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Kansas Muslim Offers Help to Free Abu Sayyaf Hostages
WICHITA, Kansas, Dec. 20 (News Agencies) - A local Muslim man who says he can relate to the plight of Martin and Gracia Burnham, the two Americans held by the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, has offered to go to the country and convince the group that their actions go totally against the teachings of Islam.
Nabil Seyam said that he was himself taken hostage during the Gulf War in Kuwait by Iraqi forces and knows what it is like. Seyam, an engineering graduate from Wichita State University, lived in Kuwait during the 1990 Iraqi invasion.
Seyam said the Iraqis arrested him and put a pistol at his head. They called him a traitor and a spy and said that they will free him only if he renounces his U.S. citizenship. He refused and spent two months in captivity in Baghdad. He said he was finally able to escape after help from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Seyam, who is the president of the board of administration of the Islamic Society of Wichita, told
The Wichita Eagle newspaper he is willing mediate the Americans' release even if it means risking become a hostage again.
"The Burnham's are innocent people," added Seyam. "They are people of the Book. We are to honor them, respect them, respect their faith and protect them. I think I'm the man who can do it. I personally feel a loss at people overseas who use the name of Islam as a way to get their way. These guys are nothing but barbaric; they are killers."
Seyam said that he would like to prove that despite the kidnapping and deadly September 11 attacks, not all Muslims are the same.
"They are not the group of God," Seyam said referring to Abu Sayyaf. "They are the group of the devil."
Seyam immediately called Paul and Oreta Burnham, Martin's parents, after the kidnapping was first announced. Tuesday morning he called Paul Burnham and offered to directly help in the efforts to rescue Martin and Gracia.
"It was very nice, and we appreciate their support," Paul Burnham said. However, Burnham also said that U.S. and Philippine government officials were handling the negotiations and that he wasn't sure if Seyam's help was needed.
Seyam said he would attend a prayer ceremony at the Burnham's church, Rose Hill Bible Church, to pray with parishioners.
"We are all here united in America," Seyam said. "We may look different, we may have accents, but we are united as Americans."
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