Masnet
October 20, 2003
Interview with Abdullah Al-Arian
Link: Click here
Recently, MASNET spoke with Abdullah Al-Arian on the detention of his father, noted civil rights activist Sami al-Arian. The following was an interview conducted one month after Sami al-Arian’s detention in February 2003.

MASNET: Assalamu ‘Alaikum. Today were talking with Abdullah Al-Arian, son of noted civil rights activist Sami Al-Arian. Can you provide us, Brother Abdullah, with a brief synopsis, up to this point, of your father’s current status?

Abdullah Al-Arian: Well as you know, he was arrested on the twentieth of February, and charged with the association with terrorist groups, charges which he totally rejects, which we all completely object to as unfounded, and that he is a target of the campaign against the Muslim leaders in this country.

Since then, he’s been placed in solitary confinement at a federal penitentiary, which is about an hour and a half north of Tampa [Florida]. The conditions at this prison are very horrible for him, their very hard on him, and his family as well. He has been out there since earlier this month after a five day hearing, in which the judge heard a testimony from about 30 character witnesses, and the government presented no evidence and no witnesses to justify denying him bail, with the judge ruling in their favor. So now he’s still currently being held. He’s gone on a hunger strike since the twentieth of February. It’s been over two months that he’s only been living off of water and nutrition from medications because he’s diabetic. He’s lost about forty-five pounds so far, and his health is slowly getting worse. But he’s doing it to protest the treatment by the American government, because he’s a political figure.

MASNET: When was the last time you saw your father?

Abdullah: I saw him about three weeks ago when we were out there. At six thirty we’re allowed visitations twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. And I saw him before I came to Washington for one day.

MASNET: And how was his demeanor, how did he look, how is he feeling?

Abdullah: He was very visibly distraught by the treatment by the government agents, by the marshal service, by the guards at the prison, which was very awful and not becoming of someone who has only been charged, and not even tried or convicted or sentenced with any crime. And yet he’s being treated like a convict, like a criminal.

MASNET: So he’s being held in the same facility as murderers and rapists?

Abdullah: Yeah.

MASNET: I understand he’s in a federal penitentiary. He was moved from another facility?

Abdullah: Yeah, he originally was placed in a holding cell in Tampa, Florida. It’s just a local jailhouse, and the conditions they were a lot more tolerable than where he was moved subsequent to the bail hearing.

MASNET: You’re currently in Washington D.C., what is your purpose here?

Abdullah: Well, I’m here on a visit hoping to rally the support of the Muslim community, especially the leaders of the national Muslim organizations, because, as everyone knows, we are in a crisis situation now, with not only my father being targeted, but I think his case speaks volumes to the status of Muslim civil rights in general, and now is the time to act and to respond to the conditions. And we can’t sit idly by while our leaders one by one get attacked and persecuted for there work and you know, now is the time to act, and I’m here to hopefully meet with some leaders and to hopefully start developing some sort of committee. It’s in the works now. It’s named The National Liberty Fund and it’s made up of many Muslim organizations and other interested parties to basically counter what’s taking place now against our people in our community.

MASNET: Now, are you getting help from organizations like the ACLU, or any of the other mainstream civil rights organizations?

Abdullah: I think it’s a little premature for some of these people to get involved because the constitutional issues have yet to come out. As of now, we’ve only begun to see the beginning of the case and some of the evidence that the government, supposedly, it has. And I think once things start to come out in the trial, I think a lot of these groups will come on board and start to defend us. At this point, because the constitutional issues have yet to be introduced, that these issues haven’t come to bear, and so the ACLU and other groups haven’t taken up a very specific stand as of yet. And I think also that it’s a testament to the fact that the Muslim community needs to act first, the Muslim organizations need to act before we can expect some of these other groups to help.

MASNET: Now your father is being tried on charges with evidence that’s not presented to him, under the so-called “terrorism laws”, these are laws that are incorporated in the current Patriot Act. How are they different or similar to the secret evidence that was maybe used against your uncle, Mazen Al-Najjar?

Abdullah: Well, the Patriot Act, which came after September 11, which was pushed very heavily by John Ashcroft and the Justice Department, allowed the government basically to take steps that were previously never even heard of in terms of the ability to spy on American citizens, on residents of this country, in terms of collecting information in terms of them working with other groups, with foreign intelligence services and the wire taps, and that sort of thing. Ashcroft himself has said that if it weren’t for the Patriot Act the indictment would not be possible. And I think that should alert most Americans to just what is it in the Patriot Act that makes it so easy to come up with something that’s bogus basically. Because it’s not based on any real evidence, nothing that can be presented in trial for conviction. And you know very kind of loose association that are present in the indictment.

MASNET: This has to be very stressful on your family, this whole process. I understand you have four younger siblings and of course your mother. Can you please tell us how your family is going through this process right now?

Abdullah: Well it’s very difficult, I mean for my mom to have to suddenly take control of our family, and to have to basically be you know kind of be the breadwinner. She doesn’t work, she has no way of supporting us. The rest of us are still students, we’re trying to take a little bit of that responsibility. The community has been very helpful and supportive. But at the same time I think it’s even more difficult for my younger siblings.

I have two siblings that are still in grade school, and the other two are still in college, and it’s very stressful on all of us, but, Alhamdullilah, we’re trying to remain patient and strong. We’re very grateful, thankful, for the support from different people in our community, and again, in a very difficult time. But we’re not exactly sure how to handle it.

MASNET: Speaking of the community, do you feel that in the Muslim community there is enough outrage over the issue, or is there a lukewarm reception, or are people putting the issue aside, other Muslims that not related to you, or from within your local community or nationwide? What is your reaction to that, and do you think that there is enough activism going on, and in your father’s case specifically?

Abdullah: Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s enough activism at all. In fact we like to say that, unfortunately, the “talking off” policy that has been used in on the war in Iraq, has also been used against our community in America. And the Muslims here have fallen victim to that. And it’s worked brilliantly against us because most people are kind of just in the state of complete fear and shock and do not know how to respond. And so the outwards hasn’t been as much as one would have expected. Especially given my father’s prominence in the community, and all the work that he’s done; he was very well known throughout most cities in America, and most communities. And it hasn’t been that good of a response you would expect to see of someone in his position. And I think so far you know – it’s been two months ago – very little has been done in these two months. And there’s a feeling that time has been lost, and that we have to kind of make up for that time, that’s been wasted, and to really begin working double-time to cover the ground that’s been lost in some sort of fashion.

MASNET: Is that one of the major reasons you’ve come to the Metro area?

Abdullah: Exactly.

MASNET: Do you feel disappointed that you have to come?

Abdullah: I would suppose so actually. The responsibility falls on all the community leaders and I’m by no means a leader, I don’t have the kind of reputation a lot of these people have. I’m simply Dr. Sami’s son. And I’m here hoping to basically bring whatever little that I can do and say to people in order to motivate them, and in order to keep the issue on their mind, and maybe as a family member I can do that to some extent, but I think that the real onus falls on the leaders in this community who really should take it on themselves to show that its time to basically bring about the fight that’s against us.

MASNET: And you took out time from your studies to do this?

Abdullah: Yes, I’ve been here for a few weeks now, and I hope to return in about a week to my studies and complete my master’s degree this fall. Yeah, until then I think this is always going to be something that I will have to take on as a huge priority.

MASNET: This is a little bit of a difficult question, maybe it won’t have to be answered. What would you say to those people that may privately hold that the charges the government has against your father may be true?

Abdullah: Well I think that it’s very unfortunate on the whole. I mean it’s something that hasn’t been backed by any evidence, hasn’t been backed by any witnesses. A lot of it is just conjecture. It’s a lot of kind of hocus pocus. I think that this indictment itself is a testing to the fact that the war on terrorism domestically has been a huge stereotype. The fact that hundreds of people have been arrested, even thousands of people that have been arrested since September 11, maybe one indictment that has been brought that has any links to any real terrorist act. And I think that’s a testing to the fact that this administration is really kind of concerned with the fact that they haven’t been able to produce any real terrorist threat, any real charges against anyone. And so they’re targeting no one other than the really effective members of our community who have done nothing but try to be as moderate as possible, and tried to bring the Muslim community closer to American society, tried to increase our involvement in the American political system.

I mean these are the things that my father has done publicly, that everyone knows about. And yet these charges speak nothing to that. And the stupid thing about that, is that their usually disputed, and I won’t get into the exact rebuttal at this point, but I think the months ahead may definitely show that the charges are completely false, and there is no basis for them what-so-ever.

And I think that he’s only guilty of being a Palestinian refuge and of being a Muslim, and in support of his country, in supporting of cause he believes in. And I think that there’s a danger to all of us, because all of us hold the belief that, to some extent that, everyone has a cause, everyone, as Muslims believe in a lot of these callers to the Muslim world. And it’s very unfortunate, and so I feel like I don’t really know that many people who might help me through this stuff. And it would be unfortunate for them as well.

MASNET: This phenomenon you mentioned of trying to explain to the general American public, or trying to assimilate, or to moderate…do you think this in any way has affected placing the case of your father on the side, as somebody that they would want to stay away from just because of the charges? That we would not want to have an issue out in the open for us to take on because it might taint our moderate message for some organizations in the city or for individuals as well?

Abdullah: Well, thankfully, I haven’t seen that directly at all. All the organizations we approached have been very forthcoming. They’ve been very supportive, and very helpful so far. They’ve offered to help, and it’s going by committee. I haven’t really noticed that so far.

I can understand that this may exist in some places. I think that it’s very unfortunate for those groups themselves because they will be marginalized in the end, and everyone will begin to take on this cause, and everyone will begin to support this issue. And I think that this will be a victory for all us, where to lose this case, will be to lose everything, because there’s no telling where they will stop, if they somehow went against this case.

MASNET: What organizations have been cooperative with you so far?

Abdullah: I understand there are Muslim leaders in agencies like AMA, MAS, and basically, those are kind of the leading groups within the Washington area that have given support and have been very helpful so far.

MASNET: These groups are doing their part, now. But what would you tell to the average American Muslim that goes to work everyday? What message would you want to give to them, and do you feel that you would like to stress anything about what you would like the American Muslim community as a whole and individually to do?

Abdullah: Well, I think that they need to understand that the attack isn’t on a specific individual, it’s an attack on an entire community, and that includes them. And so from a self-interest point, a lot of people need to understand that this is a project that they need to take on because they could be next, or someone they love could be next. And again, as I said before, there’s no telling where the government might stop if people let this one go. And so I think that everyone needs to understand that this is a very severe situation that we’re in, and the attacks on our rights will not end unless everyone steps up to take a part in the struggle.

I can understand that their may be fear, but I think that fear is the interest of the government to continue with their attacks on different leaders in this community, or even members of the community who aren’t leaders, you know, who are just average Muslims who go to work everyday. I think that they’re an easier target, and I think that we know that for the past couple of years there have been a lot of individuals that have been detained under very questionable circumstances.

MASNET: You know with all that’s happened with your father, and with the state of civil liberties since September 11, and even before that; personally, how does this affect your feelings as being an American?

Abdullah: I think my faith in this country, the fact that the leaders of this country who professed so many of these values that I believe in, things that we find in our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and just the American tradition, in terms of the way that the Civil Rights movement occurred and the aftermath of that, it really sinks my faith in it a little bit, because you have to wonder, why is this happening now?

After everything that we’ve been through as a nation, this is the worst course of action that we can take. And unfortunately, I think that our government and our Constitution has been taken hostage, it has been hijacked by the likes of Ashcroft and neo-conservatives, and the American political system at this point.

Unfortunately it’s something that we have to fight, because I think that ultimately this isn’t the fight that will be lost, it has to be won. The history of our country says that it will be won, because justice has always won. It will definitely take some time; it will take a lot of effort and will be very painful for a lot of people. And at this point, of course, my family is kind of on the frontlines of that battle. And I think other families will also be there, and we need to unite as community, but also as a nation. I think that we can defeat this, and really try to fulfill the promise that this country gave to us; especially to the immigrant communities like my parents and my grandparents to come here.

MASNET: How does this affect you religiously? This is understandably testing you.

Abdullah: Yes, I think that you understand very clear that this is a test from Allah (SWT), and on the Muslim community. And as a Muslim family we realize that Allah tests those only up to the point that they are able to handle it. And if this increases our faith dramatically, exponentially, it increases our faith by a lot. Every time I speak to my father I realize that he’s been, you know, no matter how everything else goes as far as spiritually, he’s very, very spiritual. He’s very much at peace, probably more than he’s ever been in his life. Which I find very remarkable, and incredibly, I guess, strengthened to me, personally. And also just the patience of who’s been able to demonstrate, and my mother as well because of the wisdom and strength she’s been able to show in this terrible situation. We’ve been very thankful too, and we’ve turned to Allah (SWT). We’ve turned to our faith as kind of an escape from kind of the pain that’s been caused by the situation.

MASNET: Your father is going through an ordeal now, your uncle has been through one. And you actually had a minor, well a scrape, with federal authorities on a recent visit I believe about a year, a year and a half ago, to the White House. Can you please tell us what happened?

Abdullah: Well it was the summer of 2001 and I was interning at the office of [former] Congressman David Bonior (D-MI) for the summer and I was invited with a delegation of the American Muslim leaders to attend a briefing at the White House’s Office of Faith Based Initiative. We were basically there to speak with some representatives on the faith-based initiative and to basically decide as a community whether Muslim leaders should begin to oppose or endorse the new program by President Bush. I went there as maybe one of four or five interns, on the left was the Muslim leadership, about twenty other people.

And about fifteen or twenty minutes into the briefing I was escorted out by a secret service agent who came into the room and said, “I have orders that you need to be escorted out this building” and he provided me with no explanation whatsoever. And as soon as the leadership at the meeting found out about it, they decided to walk out and protest it without action. It made a lot of headlines and there was a press conference afterwards and the next day there was a presidential apology issued through his press secretary Ari Fleischer. And the secret service sent a couple of officers to my office in congress to apologize personally and had written me letters of apology and President Bush signed a letter of apology to my mother. And so that was basically the incident, but again it seems like an incident of profiling and targeting. So it was just an experience, but definitely one that I’ll continue to remember.

MASNET: Do you think that it was just that you were a young random Muslim with the other interns, or because you were Sami Al-Arian’s son?

Abdullah: Well, I’m not sure of that because they never gave an explanation and every time we asked to try to find out what the issue was for them, they kind of scurried around and said it was simply a mistake. It was a mistake.You know they kept repeating the fact that it wasn’t intentional and that there was a screw up somewhere in their security offices. Why it occurred after I was let in by uniformed units, I’m not sure why that happened. Why did it happen?

My father himself went to the White House for a meeting with [Vice President] Dick Cheney about a week earlier before that incident and nothing happened to him. So, I think that kind of dismisses the fact that it could be because of my last name or anything like that. I mean it could be targeting, and it could just be someone who wanted to disrupt any meeting between Muslims and the administration. And I think that’s ultimately what it did.

MASNET: Well, obviously your family does not have good relations with our government at this point. Is there anything you would like to tell American Muslims or others in general, or the overall outlook for your campaign?

Abdullah: Well, I think it’s important now that we recognize the time that we’re living in. I think, unfortunately, taking a little while – again going back to the idea that there has been “shock and awe” administered on the Muslim Community in America – it’s taking us some time to realize exactly what’s happening, but I think now is the time to stand up for it.

You know, the Patriot Act has been passed, there’s currently a Patriot II on the board. And that’s just an outrage to everyone. I think we all need to seriously realize what’s happening. This is something that’s going to affect not only the immigrant community here, but even American born citizens are going to be targeted, regardless of their basis of citizenship.

On elements of this new bill passage, more people will continue to be arrested, and detained unjustly, all charged with bogus crimes. And I think that that’s something we all really need to be concerned with. It’s something that you really need to recognize; that this is a time to step up with the entire community, that everyone has a focal point on this, whether it’s through financial support, whether it’s through activism, through speaking out, through writing letters, making phone calls. I know it sounds repetitive because these are the things everyone’s always asked to do. But again, these are things we have to really get working on. We can’t do it alone, we can’t do it with only two people, or a couple of organizations working on it. There has to be everyone, it has to be all the Muslims.

We claim all the time that there are seven million Muslims who live in America, well, where are they? We need to see the fruits of our labor and the results of our numbers in action. And so I urge everyone to really take on the issues. And I think that in the case of my father, Dr. Sami Al-Arian, it’s going to be the foremost case in our time in our civil rights struggle. So, I think everyone needs to realize that in order for us to take on this case specifically, because if we win this, I assure everyone that it will be a trmendous victory, and it can be won. It can be won. If it meets the effort of everyone involved. And once it is won, I think that we’ll take it to much newer heights. Little was known before of this crisis.

MASNET: Thank you for your time and I wish you all the luck.