[Ppnews] Detroit Free Press Calls for Independent Investigation Into the Killing of Imam

[Political Prisoner News]

 From Pan-African News Wire
-----------------------------------

What Does an Independent Investigation Really Mean?

PANW Editor's Note: Since the killing of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah
there has been two demonstrations called in the city of Detroit. One
at the federal building on November 5 and another outside the
Renaissance Center when Attorney Eric Holder was speaking before the
ALPACT dinner. MECAWI, who organized both demonstrations, called for a
real independent investigation into the killing of Imam Luqman, which
is different than what other groups have requested.

It appears that the notion of an independent investigation would
include a review of the circumstance by the Civil Rights Division of
the Justice Department to see if their were violations of federal law.
What MECAWI means by independent investigation would be a people's
commission of inquiry that would issue a report and demand sanctions
and criminal charges against those who were involved in the shooting
as well as the individuals who ordered the entire operation.

On December 3, the Detroit Free Press came out in favor of an
independent investigation and this call seems to echo the same
position that the Justice Department should review the case. The
problem with this scenario is that the FBI carried out the
infiltration of Masjid Al-Haqq, set up the warehouse and stolen goods
where the Imam and other were lured to resulting in his assassination.

The FBI is under the Justice Department and Homeland Security. The
Justice Department has specifically targeted the Muslim community in
the United States for harrassment and prosecution on trumped-up
charges. Therefore, it would not be credible for the Justice
Department to essentially investigate itself. This is why MECAWI has
called for an investigation outside the existing federal
law-enforcement strucutures in the United States.

Below is the Detroit Free Press editorial from December 3, 2009 that
calls for an independent investigation. This represents somewhat of a
departure since the corporate newspapers printed some of the worst
reports in the aftermath of the killing and arrest of the Masjid
Al-Haqq members. This illustrates that the work of MECAWI in exposing
the true role of the FBI historically and today has provided space for
others to criticize the governments' role in targeting the Muslim and
African-American communities in the United States.

Abayomi Azikwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 3, 2009

EDITORIAL
Detroit Free Press

Imam killing needs independent investigation

Detroit's Muslim community and many local leaders, including Mayor
Dave Bing, have called for an independent investigation into the death
of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the imam shot by federal agents during a
raid at a Dearborn warehouse. The U.S. Department of Justice should
heed that call to clear questions harbored by Muslims around the
world, as well as by many Detroiters, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

Abdullah's death on Oct. 28 may mark the first killing of a religious
leader by U.S. government agents since David Koresh died at the Branch
Davidian ranch outside Waco, Texas, in 1993. No one should assume
government wrongdoing or impropriety, but the death of Abdullah, an
African-American Muslim, has racial and religious overtones,
especially in a community with a history of excessive police force. It
has evoked the kind of skepticism, fear and anger that government
should not ignore. Heavy-handed tactics by federal agents in the name
of national security are not new. They were also employed against
socialists and communists in the 1930s and black militants in the
1960s.

Muslim leaders contend that federal agents, not finding evidence of
terrorist activity, often lure poor people into other illegal
activities. The Justice Department -- or even the House Judiciary
Committee -- should review these practices and, if warranted,
recommend changes to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who suggested
in a recent visit to Detroit that Abdullah's death had aggravated
community tensions. Local government agencies should also act openly.
It didn't help community relations that the Wayne County Medical
Examiner's Office informed CAIR, in response to a
freedom-of-information request, that photos of Abdullah's autopsy
would cost $1,500. That makes government look as though it were hiding
something.

No terrorism charges were brought against Abdullah, or any of the 11
mosque members indicted in the case. Instead, the government alleges
that they conspired to traffic in stolen goods. An investigation
should determine whether federal agents who shot Abdullah violated his
civil rights, but it must also include a broader review of widespread
government policies and practices regarding the use of informants to
infiltrate mosques.

"Our government needs to show that there's not a double standard: a
rule of law for the broader public and another standard for Muslims,"
said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations in Michigan.

The FBI says its agents acted appropriately. Still, questions linger,
not only about how Abdullah died but also whether federal agents
inappropriately target Muslims and mosques. No American should harbor
those doubts. They are, as Holder stated in Detroit, contrary to our
Constitution and the government that created it. A thorough and
independent review is the best way to dispel them.
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Distributed By: THE PAN-AFRICAN RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION PROJECT--
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