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Last Updated: May 27th, 2008 - 18:47:31 |
Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace
May 25, 2008
Another Milestone for Dr. Al-Arian Spent in Prison
VIRGINIA-- This past week, Dr. Sami Al-Arian marked the 33rd
anniversary of his arrival to the United States. Dr. Al-Arian, who is
currently being held at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in
Portsmouth, Virginia, awaits deportation by immigration officials
while a Virginia prosecutor attempts to keep Dr. Al-Arian imprisoned
indefinitely.
On April 11, Dr. Al-Arian completed his sentence, following an
additional year spent in civil contempt for his refusal to testify
before a grand jury. A plea agreement reached with the government in
2006 called for Dr. Al-Arian's immediate release and deportation and
promised to protect him from cooperation. After spending more than
five years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, Dr. Al-
Arian has spent the last six weeks in legal limbo –not serving a
sentence and not charged, but not allowed to leave the country.
On May 21, 2008, Dr. Al-Arian spent the 33rd anniversary of his
arrival to the United States in a 7 x 10 cell in a rural Virginia
jail. The son of Palestinian refugees, Dr. Al-Arian, 50, arrived to
the U.S. from Egypt in 1975 as a 17 year-old college freshman.
He completed his graduate studies almost a decade later, receiving a
doctorate in computer engineering and beginning a successful academic
career at the University of South Florida in Tampa. While there, he
became an award-winning tenured professor. He authored a number of
articles in his field and chapters in textbooks and won several
prestigious research grants for his university. Dr. Al-Arian's work
in the classroom consistently garnered high praise from students and
colleagues alike.
In 1979, he married Nahla Al-Najjar, another Palestinian refugee, who
became the source of love, guidance, and support for her husband as
they embarked on a mission to build a family and a community. Dr. Al-
Arian credits his wife with sharing his devotion and passion for
community building and activism. She was a pioneer for the inclusion
of women in leadership positions within the American Muslim
community. Along with their five children, they lived in Tampa until
2007 when Mrs. Al-Arian and their two youngest children departed for
Egypt, where they eagerly await Dr. Al-Arian's release and
deportation.
In addition to his professional career, Dr. Al-Arian devoted much
time and energy to the building of civic institutions to enhance the
life of the growing American Muslim community. He has played an
integral role in founding and expanding some of the largest national
organizations, including the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and
the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Locally, he founded the
Islamic Community of Tampa Bay at the Al-Qassam mosque. At its
height, the mosque boasted thousands of congregants and became a
leading participant in some of the most important local charitable
work, including the annual Feed the Hungry event hosted by Tampa's
mayor. Dr. Al-Arian, as the imam, also led the mosque to become the
first to join the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality
(HOPE), a social justice coalition made up of nineteen churches.
Pastor Warren Clark of the First United Church in Tampa recalls one
of his earliest conversations with Dr. Al-Arian, following the Muslim
community's participation in a HOPE event. "(Sami) said, `There are
issues in this town that are more than just Muslim issues. We are
called on by the Quran to work for the poor, the outcast, the hungry,
the widows, and the orphans.' He led his community to engage in this
work in many different ways and through many different organizations.
Within the Muslim community, that legacy has continued on, even in
his absence."
One of Dr. Al-Arian's proudest achievements is establishing the
Islamic Academy of Florida (IAF), a full-time school that offered
students the highest quality education while instilling them with a
sense of moral duty to their community and country. He served as
principal of the school for several years, as it became the lifeblood
of the community. Graduates of IAF have gone on to some of the top
universities in America and most have received scholarships and
acceptance to honors programs.
Dr. Al-Arian was also heavily involved in human rights work,
especially with regard to his homeland of Palestine, in an effort to
relieve the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli
occupation. He was outspoken in opposition to Israeli policies and
eager to inform the American public of the plight of Palestinians in
order to effect positive change. The organization he founded, the
Islamic Committee for Palestine (ICP), held annual national
conferences and organized charitable activities to help needy orphans
in Palestine.
Among his many activities, Dr. Al-Arian actively worked to bridge the
divide between East and West. He promoted interfaith dialogue
individually and institutionally, in an effort to establish peace,
tolerance, and understanding between faiths. Another one of his
initiatives, the World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), was a
groundbreaking think tank at USF that brought together scholars,
experts, and leading intellectuals from around the world. Its
publications were highly regarded by experts in the field. Through
this work, Dr. Al-Arian developed many important and lasting
friendships.
Melva Underbakke, an instructor at USF and member of Friends of Human
Rights, recalls her first impressions of Dr. Al-Arian:
"I met Sami in the early 1990s. He was giving a presentation for the
teachers at the English Language Institute (ELI) at USF. Most of them
didn't know anything about Middle Eastern culture. People liked him
in the Foreign Languages Department because he was trying to build
bridges between East and West. He had a real reputation for doing
that there."
He soon became recognized as a national leader of the American Muslim
community, receiving invitations to speak at numerous churches,
synagogues, and other institutions, including the U.S. Central
Command at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
By the mid-1990s, Dr. Al-Arian's activities were centered on the
latest civil rights struggle in American history: the emerging
national effort to end the unjust detention of Arabs and Muslims for
years without trials through the use of secret evidence. Through
tremendous efforts, including coalition-building, grassroots
mobilization, and congressional lobbying, Dr. Al-Arian would come to
be recognized as "one of the country's leading advocates" of the new
civil rights movement, according to Newsweek magazine.
Having lived in the U.S. for over two decades, he was steeped in the
American civil rights tradition and was a strong believer in fighting
for change through the designated avenues. Furthermore, Dr. Al-Arian
worked hard to empower and enfranchise the American Muslim community
on the local and national levels, encouraging Muslims to vote and run
for office.
Dr. Al-Arian's arrest on February 20, 2003, at the behest of the Bush
Administration, was the height of injustices committed against Dr. Al-
Arian in his three decades as a law-abiding resident who loved his
country; a country where he lived twice as long as he had anywhere
else; a country that shared his values and beliefs more than any
other; a country where he raised his family to live, learn, work, and
contribute to its betterment.
The trial and acquittal of Dr. Al-Arian in 2005 served not only to
demonstrate his innocence against the government's unfounded
accusations, but also as an affirmation of his decades of public
service. ICP and WISE, the institutions that the government attempted
to destroy in its indictment, were ultimately vindicated. Prosecutors
could not show any evidence of wrongdoing. In fact, witnesses called
by the government, including professors, lawyers, and federal agents,
testified to the value of these organizations and their genuine
nature. Jurors who sat in the trial for six months drew only the
logical conclusion that ICP and WISE were legitimate, law-abiding
organizations that were highly regarded.
The government's decision to continue to punish Dr. Al-Arian even
after his acquittal demonstrates the politically-motivated nature of
the actions against him. This effort has been led by those who are
openly opposed to the empowerment of American Muslims in the public
square, and have professed deep hostility to the cause of justice for
Palestinians.
For the past five years, Dr. Al-Arian has witnessed the gravest of
injustices, some that he spent years of his life fighting against,
and others never thought imaginable in a free society. As he
continues to endure imprisonment with no end in sight, abusive
treatment at the hands of prison officials, and isolation from those
who love and depend on him, many Americans and people the world over
wonder if justice is indeed possible in such dark times when the
abuse of government power knows no bounds.
Dr. Al-Arian, however, maintains his unshakeable faith that the
people, on whom the system of justice depends, will ultimately bring
an end to the abuses committed in their name. Each day, more people
add their voice to the thousands who call on America to live up to
its time-tested principles.
As Pastor Clark recalls, it is Dr. Al-Arian's strong faith that has
always guided him through the toughest of times. "I recall attending
an event at the Islamic Community during the height of the media
campaign against Sami, after 9/11, but before he was arrested. I
asked him how he was doing and I expected him to say things were bad,
but he said, `You know Warren, I feel closer to God now than I have
ever felt.' It was another window into the deep wellspring he uses to
overcome the most terrible circumstances. That really spoke to me."
As we approach a crossroads in the contemporary civil rights
struggle, the case of Dr. Al-Arian takes center stage. Agha Saeed,
chair of the American Muslim Taskforce for Civil Rights and Elections
and a colleague of Dr. Al-Arian's for many years, reflects on the
current situation. "Today, Dr. Al-Arian, one of the most prominent
political prisoners in the United States, symbolizes the struggle for
freedom of Palestine. Tomorrow, let me predict, based on his heroic
sacrifices, he will be recognized as a major 21st century civil
rights leader in the Unites States." Such designations do not come
without a heavy price. It is up to all those who stand for justice to
ensure that the sacrifices made by Dr. Al-Arian are not forgotten.
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