[Ppnews] Death of a Detroit Imam Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

[Political Prisoner News]

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hamdan-a-yousuf>Hamdan Azhar

Graduate Student in Biostatistics at the University of Michigan
Posted: November 5, 2009 08:01 AM


<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hamdan-a-yousuf/death-of-a-detroit-imam-l_b_346633.html>Death 
of a Detroit Imam Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

<http://detroit.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/de102909a.htm>(FBI announces 
memorial for dead dog)

DETROIT -- Six days have passed since his father's untimely death, 
and Omar Regan's eyes betray a hint of moistness. It is a chilly 
Tuesday morning, and the Detroit diner at which he has agreed to meet 
- Superior Coney Island on Wyoming St. - is only two miles from the 
warehouse where Luqman Ameen Abdullah was killed by FBI agents in a 
hail of gunfire.

"My father was really, truly a great dude," he tells me. 
"Straight-forward, he would say what was on his mind...he taught us 
to be straight up." Mr. Regan, 34, an actor and motivational speaker, 
was at home in California when he started receiving frantic phone 
calls last Wednesday afternoon. The national media quickly caught 
wind of the story - "FBI raids in Detroit, dog shot, airlifted to 
hospital." He called his father - "when he didn't pick up, I assumed 
they were holding him." Then one of his sisters called. "They've 
killed Abu," she screamed hysterically. "And that's when it hit - it 
hit me hard," he says, "when you hear them crying and screaming in shock."

We have just ordered breakfast when we are joined by one of Mr. 
Regan's brothers - there are 13 siblings in all. "This is my brother 
Mujahid," he says by way of introduction. The shock on my face is 
palpable, and they exchange a knowing laugh. Mujahid Carswell, 30, is 
one of the eleven individuals charged in the criminal complaint; the 
initial 
<http://detroit.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/de102809.htm>press 
release from the US Attorney's Office calls him "armed and 
dangerous." He lives in Windsor, Ontario - across the river from 
Detroit - and was at home with 
<http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Terror%20suspect%20arrest%20Windsor%20shocks%20pregnant%20partner/2160545/story.html>his 
family when he found his house surrounded by heavily-armed agents. He 
voluntarily surrendered himself and a federal judge approved his 
release with a monitoring device on Friday. But the official 
responsible for fitting the device went home early, he says, so he 
wasn't released until Monday, and missed his father's funeral.

The waitress brings us our scrambled eggs with grits and halal bacon 
(made with beef instead of pork.) I confess to never having tried 
grits, and Mr. Carswell looks at me in mock disbelief. "You have to 
try some," he insists, "but not the sweetened version" as he glances 
disapprovingly at his brother who is pouring spoonfuls of sugar into 
his bowl. "Look, I don't care about what my father said. People say 
stuff all the time. What did he do? He fed the people every Sunday 
for 30 years."

Mr. Regan joins in, "The non-Muslims in the neighborhood call us and 
they're in tears. If someone on the street would ask him for food, 
he'd go in the house. I have to feed them - that was his attitude." 
"In the snow", interjects Mr. Carswell, "with no money to do it with. 
People have to be fed. The government isn't doing it, it's up to 
you." At the end of the day, asks Mr. Regan, "If he was such a bad 
guy, why did people love him so much?"

The funeral service for Mr. Abdullah, affectionately known as Imam 
Luqman in the community, was held this past Saturday morning at 
Detroit's Muslim Center, with an estimated 1500 individuals in 
attendance. "There were Muslims of every race, of every denomination; 
there were Evangelicals, Jehovah's Witnesses, atheists, men, women, 
and children...The funeral procession stretched for four miles," says 
Mr. Regan. I arrived just as the procession was departing for 
Knollwood Cemetery in Canton - over 25 miles away. At the burial 
ground, the atmosphere seemed rich with emotion, yet oddly festive at 
the same time, with children running around and women chatting in 
small groups. Ron, 31, a white cemetery employee, estimated the crowd 
of 1000 as the largest he had ever seen. "He must have been well-liked."

"My whole life," says Mr. Regan, "I've seen police bother him." He 
recalls a particular incident when the call to prayer (adhaan) was 
being broadcast at the mosque and the police came. "They drove the 
car onto the sidewalk, and the cop got up on the roof and broke the 
speaker. They handcuffed my father. He didn't bother nobody." 
Eventually, the non-Muslims petitioned to get the speaker back. "They 
said, 'Why ya'll stopped singing those songs in the morning?'"

The government accuses Mr. Abdullah and his followers of seeking to 
"establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United 
States." Mr. Regan offers a different perspective. "My father wanted 
a decent neighborhood, without liquor stores, drugs, gangs, and 
violence. He wanted children to grow up in a good environment." Mr. 
Carswell takes issue with the government's portrayal of his father as 
a danger to the community. "Have you ever been to my community?" he 
asks angrily. "What have you done for my community?"

I ask about the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, 
the much-discussed 45-page document that details the government's 
grounds for obtaining arrest warrants for Mr. Abdullah, Mr. Carswell, 
and nine others. "This is character assassination," argues Mr. Regan. 
"They want to say Muslims are terrorists so they can look justified 
in doing what they're doing. All they have to do is sway public 
opinion. People say, 'I seen it on TV', and they believe it." "It's 
not just character assassination," adds Mr. Carswell. "They shot him 18 times."

I ask if the government has officially contacted his family. Mr. 
Regan offers a wry smile: "To express their condolences?" No, he 
responds, nor does he expect them to. "I couldn't have listened to 
them talk about my father anyways. 'You liars', I would have said."

How has the family been handling the situation? "We're taking it 
day-by-day," answers Mr. Regan. "We're not excited and 
over-emotional. We know that Allah is in control, and Allah called 
him home. We're hurt because we miss him. Insha Allah (God Willing), 
he's in paradise. He was always doing something for somebody." As the 
brothers get up to leave, we shake hands and I thank them for their time.

The Community

The interview has gone much better than expected - not bad for a 
biostatistician, I think. All I need to do is make some quick phone 
calls and get some statements, and I would be done. As I pull out of 
the parking lot, however, an alternate plan comes to mind. I quickly 
plug in the intersection of Joy and Dexter into my GPS, and soon I am 
off to the heart of Luqman Abdullah's neighborhood.

I drive the three miles and watch the neighborhoods around me go from 
bad to worse. Entire blocks are deserted, and homes and businesses 
are boarded up and rotting away. The constant din of construction in 
Ann Arbor seems like a blessing in comparison. Hardly anyone can be 
seen walking on the street by the time I arrive at Eagle's Coney 
Island diner. I have heard that the Imam used to get coffee here, and 
I am anxious to meet ordinary people who knew him.

The cold air hits my face as I get out of the car. I enter and find 
about a dozen men, ranging in age from late teens to senior citizens, 
seated in booths eating lunch. Trying not to feel self-conscious, I 
walk up to the thick bullet-proof glass which separates the 
attendants from the customers. The menu advertises a "recession 
special" of a "Coney egg sandwich" for only 99 cents. I glimpse a "No 
Loitering" sign and approach the counter. "Do you - take credit 
cards?" I ask falteringly, the words barely having left my mouth 
before I wish I could take them back. I have four dollars in my 
pocket, and I order coffee and a side of French fries for $2. (As any 
true New Yorker will tell you, street coffee beats Starbucks any day.)

I select a table in the corner, and start toying with my fries, 
wondering what I am doing with my life. As a biostatistics graduate 
student, I should have been in class learning about Cox survival 
models at that moment. Instead I approach a wrinkled gentleman who 
looks to be in his late 60s. "I'm a writer," I announce, hoping he 
can't see through the deceit. "The guy who got killed a few days ago, 
Imam Luqman, did you know him?" He smiles politely back at me. "I 
don't know anything about that." I walk up to the cashier, a pretty 
white girl only a little older than me. "Yes, he used to get his 
coffee here regularly," she tells me. "Good man."

Everything seems to be just around the corner - Mr. Abdullah's 
residence, the former location of Masjid Al-Haqq that he had been 
evicted from earlier in the year, and the makeshift mosque his 
followers had been using since. I decide to leave my car at the 
diner, hoping it won't get towed or broken into, and cautiously start 
to walk around the neighborhood. I overcome my initial hesitation and 
interview over a dozen people, mostly on the street, but also in some 
of the stores in the area. While some are hesitant to talk and deny 
knowing anything, most are happy to share their recollections of Imam 
Luqman. From no less than nine individuals, I hear a consistent story 
of a peaceful man who lived an otherwise unremarkable life and was 
known for feeding the hungry and homeless.

I catch Toby, 11, and Martin, 8, playing basketball on the street on 
Holmur Ave. "I remember him coming to our block and giving out 
bread," Toby tells me. "No one else did that." Matt, 57, is raking 
his neighbor's lawn on Hazelwood St. when I approach. When I mention 
the Imam's name, he scratches his head. "Oh, are you talking about 
those Muslims?" he asks suddenly, pronouncing the word 'Moozlum'. 
"I've lived here for twenty years. They were good people - generous people."

Nate, 61, has a stand outside the Thrifty Scot Supermarket on Joy Rd. 
where he sells incense and DVDs. He remembers Mr. Abdullah as a 
regular shopper at the store; "he was very distinctive," he tells me, 
in his robes and garments. "Used to feed the poor from his mosque. 
Never bothered nobody."

D., 34, is a barber at No Limit Cuts. After I've left, I notice the 
sign at the entrance -"In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit." He is chatting casually with an older gentleman when I 
walk in. He tells me that people are angry and upset about what 
happened. "Only the Muslims?" I ask. "It's not just about Muslims," 
he insists. "It involves the whole community."

I meet Al, 77, further down Joy Road. He tells me he knew Imam Luqman 
well. "How do you feel about what happened?" I ask. "They fucking 
shot someone who fed kids, that's what they did." He becomes 
emotional, as he tells me that "they were afraid of him and they 
killed him." When I ask him about his religious affiliation, he tells 
me that he's Baptist.

More common than anger, however, is bewilderment. Many people ask me 
for the inside scoop of what happened - everyone wants to know why he 
was killed. Anna, 80, has lived in Detroit all her life. When I ask 
her about the allegations in the media, she responds, "I never heard 
nothing like that about them." "What I know is that they were 
generous, he was always helping people."

I drive two miles to the local police precinct on Livernois and 
Elmhurst. The desk attendant refuses to comment and asks me to call 
the Detroit Police Department's Public Information office. I ask to 
see a superior, and eventually a lieutenant agrees to speak to me off 
the record. I ask if there have been incidents in the past with Imam 
Luqman and his followers. She shakes her head. "As far as we were 
concerned, they were good neighbors."

I have spoken to Mr. Abdullah's family, and have tried to gauge 
community sentiment to the best of my abilities. I head towards I-96 
for the 40-minute drive back to Ann Arbor. As the decaying remnants 
of Detroit fade into a blur in my windshield, I am left with more 
questions than answers.

The Complaint

The US Attorney's office has released a 45-page 
<http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/detnews/2009/pdf/1027fbiraid.pdf>affidavit 
filed in support of a criminal complaint before a magistrate judge. 
After a finding of probable cause, arrest warrants were issued last 
Tuesday. The next stage of the process - when the evidence is 
presented to a grand jury and indictments are handed down - has yet 
to take place.

The complaint against Mr. Abdullah and ten others formally alleges 
six crimes: possession of firearms and body armor by a convicted 
felon, providing firearms to a convicted felon, tampering with motor 
vehicle identification numbers, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and 
conspiracy to sell or receive stolen goods. The evidence was obtained 
through an "undercover operation" involving at least three 
"confidential sources" and at least two "undercover employees of the 
FBI." The substance of the criminal activity alleged involves, among 
other things, dealings in supposedly stolen fur coats, laptops, and LCD TVs.

The bulk of the document (29 pages) consists of a background section 
which accuses the defendants of far more serious offenses. Based on 
informants' statements, these include an alleged plot to violently 
overthrow the government. However, since this information is only 
"background", no formal charges have been filed based on these accusations.

Critics have taken issue with the layout of the affidavit itself. 
They accuse the government of using unethical means to introduce 
unsupported innuendo into the public debate - including information 
that fails to meet proper evidentiary standards and would not hold up 
in a court of law. While a judge has found probable cause to believe 
the defendants committed crimes, these are limited to the six 
offenses listed above and everything else is merely speculation.

"If the government doesn't have solid evidence, they'll do everything 
they can to convict you in the court of public opinion" says a 
distinguished professor of criminal procedure at the University of 
Michigan Law School who agreed to speak off the record. "It's wrong, 
but that's how they do it." The Associated Press headline on 
Wednesday - "Leader of Radical Islam Group Killed" - indicates that 
they may have already succeeded.

The 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/28/luqman-ameen-abdullah-lea_n_337763.html&cp>AP 
story goes on to say, "No one was charged with terrorism. But 
Abdullah was 'advocating and encouraging his followers to commit 
violent acts against the United States.'" When asked about such 
contradictions, US Attorney Terrence Berg told the 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/us/31dearborn.html>New York Times 
that "the charges speak for themselves." Several legal scholars I 
spoke with disagreed, however, calling the affidavit "bizarre" and 
"unusual." Why was no one charged with terrorism? Is the government 
making a distinction between "terrorism" and promoting violence 
against the United States? Or is there simply no substantive evidence 
to support such a charge?

The government has tried to assuage concerns of Muslim and Arab 
leaders in Southeast Michigan by referring to this as an "isolated 
incident." Irregularities in the government's account, however, and 
its handling of the case suggest otherwise. For example, the 
affidavit is signed by an agent who is part of a "counter-terrorism 
squad." Why is a counter-terrorism squad investigating tampering with 
VIN numbers and the sale of stolen furs in the first place?

Inquiries to Mr. Berg's office were directed to Public Information 
Officer Gina Balaya. "The affidavit speaks for itself," she tells me. 
When I ask her to clarify the terrorism angle, she refuses, citing an 
"ongoing investigation." When I press her further, she says that her 
job isn't to answer questions, but merely to distribute copies of the 
press release and affidavit to interested parties. "That's all I can do."

Special Agent Sandra Berchtold, spokesperson for the Detroit division 
of the FBI, was more responsive. She defends the alleged innuendo in 
the background of the affidavit as necessary to justify the "armed 
and dangerous" designation made in the warrants about the suspects.

The American Muslim Taskforce (AMT), a national umbrella organization 
of major Islamic organizations, has long been critical of dubious FBI 
tactics that target underprivileged individuals within the Muslim 
community. Dr. Agha Saeed, AMT chair, attacks the FBI's continued use 
of agent provocateurs. "The task of a civilized government," he tells 
me, "is not to trick people into doing something wrong, and then say 
gotcha." Rather, the government should "always encourage people to do 
the right thing at the right time."

Asked about infiltration of houses of worship and monitoring of 
religious services - both of which were significant components of the 
FBI's investigation - Ms. Berchtold directs me to the publicly 
available portions of the Domestic Intelligence and Operations 
Guidelines 
(<http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/prompted-eff-lawsuit-fbi-partially-releases-domest>DIOG). 
Just because something is legal, though, doesn't make it right. Omar 
Regan grew emotional when he asked me, "What world are we living in?" 
"The government is supposed to serve and protect the people," he 
said. "Instead, they use scare tactics that build mistrust in the community."

Abdullah Bey El-Amin, imam of the Muslim Center - one of Detroit's 
largest and most influential mosques - accuses the FBI of preying on 
the weakest segments of the population. "You go to the poorest part 
of town," he says, "where people don't have jobs, they don't have 
running water, they don't have heat, and you say 'I have a fur coat 
you can sell.'" "They weren't even sophisticated enough to get this 
stuff and steal it," he continues. "The FBI had to bring them stuff." 
What about media reports of a dangerous plot to take over the United 
States, I ask. "They couldn't even take over their own block. And the 
FBI knew this, and they let it go on for three years."

"We don't condone the type of behavior that is alleged," he 
reiterates. But in three years of investigation, the strongest case 
the government could build involved allegedly changing the VIN number 
on a used truck. "It wasn't even a new truck," he exclaims. "Why 
doesn't the government sic dogs on the crack importers and drug 
dealers who are destroying our communities instead?"

The Investigation

The circumstances of Luqman Abdullah's death continue to be a topic 
of speculation throughout the community. One widespread narrative 
maintains that the FBI had Mr. Abdullah cornered in a warehouse and 
then dispatched a dog to subdue him. When he shot the dog, agents 
returned fire, killing him. Mr. Regan, who washed his father's body 
in preparation for the funeral, confirms the presence of 18 gunshot 
wounds. He also says the coroner told him that his father's body was 
handcuffed when it arrived.

The US Attorney's press release describes "an exchange of gunfire" 
after Mr. Abdullah fired the initial shot. However, the Associated 
Press quotes the FBI's Agent Berchtold as saying "Abdullah fired a 
weapon and was killed by gunfire from agents." Paul Chevigny, 
Professor Emeritus at the New York University School of Law, was 
unfamiliar with the facts of the case, but when the above scenario 
was presented to him as a hypothetical situation, his response was 
unequivocal. "Killing a dog," he said, "is certainly not grounds for 
killing a person."

The FBI Shooting Incident Review Team is conducting an internal 
inquiry. Meanwhile, since the incident occurred in the city of 
Dearborn, the Dearborn Police Department is handling the criminal 
aspects of the investigation. While a press release from Chief Ronald 
Haddad states that his department is "the lead investigative agency 
in this incident", his office is nevertheless referring all media 
inquiries to the FBI. (Interestingly, the mayor's chief spokesperson, 
contacted on Tuesday afternoon, seemed to suggest that the FBI was 
calling the shots and seemed unaware of Dearborn PD's leading role.)

Ms. Berchtold was asked about how many FBI agents had been involved 
in the incident, and if they had been suspended pending investigation 
or if they were still on duty; she refused to comment. She confirmed 
that a K-9 was involved and was airlifted for emergency veterinary 
assistance. She was unable to discuss why a K-9 unit was involved in 
the first place or whether that was standard FBI procedure in such 
situations. (An 
<http://detroit.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/de102909a.htm>FBI press release 
indicates a memorial will be held for the dog in Quantico, Virginia.)

Meanwhile, numerous organizations, including the 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS239547%2030-Oct-2009%20PRN20091030>American 
Muslim Task Force, the 
<http://www.mana-net.org/pages.php?ID=&NUM=1165>Muslim Alliance in 
North America, and the 
<http://www.freep.com/article/20091102/NEWS02/91102067/1320/Probe-asked-in-FBIs-slaying-of-extremist-imam->Detroit 
Coalition Against Police Brutality, have joined Mr. Abdullah's family 
and continue to call for an independent investigation.

Post-Script

Something Omar Regan told me during our interview sticks with me. 
"They forgot about the people in the hood," he had said. From the 
comfort of my well-lit, secure, heated office on the medical campus 
of the University of Michigan, I look up the statistics. Detroit is 
officially the poorest city in the United States. Nearly 34% of 
residents and 48% of children live below the federal poverty line. 
For a family of four, that comes to $22,000 -- most graduate student 
research assistants here are paid more than that.

A black man, a Muslim, and a community leader is shot 18 times in an 
FBI raid amidst allegations of entrapment and unethical conduct. The 
media frenzy drives the story for a few days and we are inundated 
with talk of nefarious Muslim plots to take over the United States. 
Meanwhile, the struggle to survive continues in the inner city and 
somewhere a child wonders what happened to that guy who spent thirty 
years feeding the poor and hungry.

This is a story about the death of an Imam, a family's mourning, and 
a community's search for answers. But it is just as much a story 
about the greater issues of race, religion, poverty, authority, and 
justice in society. If we can understand that much, then perhaps we 
will have learned something from the unfortunate death of Imam Luqman Abdullah.


Hamdan Azhar is a graduate student in biostatistics at the University 
of Michigan. An accomplished writer on international affairs, his 
works have been published in the Huffington Post, Counterpunch, and 
the Asia Times.

Read more at: 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hamdan-a-yousuf/death-of-a-detroit-imam-l_b_346633.html?view=print&cp>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hamdan-a-yousuf/death-of-a-detroit-imam-l_b_346633.html?view=print&cp




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