Dr. Sami Al-Arian, the former professor Steve Emerson and the government accused of being a terrorist, remains imprisoned by the US government, despite their failure to convict him. Instead of freeing him, a vindictive government prosecutor (read: loser) is keeping him holed up to testify in other cases, despite the terms of a plea bargain.
To protest his continued, baseless detention, he is on his 15th day (and counting) of a hunger strike in his quest for justice. Thirty-eight people are now participating in a rolling Hunger Strike to show support for him.
I will join this hunger strike, and you should as well to show solidarity with a man convicted of nothing, yet imprisoned now for nearly 4 years. His alleged crime was being a Palestinian connected to a group using violence against a violent occupier. Such hypocritical laws are the basis for political imprisonment rather than the service of justice.
Dr. Al-Arian began his hunger strike on January 22, 2007 to protest continued government harassment. For more information on why Dr. Al-Arian is on a hunger strike, please visit: www.freesamialarian.com.
Those who would like to participate in the Hunger Strike are asked to send an e-mail to tampabayjustice@yahoo.com with the day they will fast.
Hopefully by participating in this together, we will encourage ourselves and others to join in solidarity and will help raise awareness of the continued injustice against Dr. Al-Arian.
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Other ways to help:
Please write to the following individuals listed on the following link to ask for an immediate end to Dr. Al-Arian's suffering:
http://www.freesamialarian.com/help.htm
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Hunger Strike for Dr. Sami Al-Arian
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5 comments:
Will, is his sentence for the crime he pled guilty to even over yet?
I will join this hunger strike, and you should as well to show solidarity with a man convicted of nothing, yet imprisoned now for nearly 4 years.
Oh please - you are not going on a hunger strike.
Maybe you're striking until dinner tonight.
But just curious, since you failed to mention it, how long do you perceive yourself to be going on this alleged hunger strike?
Thirty-eight people are now participating in a rolling Hunger Strike to show support for him.
In other words, it's not a hunger strike at all.
It's just people coordinating the occassional skipping of a meal.
I'm sure he feels tons of support from that.
Nutty.
Not so much a strike as a foul tip pop-up to left field for an easy out.
Do any of these people who are striking along with him have the slightest idea about what is going on? Do they know he led a Palestinian group calling for Islamic Jihad - the PIJ? Do they know that he had knowledge of bombings that were taking place, and did nothing to prevent them? His imprisonment, for those who are calling it "baseless", does not break the plea deal he signed. In fact, the plea deal was signed in April of 2006 with the stipulation that he serve the remaining 19 months of the maximum sentence, then be deported. As a law professor, I am confused as to why people are calling this an injustice. Everything I have read reveals that his case has been within the lines of the law. But for the record, I wish he was released and deported. He doesn't deserve to call himself an American - or reside here - even in a prision. Can someone from this clearly biased website enlighten me?
Emerson, a Jew who gets it
A perspective of a moderate Muslim
At the risk of sounding anti-Semitic, I want to say this: either American Jews are completely clueless about the internal struggle inside Islam or they are so cowardly, that they are even afraid to voice their opinion. Or maybe it's a combination of both.
Every time there is a development that involves radical Islam, be it a Mayor of New York attending an Islamist parade, DOJ's officials attending an Islamist conference, or a protester being sued for having the balls to expose an Islamist-sponsored event at an amusement park, the American Jewish community is as quiet as a church mouse. It's like it is not even there.
The effect of this silence is devastating. Not for the Jewish community, not yet. That time is still to come. The silence affects the American Muslim community. Every time moderate Muslims are ignored and Islamists are legitimized (by either direct support from government representatives or silent support of the ADL), radicals gain ground. In the current PC climate, moderate Muslims have pretty much no choice but to keep their mouths shut.
Luckily for us, not everyone in the Jewish community is like that. There are some Jews that are speaking out. One of them is Steven Emerson, who has been warning the West about the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism since before PanAm 103. Most of his current work is focused on exposing the radicals masquerading as the moderates – those radicals who are embraced by the DOJ and the Pentagon, by the mayor of New York Bloomberg (Rudy would never get into bed with terrorist supporters) and the Treasury Department, by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, by the Congress and the White House.
There is a war of ideas within Islam, and moderate Muslims are losing. Most of Muslim clergy and Muslim establishment are paid for by the Wahhabis. Moderate Muslims are being run out of Mosques and community centers, and in many cases are physically threatened. Moderate Muslims have no place in the media or public debate, because the place reserved for Muslims is filled by Islamic radicals, who attempt to make criticizing anything Islamic a taboo. According to the Islamists, a Muslim can do no wrong.
1. When a non-Muslim criticizes Islam or Muslims, he/she is an Islamophobe.
2. When a Muslim criticizes Islam or Muslim, he/she is not a real Muslim, therefore see #1.
This is a tactic used by "moderate" Muslims, the darlings of the government and the media. But how can you call someone who praises bin Laden, or has ties to Hamas, or calls for the elimination of Israel, or wants to replace the Constitution with the Koran a moderate? They are anything but moderates, however nobody except for a few people like Steven Emerson seems to notice that. But even when the Emersons of America appeal to the public, they are often being dismissed as alarmists and racists. Well, they are anything, but. You don't have to be a clairvoyant to predict the future when it comes to expansion of radical Islam and extinction of moderate Muslims. All you need to do is get your heads out of the sand.
Why our government is so forgiving and forgetful when it comes to individuals or organizations with known terrorist ties and anti-American views is beyond me. Why the Jewish leaders are so timid when it comes to the subject of radical Islam is incomprehensible.
I thank God every day for people like Steven Emerson, because they are the last glimmer of hope for moderate Muslims.
K.M.
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