Do you feel you, as a Muslim, have a role to play in fighting the injustices against you? Being a Muslim is not a crime but, increasingly, we are having to answer for Islam and Quran’s advocacy to commit murder of non-Muslims. Even the spokesperson for a Islamic advocay group in U.K. (recently reported in Times magazine few weeks ago) said that Quran says to kill the non-Muslims and that his desire is to go and meet Allah and be held as a terrorist by the world. This is from a guy who is standing up for standing up for YOU and ME. Is that form of protecting Islam and Muslims you have learned from your elders, your friends or from your religious books?
But, regardless, how you and I are looked upon today and in the future is a result, to a large degree, of how we have reacted against the terrorists ourselves. On one hand we’ve vehemently opposed any attacks on innocents but on the other… nothing has been done by us. We have to stand up to Islamists, now and today. We have to save Islam from Islamists for the Muslims to live in peace and dignity while showcasing the true nature of Islam.
Are we being Muslims or Jews?
Read what the future holds for us. This has been happening and will continue to happen if we don’t get involved…
May Allah (sbwt) protect us from Jahil Islamists. Ameen.
=========================================
Pre-Election Terrorist Threats and “Sweeps”
Threaten Our Country
(Los Angeles, 9/30/04) – Recent media reports indicate that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are expected to intensify their efforts to arrest as many as 2,000 “out of status” non-citizens in anticipation of possible election-related Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks. In talks with government officials, MPAC has ascertained that such arrests conducted in the coming weeks will have less to do with averting an “impending” terrorist plot than with ICE’s efforts to collect vast amounts of information from individuals detained for immigration violations.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council fears that legitimate efforts to arrest, convict and punish terrorists will be undermined by the severe lack of legal transparency and due process that have characterized counterterrorism efforts carried out since 9/11 by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Targeting out-of-status immigrants with no known relationship to the Al-Qaeda terrorist plots is an ill-advised move that will serve to implicate countless innocent persons rather than to protect our country from real security threats. A more effective method of gathering information from non-citizens is through outreach to communities through open forums, such as townhall meetings. Such public efforts would result in credible information, while reducing the possibility of individuals offering false information in an attempt to expedite their release from law enforcement custody.
A well-reasoned and successful approach to protecting national security would capitalize on the expertise of American Muslims, who maintain their stiff opposition to terrorism at home and abroad. Islam’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism is clear, consistent and sourced in the Qur’an and authentic traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). MPAC works to bolster the Islamic identity of moderates and challenge the legitimacy of those who defame the name and reputation of Islam for ideological or financial gain. While MPAC supports all counterterrorism law enforcement activities enacted pursuant to the limits of the Constitution and related laws, it is imperative that all terrorism suspects are transparently investigated, charged and tried with all applicable due process rights.
In response to Attorney General John Ashcroft’s May 26th announcement that officials had received intelligence that Al-Qaeda preparations for a pre-elections terrorist plot were 80-90 percent complete, MPAC launched its National Grassroots Campaign to Fight Terrorism. The national campaign has been fully endorsed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Among other goals, the Campaign educates American Muslims on the strong Islamic stance against terrorism and offers tools for Islamic Institutions to maintain legitimacy through financial transparency. To date, over 100 mosques have joined the Campaign, making it a national endeavor that deserves public support from the Attorney General and national law enforcement agencies.
While it is important to fight terrorism, it is just as important to prevent fueling the fires of ignorance and hatred by negligently tarnishing reputations. MPAC does not support instituting policies or supporting law enforcement activities that infuse needless fears in the hearts of Americans. It is detrimental to our nation’s counterterrorism efforts to feign immigration sweeps as successes in the war on terrorism, or to target innocents not suspected of criminal activity for the purpose of intelligence gathering. MPAC opposes such politicization and calls upon all law enforcement agencies to maintain strict professionalism and focus. We must defend our country, and defending the Constitution is the first line of our defense.
[For more information about MPAC’s National Grassroots Campaign to Fight Terrorism, visit www.mpac.org]