Hearings needed on infiltration

 

Imam Abdullah with FBI agent provocateur "Jabril"

 

From editorial board of The Michigan Citizen, edition October 10th – October 16th, 2010

http://michigancitizen.com/index96.htm

Conyers must act

The coalition of community, civil rights and justice activitists are calling on U.S. Rep. John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to conduct hearings on the FBI shooting of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah.

For an agency of the federal government to infiltrate an organization – religious or civic – to see if illegal activities are planned is reprehensible.  In a country that gives lip service to the principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” such a policy of infiltration or set-up should be illegal in and of itself.

Did the Imam get shot in retaliation for shooting the agents’ dog?  Is a human life exchangeable for a dog’s under any circumstances?

Were their puncture wounds – as photos on page four indicate – or not?  Why would the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Michigan – regardless of how much he despises people of color – cover up what Mike Cox appears to be covering up?

There are too many questions surrounding the murder of Imam Abdullah.  We look to elected representatives to begin the public process of airing events surrounding his tragic death.  Congressman Conyers, hold hearings in Detroit and do it quickly.  Justice demands it.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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