Activists protest killing of Muslim leader

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was the keynote speaker in downtown Detroit on Nov. 19 at the first awards dinner for the Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, an organization that consists of 50 groups representing the Arab, Muslim, African-American, Asian and civil-rights constituencies along with 50 officials from local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies.

For 13 years, ALPACT has promoted itself as a medium for dialogue between the Detroit community and law-enforcement officials. The ALPACT dinner was co-chaired by FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena of the Detroit Field Office and Nabih Ayad, chair of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The dinner came in the aftermath of the assassination of African-American Muslim leader Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, who was killed by FBI agents in Dearborn, Mich., on Oct. 28.

Another 10 members of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque, led by Imam Abdullah, have been indicted on criminal charges alleging illegal firearms possession, dealing in stolen goods and tampering with vehicle identification numbers. A 44-page criminal complaint issued by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District contained language which described Imam Abduallah as a radical with links to political prisoner Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown.

Imam Al-Amin is currently serving a life sentence in federal prison after being framed in 2000 for the killing of a deputy sheriff in Georgia. Al-Amin was the former chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during 1967-68, and was a victim of the FBI’s counterintelligence program—COINTELPRO.

Outside the ALPACT dinner, Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice members, the Detroit MLK Committee, Latinos Unidos, family and friends of Imam Abdullah, members of Masjid Al-Haqq and others protested against the killing of the Muslim leader and the government prosecution of the other defendants.

Imam Luqman’s son, Omar Regan, expressed his appreciation for the work being done by MECAWI in organizing a political response to the assassination. Members of the family of Imam Luqman have set up a Web site, Detroit10.org, to build a legal defense campaign in support of the defendants.

In its call, MECAWI proclaimed: “We Don’t Dine With FBI Killers! The ALPACT dinner at the Ren Cen comes at a time when the FBI has shot down a respected Detroit Muslim leader. ... They have arrested 10 other Muslims on wild charges and media hysteria reminiscent of the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) that tried to destroy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement and others.”

This statement went on: “United States jails are filled with victims of frame-ups, and death row inmates are legally lynched. Political prisoners languish in lock-up such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier and the Cuban 5—all victims of police frame-ups. This is no time to break bread with the FBI.”

The MECAWI statement demanded justice for Imam Abdullah and a real independent investigation into his death; freedom for the Detroit 10; an end to the ICE raids and deportations; freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, the Cuban 5 and all political prisoners; and the end to racial profiling, harassment and police killings.

The Nov. 19 protest was covered by the Detroit Free Press, Michigan Public Radio, the Michigan Citizen, the Huffington Post and a film crew from Eastern Michigan University that is shooting a documentary on the life of Imam Abdullah.

Inside the ALPACT dinner, Attorney General Holder was reported to have emphasized the Obama administration’s opposition to racial profiling and the targeting of Muslims for selective prosecutions and frame-ups. However, Holder refused a request from the Council on American-Islamic Relations for a special meeting to discuss the killing of Imam Luqman and other issues. Holder said that he had a scheduling conflict that did not allow him to meet with the community leaders.

Imam Dawud Walid, the executive director of the CAIR Michigan office, stated on the “Fighting for Justice” Nov. 22 radio program aired over 1310 AM, “We had sent a letter to Attorney General Holder requesting a meeting.”

MECAWI is working with the Abdullah family to launch an online petition campaign demanding justice for the late Muslim leader as well as dropping all charges against the Detroit 10.

Read more at panafricannews.blogspot.com.