Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, April 2007
By John Esposito and John Voll
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University

Sami Al-Arian and the American justice system are casualties of the erosion of civil liberties post-9/11. Sami is a proud and committed American and Palestinian professor and activist whom we have known for more than 15 years. We came to know of Al-Arian’s academic status and role at the University of South Florida, the high regard in which he was held as a professor, in conversations with the then-provost and others. Over the years we encountered him on occasion in Washington, DC at conferences sponsored by the Islamic think tank World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), which brought together prominent scholars and experts from academia, government, and the media.

Many believed that Sami Al-Arian and his co-defendants could never get a fair jury trial—that a jury would not be able to act impartially given all the pre-trial publicity—in Tampa. But despite more than 10 years of investigation and thousands of documents and pieces of evidence, the prosecution failed to prove its case. The verdict by a jury of Sami Al-Arian’s peers sent a clear message domestically and internationally that our system of justice could and did work. It was a message that quite literally went not only around the nation but also around the world.

Despite the verdict, however, Al-Arian was not released on parole before the final sentencing, and the price for his freedom was a plea agreement drawn up by the government and the defense to expeditiously deport Al-Arian.

While this in itself would constitute a punishment, it at least would bring the Al-Arian family’s terrible ordeal to an end and enable them to get on with their lives. Instead the judge’s decision to in effect throw out the verdict and ignore the Justice Department and defense recommendation made a mockery of our judicial system. The current attempt to put Al-Arian on the stand in an unrelated case and his imprisonment for declining to testify is unfair and vindictive. It is time for a modicum of justice to be served and for Sami Al-Arian to be allowed to leave the country with his family who have also suffered so much. His release will reflect the judgment of a jury of his peers and assure that justice has been served.

John L. Esposito is a professor of religion and international affairs at Georgetown University and founding director of its Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. John O. Voll is a professor of Islamic history and associate director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center.