altmuslim this week - june 29, 2009 - This week, reeling over the death of Michael Jackson (or is it Mikaeel?), a brutal (and brutally unfair?) new film about the stoning of women in Iran, and our good friend Farah Pandith - the most effective behind-the-scenes American Muslim you've never met - is promoted to a new office by Secretary Clinton. 
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US outreach to Muslims in good hands - Several of us at altmuslim have had the opportunity to work with Farah Pandith, who has just been appointed by Secretary Clinton to be a special representative to Muslim communities worldwide. (June 27, 2009)
Her name is Neda - Many have died tragic - and silent - deaths in the post-election violence in Iran. But one woman, Neda Agha Soltan, became a symbol with her death caught on video. Here, Neda's fiancee, Caspian Makan, comments on her story in comments transcribed exclusively for altmuslim.com. (June 25, 2009)
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altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)
altmuslim review 031 - Oh, Bama! What does the election of Barack Obama mean for American Muslims, who were both courted and shunned during a long campaign? We speak with American Muslim Democratic activists who were gathered in Washington for the historic inauguration. (March 5, 2009)
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Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.
Pushing the Envelope Without Breaking It, Shahed Amanullah, The Mosque in Morgantown, June 2, 2009.
Obama in Egypt: Let the unsaid be said, Zahed Amanullah, Patheos.com, May 28, 2009.
Zahed will be a panelist at Divan 2.0, a debate on the future of the Muslim internet sponsored by the Radical Middle Way at the London School of Economics in London, England, May 22, 2009.
Once Were Radicals (published by Allen and Unwin), the first book by Associate Editor Irfan Yusuf, is released in Australia, May 4, 2009.
Shahed and Wajahat will be speaking at the 3rd Annual Leadership Summit presented by the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals in Princeton, NJ, May 2, 2009.
Shahed will be leading a workshop on Media Strategies & Techniques at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in New York, NY, April 24-25, 2009.
Bringing it all back home, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 9, 2009.
Zahed will be conducting a two day workshop on Blogging and New Media for Italian students at the United States Embassy, Rome, Italy, April 8-9, 2009.
Crusading for Modern Islamic Art, Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet, March 26, 2009.
Wajahat will be speaking at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in Doha, Qatar (January 16-19, 2009)
Finding the middle ground, Hesham Hassaballa, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 2009.
Shahed will be speaking about Muslims in the political process at the 8th annual Texas Dawah Convention in Houston, Texas (December 27, 2008)
Skyscraping ambition for Mecca, Ali Eteraz, The Guardian (UK), Comment is Free (December 18, 2008)
Zahed will be leading a technology workshop for European Muslim professionals at the Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria (November 16-20, 2008)
Zahed will be a keynote speaker at the inaugural meeting of the Network of European Muslim Technology Entrepreneurs, in Madrid, Spain (November 14, 2008)
Shahed will be a featured panelist at Red Faith/Blue Faith: Religion in the 2008 Election and Beyond at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC (November 7, 2008)
Let the Global Islamic Conspiracy Begin, Ali Eteraz, Jewcy, (November 5, 2008)
Zahed will be a guest on Press TV's Islam & Life, hosted by Tariq Ramadan, speaking on French and American Muslim experiences (November 3, 2008)
Zahed will be a guest on Irish broadcaster RTE's Spectrum radio show, speaking about Barack Obama and the Muslim factor in the US presidential election (November 1, 2008)
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Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Islamic Society reaches out to other faiths - "ISNA is very interested in extending their connections with Protestant groups," said Rafia Zakaria, an Indiana lawyer and associate editor at altmuslim.com, a Web site that looks at Muslim issues. "Having a figure as high profile as him gives them legitimacy to extend those kinds of alliances with church groups that have a significant amount of power in the United States." (June 21, 2009)
American Muslims, Jews rate Obama’s speech - "He was really pressing for people to say in public what they say in private. Everybody knows what the solutions to a lot of these problems are and I think there is vast agreement on what they are going to be. But nobody really talks about it and puts the cards on the table," said Shahed Amanullah, editor of the Web site altmuslim.com. (June 5, 2009)
A place to explore Muslim American life - "The biggest challenge facing us is more internal - asking the deeper question. Okay, now that we know that we are Muslim Americans or American Muslims, whatever you want to call us, what does that mean?" (May 23, 2009)
The great potential for online Muslim media - "A recent study in the US implies a correlation between non-Muslims who fear Islam and those who don't know any Muslims. The more Muslims get to know their non-Muslim neighbours, the more ability they will have to influence them." (April 29, 2009)
Obama’s entreaty to Islam surprises Muslims - "Here's where the American public is going, and here's where Obama is going and trying to head it off," said Shahed Amanullah, editor and publisher of altmuslim.com. The Bush administration asked Amanullah for help in shaping dialogue with the American Muslim community. "He's heading it off on a global level," Amanullah said. "He's starting at a core of the problem. The core of the problem is the crisis overseas." (April 8, 2009)
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Holy Land Foundation
From unindicted to unconvicted
With high expectations and pressure from above to deliver, prosecutors had few options but to forge on in the Holy Land Foundation trial. Too bad it was doomed from the start.
By Shahed Amanullah, October 22, 2007
Albert Einstein once said that the "definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." For a modern example, witness the trial of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation (HLF), once the largest Muslim-American charity and the latest bellweather for the US Justice Department's legal pursuit of alleged supporters and sponsors of terror.
In the past few weeks, both supporters and detractors slowly came to the realization that the high-profile court case might collapse. And as expected (even if no one expected how), District Judge Joe Fish declared a mistrial in the case this week, leaving defendants jubilant. Prosecutors were left to contemplate why what they thought was a surefire case became just another in a string of lackluster - and failed - anti-terror cases brought against Muslim-Americans and US-based Muslim charities. With so much experience behind them, they should have known better.
From the early days of the trial, there were signs of shakiness from within a prosecution egged on by zealous opponents of the HLF. As in previous cases, the prosecution overwhelmed the jury with circumstantial evidence (much of it related to the linking of 300 "unindicted co-conspirators") and hoped for an aggregate impression of guilt in the minds of jurors. Courtroom onlookers noted looks of confusion on faces in the jury, and further news of behind-the-scenes drama in deliberations (rumor had it that one juror refused to vote) resulted in Judge Fish issuing an " Allen charge" in order to pressure jurors to reach a verdict. By this time, prosecutors feared the worst.
In the end, most of the jury didn't accept the charges and many verdicts were not rendered (the mistrial itself was due to the recall of the otherwise unanimous verdict by two jurors). "I thought they were not guilty across the board," commented juror William Neal. "There was so little evidence." Two of the Holy Land Foundation's leaders, Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi, had no decision made on a collective 69 charges made against them, while the remaining defendants were found not guilty on 93 of 96 charges - though the mistrial declaration ironically wiped out 62 of those not-guilty verdicts.
Part of the reason why guilty verdicts were so hard to come by is because the prosecution attempted to argue that moral support for the Palestinian people in certain areas where Hamas operates is " effective support" for terrorist acts committed by that group. But even though recent history showed the futility of this approach - witness the extensive and expensive trial against Sami al-Arian, which had similar results - prosecutors may not have had a choice, since there was never a "smoking gun" that directly connected any of the named individuals with actual acts of terrorism. By overreaching yet again, the case was almost certainly doomed from the start.
Theoretically, a mistrial means that the case can be tried again with the hope of reaching a unanimous verdict. But the mistrial outcome obscures the fact that not a single "guilty" verdict was offered, which does not bode well for a future conviction. As in previous terror-related cases, the prosecution showed all their cards for the Holy Land trial, which leaves the defense with a significant advantage in finding weaknesses in any future case, which - barring new information coming to light - will have to be prosecuted the same way.
Beyond this, the Holy Land trial involved more than just the five indicted men - namely the hundreds of so-called "unindicted co-conspirators" publicly named in the case in order to allow hearsay and to create the impression of a vast Muslim-American conspiracy to support terror. After struggling to understand exactly what that status means (other than a stain on reputations), those named - include ISNA, CAIR, and other Muslim-American groups - are continuing their efforts to find legal means to remove their names from the list. Despite being accused of conspiring with individuals who have now been de-facto vindicated of nearly 200 charges, much public relations damage has already been done.
The first time a Muslim or Islamic charity was acquitted (or convicted of technicalities), pundits brushed it off as an anomaly. With a few more failed attempts, some grumbled about gullible jurors or the ineffectiveness of the court. Now with the Holy Land case all but written off, many should pause to consider the efficacy of current anti-terror strategy. But if recent history is any judge, the Holy Land case will be followed by similar indictments (and un-indictments) with sketchy evidence and familiar results. Sadly, the insanity is set to continue.
Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.
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- Posted by Ayman Fadel (Augusta, GA, USA) on October 27, 2007 at 02:42 PM
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