Resistance in South to anti-immigrant racism
By Dianne Mathiowetz
The onslaught of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant
hate mongering plus the assault on civil liberties and civil
rights has had a chilling effect.
Frequently, however, those targeted for repression do not
respond as the ruling class anticipates. Rather than be
silenced, they speak out against the injustice and become
symbols of resistance
This was certainly the case for three medical students.
Because of their nationality and ethnic clothing, Ayman Gheith,
Omer Choudhary and Kambiz Butt were illegally held in a police
van for 13 hours on Sept. 13 in Calhoun, Ga., while traveling
to a South Miami hospital for their studies.
These students spoke against the injustice of "Driving While
Muslim." The racist governor, Jeb Bush, publicly called for
their prosecution, which is a criminal offense. When Florida
officials were unable to find any kind of incriminating
evidence, they were forced to apologize to the students.
Then there is the case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian, who had been a
tenured professor of computer engineering at the University of
Southern Florida in Tampa for 16 years.
He was an active voice for Palestine and a leader in the
Muslim religious community.
He and his brother-in-law, Mazen Al-Najjar, established an
Islamic studies center and a charitable foundation to benefit
Palestinians impacted by the occupation. This brought the two
men under scrutiny from the FBI and Israeli intelligence.
After the 1996 Oklahoma City bombing and in spite of the
case that was mounting against Timothy McVeigh, a white
supremacist and Gulf War veteran, the Tampa newspapers charged
Al-Arian and Al-Najjar with being the "terrorist masterminds"
behind the bombing.
Their offices were raided, files were seized and the assets
of their organizations frozen.
Mazen Al-Najjar was taken into custody on the basis of
"secret evidence."
For three-and-a-half years, Al-Najjar was held in solitary
confinement, allowed one hour a day out of his cell for
exercise and a shower, strip searched upon leaving and entering
his cell.
He never was told what crime he was suspected of committing;
who his accusers were; or what evidence they had to support
their charges.
His family fought to get his case into the courts.
When a judge finally heard the government's argument for
holding Al-Najjar without charges for more than 1,000 days, he
ordered his immediate release and thoroughly chastised the FBI
in a 57-page decision for violating his rights.
Then 9/11 happened.
Al-Najjar was rounded up again along with thousands of other
Arabs, Muslims and South Asians.
After being held for months, he was deported in mid-August
for a 20-year-old visa "violation."
All the while his brother-in-law was being held without
charges, Sami Al-Arian had been organizing support for
legislation outlawing the use of secret evidence.
Congress had acted on the bill and it was awaiting signature
by Bush.
With 9/11, it was swept aside by the USA Patriot Act and
Justice Department orders that gave government agencies broad
authority to spy on citizens, monitor organizations and disrupt
dissent.
When Bill O'Reilly of FOX News invited Al-Arian on his
program in November 2001, he publicly labeled Al-Arian a
"terrorist" and a "supporter of Al-Qaeda."
Immediately, Professor Al-Arian received numerous death
threats.
The Muslim school he founded in Tampa was vandalized.
And the university which had previously conducted its own
investigation of his activities, and found no wrong-doing,
suspended him with pay.
Then within a day of his brother-in-law being deported, the
university went into court to fire Al-Arian, charging that he
had violated his contract by causing a "disruption" on
campus.
The American Association of University Professors has
vigorously taken up his case as one of the most serious
assaults on academic freedom.
Al-Arian has not been silenced.
He has mounted a public campaign to denounce the threats to
civil liberties posed by Ashcroft and Bush and he is a
supporter of the Oct. 26 demonstration in DC
Reprinted from the Oct. 3, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
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