Fwd: quantum note from the news, nov. 23

seyedjavad

From: "Muzaffar Iqbal"

Reply-To: "Muzaffar Iqbal"

To: "muzaffar"

Subject: quantum note from the news, nov. 23

Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 12:20:18 -0700

Friday November 23, 2001-- Ramadan 07,1422 A.H

Dr Muzaffar Iqbal

Divide between us and them

On September 20th, when Muhammad Atiah left his office for lunch, he did not

know what was in store for him. In the parking lot of the nuclear power

plant of the Canadian Atomic Energy Inc in Chalk River, where he worked as

an engineer, he was approached by a police officer of the Royal Canadian

Mounted Police (RCMP) and an officer from the Canadian Security and

Intelligent Services (CSIS). They questioned him for 90 minutes and then let

him go. When he tried to get back to his office, his access card did not

work.Later, he was told that he no longer had a job because he was a

security risk.

For almost two months Muhammad Atiah struggled to get back his job but no

one paid any attention. Finally, on November 9th, he filed a lawsuit against

the Canadian Atomic Energy Ltd, CSIS and RCMP. Only then did his plight come

into public knowledge. The Toronto Star (November 10, 2001) reported on the

lawsuit and interviewed Atiah, a Canadian citizen for almost 27 years. Atiah

said that +ACI-the fact is that they've destroyed my life and my family's life.

They are burying everything under the mark of security and this way, nobody

can question them.+ACI-

Another Muslim in the northern city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, was not so

lucky. He was arrested in October 2001 on no specific charge but the

Canadian press, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC),

dubbed him as a terrorist with links to Bin Laden. The RCMP personnel who

came to arrest him, let a dog loose on him. The dog took a big bite off the

arm of the un-named Muslim from Jordan who had been in Canada since 1999.

After three days, RCMP released him, saying we have nothing against you.

During these three days, the Canadian media kept up its grand war against

Muslims. The Mayor of Fort McMurray came live on CBC to express horror and

shock about these +ACI-terrorists living among us+ACI-.After his release, when the

poor fellow went home, he found out that his landlord has an eviction notice

ready for him and he has lost his job. To date, no action has been taken

against the RCMP+ADs- the case is deemed to be closed.

On September 14th, Professor Robert Jensen of the University of Texas

published an op/ed piece the Houston Chronicle, in which he traced the

history of terrorist activities by the US government and its importance to

understanding September 11 attacks. Larry Faulkner, the President of the

University of Texas responded with a letter in which he said, +ACI-Jensen is not

only misguided, but has become a fountain of undiluted foolishness on issues

of public policy. Students must learn that there is a good deal of foolish

opinion in the popular media and they must become skilled at recognising and

discounting it. I, too, was disgusted by Jensen's article, but I also must

defend his freedom to state his opinion. The First Amendment is the bedrock

of American liberty.+ACI-On November 1, 2001, Professor Jensen gave a talk at

the University of Texas teach-in on war and civil liberties in which he

said: +ACI-right now, free speech is on my mind because I live in the nation

that has the most destructive military capacity in the history of the world.

I live in a nation that has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to use

that capacity to kill, and kill civilians. And I live in the nation that at

this moment is using that capacity again to kill civilians in a conflict

that is being sold to us as a war on terrorism that will keep us safe, but

is, I believe, primarily a war to extend the power of a particular segment

of US society.+ACI-

Robert Jensen, the un-named Muslim from Jordan and Muhammad Atia represent

three facets of struggle against state organised terrorism that has been

unleashed in North America. Robert has the comfort and security of being a

white American with a record of anti-war activism but essentially no danger

to his life or job, at least for now. The other two are Muslims, belonging

to two different strata of the society but essentially both have no leverage

against the injustices done to them.The anti-war and pro-civil liberties

lobby in the United States is once again active. But its voice has been

buried under a state orchestrated propaganda campaign that works around the

clock and from many forums. Robert Jensen and others in the civil liberties

movement can rely on support from a well-organised network of organisations

such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Nowar Collective. But in

the increasingly dysfunctional democracies of the western world, where

public opinion is manufactured in a +ACI-scientific way+ACI-, there is no room for a

Muslim dissident group+ADs- general public opinion has already been manufactured

against them.In a world that has been left with no choice but +ACI-to be with us

or against us+ACI-, the onus of proving that they are +ACI-with us+ACI-, has been put on

the shoulders of Muslims. In other words, they are guilty unless proven

otherwise. This explains why they are being +ACI-randomly+ACI- profiled while

travelling by air. This also explains why anybody with a beard is

automatically considered to be a potential terrorist or a terrorist in the

making. But this low-level discrimination has received a powerful boost in

the past two months. Now the state has put the full force of its organised

power behind this anti-Muslim and anti-Islam drive.In the wake of their war

on terrorism, both the United States of America and Canada have adopted a

policy that may turn these countries into another Spain for Muslims.

On October 26, President Bush signed the anti-terrorism bill H R 3162. The

bill was presented in the Congress by Rep F James Sensenbrenner, Jr on

October 23. Three days later, it became Public Law (No 107-56)+ACE- And before

the ink used to sign was dry, it was being used against Muslims, about 1200

of whom had already been taken as prisoners, with no right to hire a lawyer.

The Canadian government has also tabled a bill (Bill C-36) in its Parliament

and it is likely to be passed before the Christmas break for the

Parliament.These new laws allow the law enforcement to monitor computers,

open e-mails, wiretap telephones. They break down the distinction between

intelligence and criminal investigation and permit the governments to compel

the production of records from any business regarding any person, if that

information is sought in connection with an investigation of terrorism or

espionage.

The only voice against the new American law was that of Senator Russ

Feingold (D-WI), who found it very troubling because, he said, that +ACI-under

this bill (now law), the government can compel the disclosure of the

personal records of anyone - perhaps someone who worked with, or lived next

door to, or went to school with, or sat on an airplane with, or has been

seen in the company of, or whose phone number was called by - the target of

the investigation...under this provision, the government can apparently go

on a fishing expedition and collect information on virtually anyone. All it

has to allege in order to get an order for these records from the court is

that the information is sought for an investigation of international

terrorism or clandestine intelligence gathering. That's it. On that minimal

showing in an ex parte application to a secret court, with no showing even

that the information is relevant to the investigation, the government can

lawfully compel a doctor or hospital to release medical records, or a

library to release circulation records. This is a truly breathtaking

expansion of police power.+ACI-

Let us recall the oft-repeated official line that tells us that America's

new war is not against Islam or Muslims. These ominous developments and the

above incidents clearly demonstrate something else. Even Senator Russ could

not restrain himself and asked in the Senate: +ACI-Who do we think is most

likely to bear the brunt of this abuse? It won't be immigrants from Ireland,

it won't be immigrants from El Salvador or Nicaragua, it won't even be

immigrants from Haiti or Africa. It will be immigrants from Arab, Muslim,

and South Asian countries. In the wake of these terrible events, our

government has been given vast new powers and they may fall most heavily on

a minority of our population who already feel particularly acutely the pain

of this disaster.+ACI-

These new laws should be a wakeup call for Muslims in North America. But

they are poorly equipped to deal with the situation. Fragmented, divided and

mired in various petty issues, the Muslim community in North America has

neither the political clout enjoyed by the Jewish community, nor the public

support to redress the situation. Their community organisations are busy

with potluck suppers and social gatherings which provide ample opportunities

for a display of pomp and prosperity but very little to ensure their

respectable existence in a new land.

The News International, Pakistan

------------------------------------------------------

Center for Islam +ACY- Science

www.cis-ca.org

---------------------------------------------------------