[Ppnews] Muslim group plans probe of imam's death

Wed Mar 17 16:56:16 EDT 2010

March 17, 2010 http://detnews.com/article/20100317/METRO/3170321

Muslim group plans probe of imam's death

Religious leader was shot 21 times Oct. 28 by FBI 
agents in raid at Dearborn warehouse

ORALANDAR BRAND-WILLIAMS
The Detroit News

Detroit -- The local office of a national Muslim 
civil rights organization said it plans to launch 
an independent forensic investigation into the 
shooting death of a Detroit Muslim cleric in October during an FBI raid.

Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, head of Masjid 
Al-Haqq mosque, was shot to death Oct. 28 during 
a raid on a Dearborn warehouse by FBI agents. 
They say they shot the imam because he fired 
first at an FBI dog. Agents said they were 
investigating Abdullah and several other men in 
connection with a stolen goods operation.

An autopsy report released Feb. 2 found Abdullah died from 21 bullet wounds

Lena Masri, a staff attorney for the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations Michigan chapter, said 
Tuesday she has seen more than 75 autopsy photos 
and other photos of the dead imam.

She said in the photos he is lying face down and 
is handcuffed. She also said she was told by 
Wayne County Medical Examiner Carl Schmidt that 
Abdullah's body was moved from the warehouse 
after he died and taken to a nearby trailer. "Why 
was the body moved from the location?" Masri 
asked. "We're concerned why the crime scene was contaminated."

Masri also said she noticed he was missing 
several front teeth. She said the medical 
examiner told her the missing teeth did not indicate he had fallen.

"He said a lot more of his teeth would have been 
out had he fallen," Masri added.

More disturbing, Masri said, was that no 
ambulance was called for Abdullah after the shooting.

"They airlifted the dog to (an animal hospital) 
but an ambulance was not called for a religious leader," Masri said.

Local FBI officials were not available for comment.

The civil rights division of the U.S. Justice 
Department has launched an investigation into Abdullah's death.

On March 27, several community groups are hosting 
a town hall meeting to discuss the investigation. 
The meeting will be at 2 p.m. at New Bethel Baptist Church, 8430 Linwood.

"The community concern (over the imam's death) is 
escalating. It's not decreasing," said Dawud 
Walid, the executive director of the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations Michigan chapter. "I 
don't just mean the Muslim community. I mean communities of various faiths."

<mailto:%3Ca%20href=>bwilliams at detnews.com"><mailto:bwilliams at detnews.com>bwilliams at detnews.com 
(313) 222-2027

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