- The United States, which stood prior to 9/11 as the
defender
of human rights, is now as guilty of violating human rights as any of the
authoritarian regimes it repudiates...
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- Under a tremendous pressure from the White House, the
Newsweek finally retracted its story on the desecration of the Koran at
Guananamo prison, and apologized for being sloppy in verifying sources.
Rather than convincing the world that the interrogators at Guananamo are
innocent of the charges of abusing Islam's holy book, the Newsweek's
retraction
reinforced the perception that US media is toeing the government's line
and that it has become impotent to challenge government's excesses.
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- Once again the Bush administration demonstrated its
inability
to deal with excesses committed by US security agencies. Many have hoped
that the administration gets tough with those who violate basic human
rights,
tarnish the US image, and undermine the moral and political authority of
the United States.
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- Many have also hoped that the White House and the
Pentagon
would appoint a neutral fact-finding team to investigate the charges, and
either bring to task individuals implicated in torture, or declare that
the charges are false and groundless. Instead, the administration took
a defensive posture and haphazardly dismissed serious charges, placing
the blame for the public uproar in several Muslim countries squarely on
the Newsweek.
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- The charges of torture and abuse have been told
repeatedly
in many news reports, including reports that were published in three
mainstream
newspapers: New York Times, Financial Times, and Denver Post. A report
published by the New York Times on May 1, 2005, cited a former American
interrogator who corroborated early accounts by several detainees alleging
that guards at Guananamo had tossed copies of the Koran into a pile and
stepped on them. The International Red Cross Committee also confirmed that
it has received complaints from Guananamo prisoners concerning Koran
desecration
long before the Newsweek broke the news.
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- Evidently, the Bush administration has not been able
to come to grips with the ramifications of such actions on the image and
credibility of the United States. The United States, which stood prior
to 9/11 as the defender of human rights, is now as guilty of violating
human rights as any of the authoritarian regimes it repudiates.
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- And let us be clear, the image of the United States as
a country guilty of human rights violations and of Muslim bashing was not
created by the Newsweek account, but emerged as a result of a long list
of missteps and abuses. Let us recall the most serious ones:
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- In 2001 and 2002, bigotry and intolerance were elevated
to a tolerable national discourse by leading evangelical leader who
insulted
Islam and its prophet, and did it with impunity. Franklin Graham, Jerry
Falwell, and Pat Robertson described Islam as "wicked, violent and
not of the same god," and called the Prophet of Islam a
"terrorist"
and "paedophile," and were allowed to get away with it. Little
has been done so far to reign in Christian and Jewish extremists.
-
- In November 2002, John Ashcroft, then the US attorney
general, got away with similar bigoted remarks when he asserted that
"Islam
is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for
him,"
while "Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for
you." Ashcroft never denied that he made the statement, nor did he
apologize despite demands by several American Muslim organizations to
retract
his statement.
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- In the same year Ashcroft made his remarks, The
Department
of Justice embarked on a massive detention and deportation of thousands
of innocent Muslim immigrants in the name of fighting terrorism. Many of
those who were detained were denied visitation by family members, and
representation
by lawyers. Deprived from the due process enshrined in the US constitution,
they were eventually deported on minor violations.
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- In October 2003, Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, the deputy
undersecretary of defense for intelligence, was allowed to keep his job
after telling church gatherings that the Christian God is "real"
and the Muslim is "idol." Secretary Rumsfeld defended Baykin's
bigoted remarks by citing the latter's freedom of speech.
-
- In December 2003, the military accused Col. James Lee,
a dedicated Muslim Chaplain and West Point graduate, of spying, and ordered
his incarceration in a maximum security facility, but failed to provide
any evidence to back up these serious charges. Chaplain Yee was eventually
found innocent of all charges laid against him, including charges of
adultery
and pornography concocted when the spying charges were withdrawn. The army
refused to issue an apology and Lee resigned.
-
- In May 2004, Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim lawyer and former
Army officer, was arrested by FBI agents in connection with the Madrid
terrorist bombing. The FBI maintained its certainty that Mayfield's
fingerprints
matched those found on bags left behind by the terrorists even after
Spanish
authorities said that the original image of the fingerprint did not match
Mayfield's. He was eventually released after spending two weeks in
prison.
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- In December 2004, the open season on Islam and Muslims
by extreme Religious Right pundits reached a new low, when the Washington
Times, a leading American newspaper, published an article by Sam Harris,
entitled "Mired in a Religious War." The article declared Islam
the enemy, and openly advocates an all-out war on Islam and Muslims.
-
- In December 2004, 46 American Muslims were fingerprinted,
searched and held 6 hours by U.S. border agents upon returning from a
religious
conference in Canada. The incident is the latest in a series of overzealous
ethnic and religious profiling, and of the targeting of law-abiding
American
Muslims in the name of national security.
-
- The above list, though far from being complete, reveals
disturbing patterns of Muslim bashing and abuse, and underscores the
troubling
fact that some public officials in various departments and at highest
levels
espouse prejudices toward Islam and Muslims. While the number of bigots
and zealots is still limited, the damage they have done to both American
Muslims and the reputation of the United States is enormous.
-
- It is about time that the Bush administration becomes
proactive in weeding out reckless public servants, takes a firm stance
against violations of the civil rights of American Muslims and vigorously
investigates such violations, and engages American Muslim leaders in
consultation
on ways and means to mend fences with the Muslim World.
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- Dr. Louay M. Safi serves as the executive director of
ISNA Leadership Development Center, an Indiana based organization dedicated
to enhancing leadership awareness and skills among American Muslim leaders,
and a founding board member of the Center for the Study of Islam and
Democracy.
He writes and lectures on issues relating to Islam, American Muslims,
democracy,
human rights, leadership, and world peace. His commentaries are available
at his Blog: http://blog.lsinsight.org
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- http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=13625
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