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Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 8:02 PM
Subject: [Mwananchi] Our Perspective on the DC area Sniper, Pt.
1
THE PEACE AND JUSTICE FOUNDATION
8604 Second
Avenue, PMB 173
Silver Spring, Md. 20910
17 Sha'baan 1423 (October 24, 2002)
I pray the authorities have the right man, because if they do
this recent string of serial killings will end. My heart, from the very
beginning of this ongoing tragedy, has gone out to the victims who have been
left behind (i.e., family and close friends of the deceased). If one or both of
the individuals who have been taken into custody are indeed responsible for the
murder and mayhem committed over the past three weeks, beginning on Wednesday,
October 2, 2002, the Washington, DC, region can collectively breathe a sigh of
relief.
What we know thus far is the following:
-
Two African American males - John Allen Williams (aka, John Allen
Muhammad), 42, and John Lee Malvo, 17 - were arrested at 3:19 this
morning (Thursday), while asleep in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice at a rest stop
in Frederick County. The older man appears to have ties to Tacoma Washington and
Alabama; while the young man may be a Jamaican immigrant.
- A
Bushmaster Assault Rifle (a civilian version of a military M-16, which
fires .223 ammunition) was recovered from the vehicle, along with a scope and
tripod.
- The back seat of the vehicle was reportedly modified in such a
way as to allow someone to be able to fire a weapon from within the vehicle
without detection.
- Reports indicate that "Muhammad" (the name the media
prefers to use) has spent at least 10 years in the military, and has been
described as a demolitions and weapons expert. (It should also be noted
that Williams reportedly changed his name to Muhammad last year.)
- John
Allen Williams ("Muhammad") is a Gulf War veteran, described as a
"perfectionist" and a "soldier's soldier," who reportedly received
training as a sniper. He has been described in one report as having expressed
regret for his Gulf War experience. He has also been described as having been
"affected differently than most others" by the September 11 attacks.
-
John Allen "Muhammad" has been arraigned on federal weapons charges; while John
Lee Malvo is reportedly being held in federal court as a "material witness,"
with juvenile status.
OUR VIEW
Official
statements which have been issued, thus far, by Muslim organizations (esp. from
the "major" well established Muslim organizations) are both predicable
but woefully inadequate. The fact of the matter is that these arrests will be
used by American demagogues and Islamophobes to further enflame and direct
public hostility against Islam and Muslims.
We can now expect the
following:
" A regional (Washington area) drama, which has received
some limited national coverage by the major networks, will now become one of the
major news items around the country for the foreseeable future, in both print
and broadcast media.
" Talk shows will once again trot out "terrorism
experts" who will do their best to tie this deranged individual (or individuals)
to the "Al Qaeda terrorist network." Efforts will also be made to tie these
individuals with other arrests/detentions which have been made in the Seattle
and Portland areas; and perhaps, the New Jersey area as well (New Jersey has had
the highest number of unconstitutional post-9/11 detentions of Muslim
immigrants).
" Media organizations will attempt to portray an image of
fairness and neutrality; occasionally making the politically correct
disclaimers, cautioning the public of the need to be careful not to paint all
Muslims with the same brush, occasionally quoting or giving spot interviews to
organizations like CAIR - while simultaneously doing what they do best: BLACK
BAG YELLOW JOURNALISM - at the expense of the millions of law abiding Muslims
living peacefully in the United States of America!
" Whenever there is
any legal proceeding in this case, it will be accompanied by a tremendous amount
of government-sponsored street theater. I seriously doubt that this case will be
prosecuted in the same way that the countless number of other serial killing
cases (involving White Christian Males) have been prosecuted throughout US
judicial history. It will be prosecuted in a way that will reinforce a certain
deliberately planted image in the public's collective consciousness (about Islam
and Muslims).
" At some point I expect that our opportunistic US Attorney
General (John Ashcroft) will personally enter the fray with some well timed
statements regarding his "Justice Department's" resolve to make America safe for
all its citizens, then use the opportunity to unveil some new initiatives being
undertaken in the "War on Terrorism."
" Generally speaking, Muslim
leaders, organizations, and the community-at-large will once again be on the
defensive - some might even engage in a little finger-pointing ('he wasn't
one of us…he was one of them') - instead of standing tall to confront this
new test, seizing the initiative and going on the offensive.
If indeed
John Allen "Muhammad" was a deranged "Muslim" who committed these heinous
premeditated crimes, we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was his
AMERICANISM and not his "Islam" that motivated him to do what he did!
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Director of Operations
To be
continued…
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