Omar Regan, entertainer and son of the martyred Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, who was assassinated by the FBI on October 28, 2009. Regan was speaking at a rally outside the federal building in Detroit on November 5. (Final Call Photo)
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
PANW Editor's Note: Since the killing of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah there has been two demonstrations called in the city of Detroit. One at the federal building on November 5 and another outside the Renaissance Center when Attorney Eric Holder was speaking before the ALPACT dinner. MECAWI, who organized both demonstrations, called for a real independent investigation into the killing of Imam Luqman, which is different than what other groups have requested.
It appears that the notion of an independent investigation would include a review of the circumstance by the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department to see if their were violations of federal law. What MECAWI means by independent investigation would be a people's commission of inquiry that would issue a report and demand sanctions and criminal charges against those who were involved in the shooting as well as the individuals who ordered the entire operation.
On December 3, the Detroit Free Press came out in favor of an independent investigation and this call seems to echo the same position that the Justice Department should review the case. The problem with this scenario is that the FBI carried out the infiltration of Masjid Al-Haqq, set up the warehouse and stolen goods where the Imam and other were lured to resulting in his assassination.
The FBI is under the Justice Department and Homeland Security. The Justice Department has specifically targeted the Muslim community in the United States for harrassment and prosecution on trumped-up charges. Therefore, it would not be credible for the Justice Department to essentially investigate itself. This is why MECAWI has called for an investigation outside the existing federal law-enforcement strucutures in the United States.
Below is the Detroit Free Press editorial from December 3, 2009 that calls for an independent investigation. This represents somewhat of a departure since the corporate newspapers printed some of the worst reports in the aftermath of the killing and arrest of the Masjid Al-Haqq members. This illustrates that the work of MECAWI in exposing the true role of the FBI historically and today has provided space for others to criticize the governments' role in targeting the Muslim and African-American communities in the United States.
Abayomi Azikwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
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December 3, 2009
EDITORIAL
Detroit Free Press
Imam killing needs independent investigation
Detroit's Muslim community and many local leaders, including Mayor Dave Bing, have called for an independent investigation into the death of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the imam shot by federal agents during a raid at a Dearborn warehouse. The U.S. Department of Justice should heed that call to clear questions harbored by Muslims around the world, as well as by many Detroiters, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
Abdullah's death on Oct. 28 may mark the first killing of a religious leader by U.S. government agents since David Koresh died at the Branch Davidian ranch outside Waco, Texas, in 1993. No one should assume government wrongdoing or impropriety, but the death of Abdullah, an African-American Muslim, has racial and religious overtones, especially in a community with a history of excessive police force. It has evoked the kind of skepticism, fear and anger that government should not ignore. Heavy-handed tactics by federal agents in the name of national security are not new. They were also employed against socialists and communists in the 1930s and black militants in the 1960s.
Muslim leaders contend that federal agents, not finding evidence of terrorist activity, often lure poor people into other illegal activities. The Justice Department -- or even the House Judiciary Committee -- should review these practices and, if warranted, recommend changes to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who suggested in a recent visit to Detroit that Abdullah's death had aggravated community tensions. Local government agencies should also act openly. It didn't help community relations that the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office informed CAIR, in response to a freedom-of-information request, that photos of Abdullah's autopsy would cost $1,500. That makes government look as though it were hiding something.
No terrorism charges were brought against Abdullah, or any of the 11 mosque members indicted in the case. Instead, the government alleges that they conspired to traffic in stolen goods. An investigation should determine whether federal agents who shot Abdullah violated his civil rights, but it must also include a broader review of widespread government policies and practices regarding the use of informants to infiltrate mosques.
"Our government needs to show that there's not a double standard: a rule of law for the broader public and another standard for Muslims," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Michigan.
The FBI says its agents acted appropriately. Still, questions linger, not only about how Abdullah died but also whether federal agents inappropriately target Muslims and mosques. No American should harbor those doubts. They are, as Holder stated in Detroit, contrary to our Constitution and the government that created it. A thorough and independent review is the best way to dispel them.
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