It will take more than a retraction and another empty “Pentagon enquiry” to ameliorate the anger towards the US that is now felt widely in the Muslim world, Muqtedar Khan argues.
Category Archives: USA
Human Rights Watch: US Islam abuse genuine
The row over a retracted Newsweek story that US interrogators at Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Quran is overshadowing genuine incidents of religious humiliation, according to Human Rights Watch. “Around the world, the United States has been humiliating Muslim detainees by offending their religious beliefs,” said Reed Brody, special counsel for the New York-based watchdog on Wednesday.
Newsweek on Monday retracted an article quoting an unidentified US official as saying that a probe into allegations of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo found that interrogators had thrown a Quran into a toilet to rattle Muslim prisoners. The weekly magazine said the sole anonymous source had “backed away” from the account.
Brody said condemnation of the Newsweek article, which sparked anti-US protests in Afghanistan and other countries that left at least 14 dead, had been so vocal as to drown out documented complaints of similar mistreatment. He said Human Rights Watch (HRW) had heard allegations that US interrogators disrespected the Quran from several former detainees, including three Briton and a Russian.
UK courts pave the way for British citizen to be sent to a foreign gulag
“The case of Babar Ahmad, jailed UK-US political prisoner, took one step closer to seeing Babar being extradited to the US, despite insufficient evidence to convict him under UK law and no evidence having been presented for his extradition. Once in the US, Babar faces the very real threat of transfer from civil to military courts under Military Order One and even torture at Guantánamo or by other governments, through a process the US authorities euphemistically call ‘extraordinary rendition’. Further, if convicted, under what would probably be a highly questionable legal process, he faces the risk of execution.”
MAB press release, 19 May 2005
See also MCB press release, 17 May 2005
Muslims view US as hostile and domineering shock
“Muslim views of the United States as domineering and hostile reflect relentless local reporting on Iraq, Palestine, and purported negative American attitudes toward Muslims, along with ignorance of U.S. aid programs to the region and U.S. support for regional reform.”
Council on Foreign Relations press release, 18 May 2005
So, nothing to do with the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, then, or the Bush administration’s enthusiastic support for Ariel Sharon. Just a product of misunderstanding and failure of communication.
‘Suicidal tendencies in the West’
“… while we in the West anxiously monitor our words and deeds for even the slightest offense against Islamic sensibilities, we receive in exchange no such consideration; indeed, our eager protestations of respect merely excite more contempt. Thus even as we protest our respect for Islam, Jews continue to be vilified with anti-Semitic rhetoric redolent of Nazi Germany, Palestinian terrorists befoul one of Christianity’s most sacred churches, the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem still sits on the site of the Jewish Temple, and in Istanbul Hagia Sophia, once one of Christendom’s greatest churches, is still a mosque. Worse still, a whole revisionist history in which the intolerant, imperialistic conqueror is transformed into the tolerant, peace-loving victim of Western imperialism is propagated by self-loathing Westerners whose bigotry against their own culture confirms the Islamist view that we are indeed Godless heathens and spiritual cripples.”
Bruce Thornton at Private Papers, 18 May 2005
Terror suspect can be extradited to US, court rules
A British terror suspect accused of running websites inciting murder and urging Muslims to fight a holy war today lost the first round of his court battle against extradition to the US. The home secretary, Charles Clarke, now has 60 days to decide whether Babar Ahmad should be sent to the US to face charges that he raised money to support terrorism in Chechnya and Afghanistan through internet sites and emails. Mr Ahmad denies the accusations.
The judge said “none of the statutory bars” applied to refusing extradition, but accepted it was a “difficult and troubling case” that was sure to go to the high court. “The defendant is a British subject who is alleged to have committed offences which, if the evidence were available, could have been prosecuted in this country,” Judge Workman said.
Flushing the Koran: Newsweek got it right
“White House staffers scurried this past week to souse the flames sparked by Newsweek‘s recent story, which revealed that an internal US military investigation had found substantial evidence interrogators at Guantánamo Bay had desecrated the Koran. Newsweek‘s story led to outrage against the US in Afghanistan and elsewhere where violent protests led to at least 15 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The White House damage control team has been successful, however, Newsweek retracted their story on May 16.
“But for what? The White House claims Newsweek‘s story led to the preventable deaths that resulted from the protests. ‘People lost their lives. People are dead,’ Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld groused. ‘People need to be very careful about what they say, just as they need to be careful about what they do.’ Are we really supposed to believe that Rumsfeld suddenly cares about dead Muslims? Not exactly. Rumsfeld is just attempting to hide the truth.
“Newsweek should have never retracted their story. In fact, Newsweek wasn’t the first media outlet to report on the trashing of the holy Islamic text by US military personal at Guantánamo.”
Joshua Frank argues that Newsweek withdrew its Qur’an desecration report under government pressure.
Meanwhile, Juan Cole asks “Has Newsweek retracted?” Informed Comment, 17 May 2005
‘Super Size Me’ director turns to TV
The man who made a hit movie out of eating McDonald’s fast food for a month has filmed a “fundamentalist Christian” man living as a Muslim to find out what it’s like to face the prejudice that many Muslims in America deal with since September 11.
The experiment is part of “Super Size Me” Director Morgan Spurlock’s new reality TV show “30 Days,” which places people in a variety of unfamiliar circumstances for 30 days.
“One of my favorite episodes is … what’s it like to be a Muslim in America … who is seen every day as a threat to our freedom simply because of their color, their race, their religion,” Spurlock told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
What drives support for this torturer [the one on the left of the picture]
“The bodies of hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in Uzbekistan are scarcely cold, and already the White House is looking for ways to dismiss them. The White House spokesman Scott McClellan said those shot dead in the city of Andijan included ‘Islamic terrorists’ offering armed resistance.”
Strategic interests ensure that the US backs Uzbek dictator Karimov to the hilt, argues Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan.
See also Islam Online, 15 May 2005
Reaction to Newsweek apology
“Newsweek magazine may have apologized, but to many in the Muslim world, it’s too late and much too little…. Critics called it a strategic move in the face of the overwhelming and violent reaction. The report sparked protests in Afghanistan, where at least 15 were killed and more than 100 injured. Many Muslims believe Newsweek succumbed to pressure from the U.S. government to backtrack.”
You know, they could just have a point. Furthermore, as already noted, Newsweek‘s backtracking was ambiguous to say the least.