeen who
are defending the oppressed Muslims
of
Kashmir
against the brutal
Indian
occupation.
Count after count in the indictment illustrates
how the federal government
has spent much time and money in this witch hunt
that has lead to nothing. A
witch hunt that has the FBI and other department
serving the interests of India
and not the US.
Apparently it is now a crime for Muslims do visit
graveyards! As one of the
counts on the indictment was against Ismail Royer
for visiting a Mujahudeen
graveyard in Pakistan. Other counts include the
brothers buying guns and ammo
from licensed gun dealers (none of the men are
convicted felons).
It is clear that this has become a calculated and
targeted attack against
high-profile and activist Muslims. Hammad
Abdur-Raheem has been an activist for
years and most recently delivered a rousing
speech on civil liberties issues at
the Jamat al-Muslumeen conference in Greensboro,
NC on June 21st of this year.
Ismail Royer, who is charged as the ringleader in
this indictment, has worked
for several organizations such as the
Council on American-Islamic Relations,
the
American Muslim Council
and the
Muslim American Society.
He has also
worked as a journalist for Muslim web magazines
such as
iviews.com
and
atrueword.com.
Ismail, who is married to a
Bosnian woman with four children, traveled to
Bosnia and Kashmir in defense of Muslims in those
lands.
The press has played particular attention to the
racial diversity of this
group in general, and the fact that Ismail is
white in particular.
Others indicted include students at the Islamic
University of
Medinah
in
Saudi Arabia, such as Sabri Benkhala.
The media coverage of this incident has been full
of misconceptions and flat
out lies. An
NBC
affiliate reported that the men
had been arrested for
planning to attack America, which has not even
been alleged by the government.
Various
media
outlets have reported that there is
a connection between this case and
an individual being held in custody in Saudi
Arabia in connection with the
suicide bombing attacks in Saudi Arabia earlier
this year, which is also false.
What is important now is for all Muslims to stand
strong in defense of our
Muslim brethren who are now in custody. Let us
remember that several of these
brothers; Hammad Abdur-Raheem, Ismail Royer,
Sayfullah Chapman and Caliph Basha
have children. It is time for us to accept our
responsibility for helping to
feed and care for the wives and children of these
Muslims while they are
incarcerated. Individuals wishing to do so can
contact myself at
ubenivan@yahoo.com
or at 314-452-6832. An organization has been
set-up entitles the
American Muslim Political Prisoner Defense Fund
in order
to deal with this situation. Or
you can contact
Brother Kaukab,
Amir of JAM who
has a strong connection to
Brother Hammad in particular.
Umar ben-Ivan
ubenivan@yahoo.com
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2003-07-02 Wed 18:43ct