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Chicago Tribune – May 3, 2004 Army chaplain's case has left many BY GENEIVE ABDO AND E.A. TORRIERO OLYMPIA, Wash. - Fears that her husband, Army Capt. James Yee, could face the death penalty have vanished. FBI agents have stopped their surprise visits to question her. Even the neighbors in their tree-lined apartment complex in this tranquil town have started to greet her again after months of treating her like a traitor to America. Huda Yee's husband no longer faces key charges the Army had lodged against him, and he was scheduled to resume his duties as chaplain at Ft. Lewis, Wash., this week. But now she says the couple face a far greater challenge: How to live as Muslims in America. "Muslims are made to feel like the enemy. We can't go some places. There are borders to our life here," Huda Yee, a 29-year-old Palestinian from Syria, said. "Arabs think America is a free country. That you can do whatever you want, but that's not the case," she said, as her soft voice dropped and her eyes grew sad. Huda Yee's sentiments reflect those felt by many Muslims across the nation. They say the case against James Yee, a Muslim Army chaplain accused of spying for alleged al-Qaida militants detained at Guantanamo Bay, has made them feel more alienated from American society, at a time of increasing hate crimes against Muslims and deteriorating relations between the United States and the broader Islamic world. In a just-released report, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said it received 1,019 claims of attacks, discrimination and racial profiling in 2003, up from 602 such complaints a year earlier. Muslims say that if Yee, a 1990 West Point graduate could be accused, other Muslims far less accomplished face greater risk. And Muslims say there are greater reservations within their community to enter the military - a blow to plans by the U.S. government trying to recruit Muslims and Arabs to serve in intelligence agencies and armed forces to help the Bush administration fight the war on terror. "You can't be a true American and a Muslim at once. This is a wake-up call for all Muslims," said Ibrahim Moiz, a friend of Yee's. "We have been sleeping too long." Others outside the Muslim community are raising questions about why the case was brought against Yee, including Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last month, the senators asked that an investigation be conducted into how the Army handled the case. "The manner in which Chaplain Yee was detained and prosecuted raises serious questions about the fair and effective administration of military justice," the letter said. The military in March dropped charges that Yee had mishandled classified documents. The original espionage allegation of spying for Guantanamo detainees, many of whom are accused of being involved with the Taliban and al-Qaida, had already been dismissed. As far as the government is concerned, the case is closed. "The issue has run its course. It is now resolved," said Martha Rudd, a Pentagon spokeswoman. Officers at his post have ordered him not to discuss the case. But for many Muslims, the spy case was dubious from the start. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0405030184may03,1,3952579.story |