Justice suspended!
Since the events of September 11th 2001 Muslim
communities worldwide have faced an array of accusations from
supporting, financing and propagating terrorism to attacks on
Islam's applicability and equality. As a consequence of this
profiling, Muslims have faced religious discrimination, a withdrawal
of civil liberties and are being forced to choose between faith and
citizenship.
Here in Britain, a domestic front line has been opened against those
stereotypically labelled Islamist terrorists. This label has yet to
find suitable matches and lacks focus, merely providing an excuse
for the nationwide arrests of hundreds of Muslims merely on the
basis of suspicion. Bearded or un-bearded, veiled or unveiled,
practicing or non practicing Muslim - these are of no concern for
the authorities.
As a consequence hundreds of Muslims have been taken from their
homes, treated as criminals and locked in cells only to be released
without apology or explanation. These are the fortunate ones. There
are others who are at this moment, detained for as long as deemed
necessary, without charge or access to trial, simply because they
have no citizenship in this country. They have no recourse to
justice, being denied basic human rights and are forced to live in
conditions described as "barbaric" by home office representatives.
These men are detained under Part IV of the Anti Terrorism, Crime
and Security Act. Their prolonged and indefinite incarceration has
left their families in a state of despair, without financial or
physical support. Both men have families with young children who are
deprived of the loving shadow of a father. One of the men was denied
the opportunity to see his newly born child. This mafia style
policing is taking place in a democratic society whose judicial
system is supposedly based on a presumption of innocence until
proven guilty.
Furthermore, recent proposals by David Blunkett seek to expand the
anti terrorism laws to allow stricter measures to become the norm.
Currently those without British citizenship, foreign nationals, are
detained indefinitely. The proposed expansions would legalise
detainment of British nationals in exactly the same manner as
foreign nationals. These proposals include the usage of secret
intelligence as evidence - to which the defence are denied access,
government selected judges and no jury. The formation of this
special "terrorist court" is made even more sinister by the lowering
of the burden of proof to "a balance of probabilities" in lieu of
the established "beyond reasonable doubt".
This issue of incapacitating arrests without charge or trial has to
be confronted before it becomes an established practice. Our silence
now will undoubtedly condemn future generations to humiliation and
persecution. Some communities have taken the responsibility of
campaigning for the release of the detained as their own. In Luton,
Muslims are campaigning for two Muslim men who have been detained
for over 2 years without any charges against them.
The campaign for their release has made use of local MP's,
petitions, leaflets and mosques in a quest to increase awareness of
these unjust detainments. It is hoped that by increasing awareness,
pressure will build and force the authorities to review their
stance. At the very least, it will show that the Muslims do have a
voice and are not sleeping, oblivious to this dire situation.
Bearing in mind the Muslim communities extensive resources and
abilities, there needs to be a utilisation of the correct channels
in a unified manner creating the most pressure and the loudest voice
as was seen during the hijab issue. Insha Allah, a unified effort
will result in Allahs (SWT) blessing and His (SWT) facilitating our
success in this world and the next.
What needs to be done hereon is for us to utilise the available
channels and methods. These include:
• Coordinating community events nationally during the upcoming Bank
holiday weekend, between 9th and 12th April. Luton Muslims have
planned a conference entitled ‘Denial of Justice’ in coordination
with local masaajid on Monday 12th April. Representatives from
communities nationwide should then share resources to ensure these
events are as effective as possible and get as much positive media
attention as possible.
• Publication of this article on your websites and distribution to
mailing lists.
• Contacting local MPs and councillors to highlight this flagrant
violation of fundamental human rights.
• Creating opportunities for interviews of the detainees’ families
or responsible representatives with accessible media.
• Highlight the inconsistencies in the application of the law in
view of the hijab issue in order to shed light on the case of the
detained.
• Contact us regarding arrangement of events covering this issue in
order for us to publicise them within our communities.
• Suggesting other collective or individual activities.
Let us act now before it is our father or our sister who is the
victim and we cry out in desperation "...Our Lord, deliver us
from this land whose people are oppressors and raise for us from You
a protector and raise for us from You a helper.”
{Surah Al-Nisaa: Ayah75} |
%20enjoins%20justice.gif)
