What are the long term repecussions that the terrorist attack of 9/11 and it aftermath have on the civil liberties of muslims in America.
Answer
The civil liberties of all Americans have been curtailed beginning with Muslims. The effect may be permanent because of the Ashcroft/Bush predisposition towards a structured society. They have proposed legal restrictions that they would favor even if there had been no September 11th incident.
Muslims and all Americans are living in a culture where freedom of speech is being curtailed except so called patriotic speech. And prominent Muslim charities have been shut down and their assets seized.
The effect of these clampdowns is practically permanent because it is difficult to get genii back into the bottle.
Name
jim
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Profession
Question
Is the treatment og the guantanmo bay detainees legitmated? Why is such horrific treatment being meted out to these prisoners given the fact that there have been worst criminls in the past they have been given civil triales. An example are the Nazi perpatratours of the holcost or more recently Slobdan Milosovic.
Answer
I don't think the their treatment is legitimate. They were captured during what President Bush called "a war" on terrorism. So why then are they not prisoners of war. They should not have been brought from East Asia to the Western Hemisphere in the first place. There is no way they can be treated fairly under these circumstances. What is happening to them in the process of blindfolding, forcing them to shave, and other indignities meted to them seems to be meant to humiliate them and dehumanize them. It does not appear that they are facing any kind of charges. They are simply being interrogated, humiliated, and made into examples for others in the Muslim world.
Name
Mirza
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Profession
Question
What lessons should be learned by muslim americans from previous groups who have been discrimnated against in the past in the hopes that they can deal with their current delimma in American sociecty?
Answer
Muslims should reach out and join coalitions of other like minded past victims and potential victims--for example African Americans. In this process, Muslim should "Americanize" their message so that English speaking people, Christians and others can understand what they have in common with Muslims.
Muslims in America are being jolted by this shock treatment into the awareness that they are not the same as "WASP"(White Anglo Saxon Protestant). Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans have always been the object of blatant overt racial discrimination because of their color. It is more difficult to go to sleep one night as a George Bush sporting Muslim and wake up the next day to find your self the object of American Scorn.
Name
ALI
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Profession
Question
THE US HAS CLASSIFIED THE PRISONARS IN CUBA AS DETANEES. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRISONERS OF WAR AND DETANEES,AND ARE THEY NOT SUBJECT TO THE SAME RULES AS PRISONARS OF WAR.
Answer
The U.S. authorities are trying to make a distinction when there is no real difference for the purpose of denying these prisoners (captured combatants) their rights.
(See previous question for further details)
Name
A.D.
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Profession
Question
What will be the possible impact on the American Muslim community of the current highten alert of terrorist attacks? Will this continue the trend of suspicion and violations against muslims here?
Answer
Yes. Muslims will find themselves subject to more suspicion among people who previously trusted them. They will be thought of as being less patriotic and may encounter silent discrimination that is not overt but simply selective and discrete.
Name
Mohammed
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Profession
Question
How does the current experience of Muslims relate to the experiences of African American in their fight for civil rights?
Answer
Many Muslims in America are African Americans. So the Muslim movement in America is closely linked to the African American Civil Rights struggle. A classic example is the trial of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin set for opening arguments on February 18 in Atlanta. Imam Al-Amin was a prominent Civil Rights activist before becoming a Muslim. It is now incumbent on Muslims to close ranks and support Imam Al-Amin who faces Capitol Murder charges in a case that is laced with questionable evidence and testimony even before the trial began. Information is available from waliakbar@yahoo.com.
Name
Rania
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
What are we to make of president Bush's comments labeling the three counties: Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as the 'Axis of Evil'. In your oppinion do you think that the American government will aggressivly persue these nations?
Answer
I think the target of the threat is really Iraq, but the speech was an effort not to single out Iraq alone. This past week the CIA director also labeled as potential "terrorist" threats against American interest several groups, which have never singled out Americans including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. I believe that the motives for this labeling is to politically isolate them not because they are dangerous to American interest but because they disagree with American policies.
Name
DAREK
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Profession
Question
THERE ARE REPORTS THAT THE US MILITARY WANTS TO CLASSIFY THE DETANIEES AS PRISONARS OF WAR. WHAT IS THE LIKLYHOOD THEY WIIL GET THEIR REQUEST.
Answer
I don't know. More troubling though is the question of repatriation because other then taking up arms to defend Afghanistan they have committed no punishable crimes. So prisoner of war status would confer on them rights that the US does not want them to have.
