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CAIR calls alleged NY missile plot 'deeply troubling' (WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/5/04) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today said an alleged plot by two men associated with an Albany, N.Y., mosque to help purchase a shoulder-fired missile from an FBI informant is a "deeply troubling" development that should not be used to associate all American Muslims with violence. ADC Press Release – August 6, 2004 ADC questions apparent double Washington, DC, Aug. 6 2004-- The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) today questioned the high-profile announcement of arrests of Muslims in alleged terrorism cases by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI, while simultaneously downplaying equally serious anti-terrorism undercover operations involving Americans of other ethnic backgrounds. Yesterday, Aug. 5, arrests in two separate undercover cases were announced with very different levels of publicity, and consequent coverage by the media. In one case, a Deputy Attorney General and an FBI Assistant Director held a press conference in Washington, DC to announce the arrest of two alleged conspirators in a terrorism-related money-laundering sting. The defendants, who are associated with an Albany, NY, mosque, are accused of agreeing to launder money they believed was coming from the purchase of a shoulder-fired missile. On the same day, an announcement was made by a US Attorney in Chicago about another undercover anti-terrorism arrest. In this case, Gale William Nettles, 66, was arrested with a pickup truck containing 1,500 pounds of fertilizer he allegedly thought was ammonium nitrate, the same substance used to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. Nettles is accused of plotting to bomb a federal courthouse in Chicago. ADC contacted the DOJ and the FBI asking for a timely and clear explanation of the apparent double standard used in announcing the Albany and Chicago arrests, when they both appear to be dealing with terrorism suspects. ADC also noted that the Deputy Attorney General and the FBI Assistant Director failed to state that the individuals implicated in the Albany case do not represent the Muslim and Arab-American communities. Such a statement would have helped prevent the announcement from reinforcing negative stereotypes, fear and bigotry. ADC has documented an increase in hate speech following the press conference. While ADC is troubled by these aspects of the DOJ-FBI press conference, the organization is fully supportive of efforts to keep our country safe and to investigate, arrest, and prosecute criminals, regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliation. MPAC closely watching aftermath August 5, 2004 – The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is closely watching the aftermath of the raid on a mosque in Albany, New York last night. The Imam of the mosque and the mosque's founder were arrested in a coordinated raid between the Albany police and federal agents. As Americans who respect due process and the rule of law, we must be careful to allow the full process of the law run its course before judging the guilt or innocence of any of the accused men. Furthermore, the actions of a few, if they are in fact guilty of a crime, should not, under any circumstances, be allowed to reflect on the overall American Muslim community or the mosque as an institution itself. MPAC has received a tremendous response from mosques across the country that have participated in its National Grassroots Campaign to Fight Terrorism. During this atmosphere surrounding heightened terror alerts and arrests, it is incumbent on the American Muslim leadership and the community to take proactive steps. MPAC has provided mosques with guidelines to help ensure that only authorized activities take place within the confines of their institutions. American Muslim leaders must take the extra responsibility in being vigilant in upholding the law and in preventing any criminal activity in their houses of worship. The leaders must be accountable to their American Muslim constituents and not to any foreign group or foreign government. Financial Times UK– August 8, 2004 US sting raises human rights fears By Guy Dinmore in Washington A government anti-terrorist sting operation that entrapped two leaders of a small mosque in New York state has heightened concerns among human rights groups over how the war on terror is threatening civil liberties and damaging relations with America's Muslim community. The two men, Mohammed Mosharraf Hossain and Yassin Muhhiddin Aref, are due to appear in a federal court in Albany on Tuesday on charges of money-laundering and concealing a plot to use a shoulder-fired weapon to kill a Pakistani diplomat. The weapon and conspiracy were invented by an undercover government agent. Coming just days after the US raised the terror alert to “orange” for financial institutions in New York city and the capital, senior politicians and law enforcement officials celebrated the arrests as a victory in the war on terror. They said the US had shown that it had the means to infiltrate militant organisations and disrupt their plans, while the ears and eyes of the public were alert to threats around them. According to Albany court documents, conversations taped by the informant working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that Mr Hossain and Mr Aref were lured into receiving $5,000 (€4,060, £2,720) for helping the informant, identified as CI-1, to launder $45,000. As part of the sting operation, CI-1 invented the story that he had earned the money from smuggling an anti-aircraft weapon into the US that was to be used to strike the Pakistani consulate in New York or hit its ambassador. But the official indictment also reveals that Mr Hossain told CI-1 that now was not the time for “violent jihad” or struggle, and that importing such weapons was illegal. Both accused refused a request to help transport the smuggled weapon through New York. The FBI said CI-1, a convicted felon, had agreed to conduct the sting operation in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence he had received in a fraud case. Speaking “on background”, law enforcement officials said the two accused had possible ties to Ansar al-Islam, a radical group formerly based in northern Iraq with possible ties to al-Qaeda. No mention was made of this in the court documents. Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the case had sent a chill through the Muslim community, and enhanced the perception of “profiling” by law enforcement authorities. He noted that a separate case the same day of anon-Muslim man plotting to blow up a federal court house in Chicago with a truck bomb received less media coverage. “Unfortunately we are seeing growing hostility from certain segments of society, based largely on anti-Muslim rhetoric growing in our society, particularly on talk radio,” Mr Hooper said. Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said Muslims “are being stigmatised as a problematic element in society”.He expressed concern over the use of sting operations, but said that Muslim leaders should not fall into such traps and should do a better job of “demonstrating transparency to their own Muslim American constituency”. Anti-terror sting operations have raised controversy before. A year ago, Hemant Lakhani was charged with involvement in an FBI-invented plot to procure missiles for terrorists, and his arrest was also hailed as a victory in the war on terror. The case, as reported by the Sunday Star Ledger of Newark, later showed that Mr Lakhani was an inexperienced opportunist with no known criminal record or links with terrorist organisations. http://news.ft.com/cms/s/325c9d1a-e987-11d8-b556-00000e2511c8.html |