February 9, 2010

     The "Convention for the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide" stresses the prevention of genocide more than prescribing its exact manner of punishment. Genocide does not have to be committed for the Convention to have effect. By defining "genocide" it seeks to avert agendas which will confirm the crime. Physical manifestations of genocide are preceded by psychological preparation and the resulting psychological damage to entire victim groups. There is no way not to apply this awareness to current pressures on Islamic communities in North America, so this is an obvious and rather late notation of a genocide warning for Islamic peoples in the U.S. (see also Canada), late, in that one could sense the program over twenty years ago without knowing the scope of its intentions. The threat of whole or partial destruction of this religious group is exacerbated by Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people, bombing of civilian Lebanon, invasion of Gaza, which placed essentially Islamic civilian populations without human value, in a manner politically acceptable to U.S. and Canadian governments.

      The heavy media campaign and foreign policy agenda targeting Muslim fundamentalism opened with the 1988 publication of Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses. The book became a global event as a bestseller. It teased portions of Islam with enough disrespect to provoke extreme reactions. Used tactically, it enlisted the West's entire intellectual media establishments in defense of Rushdie's freedom of expression and his life. It was as though social engineers had found a flaw line to sever the common ground of reason which allowed populations of religious difference to coexist. "Western Civilization's" attack on Islamic fundamentalism extended to the religion as a whole. The 1990-91 Gulf War, the initial crime in what has become a genocide of the Iraqi people, followed, and it is difficult to understand the Viking-Penguin campaign for Satanic Verses apart from its uses as a psy-war program preparing a global public for massive bombings of Muslim civilians. The difficulty that remains is, the program is no longer cultural warfare or specific wars for corporate profit, but relentlessly proceeds with a process that historically leads to attempted genocide of the group. It would be a strange bent of thinking to expect the destruction of Muslim peoples in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries slated for takeover by U.S. expansionism, not to devolve on North American Muslims as well. Because there is evidence of further US.expansion (Yemen, Sudan, Iran, Somalia) exclusively against Muslim peoples, there is no way to avoid placing a genocide warning for Islamic peoples in the United States. Some current notes are symptomatic of where we all find ourselves in 2010:

      * On February 3rd, 2010, in a New York City Court, a Muslim woman doctor was convicted of two attempted murders and armed assault. There were no victims, no wounded except for the woman doctor who was shot by U.S. forces while she was held in detention under armed guard. There was no valid evidence of the bullets she was said to have fired from a rifle in a small room. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, an MIT graduate and mother of three believes 2 of her children dead after her disappearance for five years and detention by Pakistani and U.S officials (see enforced disappearances). Amid reasonable doubt, the obvious injustices of the verdict suggest a New York City jury pool terrorized and propagandized by the "war on terror". U.S. military credibility remains problematic. In the Omar Khadr case (see previous) the prisoner may have been charged to cover a war crime against him by the aggressor forces. During a U.S. forces action in Afghanistan, Canadian Omar Khadr, was shot in the back while severely wounded, then tortured, and subsequently charged with murder. Three Muslim detainees at Guantanamo, intially declared "suicides" were apparently executed in torture sessions. Etc. The outrage to justice in each case, intentionally avoided by government, becomes a psychological warfare threat against all people.     Partial sources: "Day 12, USA v Siddiqui," Petra Bartosiewicz, Feb. 3, 2010, cageprisoners.com; "Despite U.S. Conviction, Questions Still Swirl Around Case Of Pakistani Scientist," Abubakar Siddique, Feb. 5, 2010, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty; "Siddiqui Denies Firing Weapon at American Troops in Afghanistan," Jan. 29, 2010, Voice of America; "Taliban: Returned kidnapped and raped housewife or we will execute American POW," Gordon Duff, Feb 6, 2010, Veterans Today; "Ignoring Torture Claims and Questionable Evidence, New York Jury Convicts Pakistani Scientist Aafia Siddiqui," Tina Foster, Petra Bartosiewicz, Amy Goodman, Feb.4, 2010, Democracy Now!; "Defense Begins Presentaton in Siddiqui Trial," Jan. 27, 2010, Voice of America.

      * Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah was reported "gunned down after firing on officers as the FBI raided a Dearborn warehouse" ("FBI kills leader of radical Muslims; 12 charged," Ben Schmitt, Niraj Warikoo, Robin Erb, Oct. 26, 2009, Pan-African News Wire), while the autopsy reveals he was shot in the back and genitals, receiving 20 to 21 gunshots in all. The chief medical examiner told reporters his investigator found the body handcuffed. There is possible evidence of wounding by a dog. The imam's mosque hosted mostly American converts to Islam; several news stories mention a community affinity with Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, deeply religious and provably persecuted, currently held in solitary confinement at a maximum security facility in Colorado.     Partial sources: "Dearborn police chief wanted slain imam's autopsy reports withheld," Cecil Angel, Feb 5, 2010, Detroit Free Press; "Detroit Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah Killed by FBI Agents in Dearborn ," Ben Schmitt, Niraj Warikoo, Robin Erb, Oct 29, 2009, Pan-African News Wire; Autopsy: "Detroit imam shot 20 times in FBI raid," Associated Press, Feb. 1, 2010,The Baltimore Sun.

      * There is no retraction of a government policy to grossly abuse Muslim suspects and prisoners within the U.S..Night`s Lantern pages concerned with mistreatment of some of the Muslims held prisoner by the U.S. from 2004-2008 can be found at: "political prisoners: detention of muslims and their defenders 2004 ~ 2005 ~ 2006 ~ 2007 ~ 2008". A common theme to many of the cases is the attempt to destroy the detainee's self-respect and reason.

      * Guantanamo prison camp remains open and those responsible for breaking Geneva Conventions, unprosecuted. Pages dealing with the mistreatment of the Muslim detainees at Guantanamo are found at Night`s Lantern's "the guantanamo camp 2004 ~ 2005 ~ 2006 ~ 2007" and "the guantanamo camp 2008".

      * In Canada the "War on Terror" initially provoked police raids on Muslim families, targeting and entrapment of the young, an illegal application of Canadian Security Certificates against five Muslim men without adequate evidence, and Canadian officials breaking Canadian and international law to comply with U.S. policies. Basic human rights of some Muslim Canadians had to be defended by the Supreme Court. Government policy was bent to support criminal actions of Israel during flagrant violations of international law. See genocide warning.

      * Religion News Service reports that although there is little prejudice against other religious minorities in the U.S., nearly half of Americans admit to having negative feelings about Islam ("Nearly Half of Americans Admit to Anti-Muslim Bias," Adelle M. Banks, Jan. 25,2010).

      * The laws against torture were broken by the Bush administration (see law archives), and contravene the U.S. military code of justice and field manual. Overt exception to its own and humanity's laws were made by the Bush administration specifically to deal with Muslims. Previously the torture taught by the School of the Americas and practiced by U.S. client governments in Central and South America was with U.S. participation, covert. The public humiliation of Muslim suspects, by torture, by lack of rights, by enforced helplessness, by lack of redress, becomes a destruction of the individuals but also of their families. Because U.S. courts have not stopped it, and seem helpless to bring under law U.S. secret detention and torture sites throughout the world, a necessary portion of law safeguarding humanity is not functioning. U.S. society proceeds under law but having sacrificed a group of Muslims, denied common humanity by torture. Again and again the victims are found to be innocent of any crime. Conclusion: they were allowed to be tortured because of their faith. Where does this process once it has started, end ?

      * Wars against the Muslim countries of Iraq and Afghanistan are proving to be genocide in their effects on the people. Despite increasing suppression of news concerning the effects of depleted uranium the destruction of civilian populations and cultures are terrible enough to show "intention" by the aggressors, and justify prosecution of administration officials pursuing either war. The Convention on Genocide has adequate legal standing within the U.S. for the law to be applied. It is not being applied.

      * Muslim charities in the US. have been targeted and largely closed. For an example see the case of Dr. Rafil Dhafir a humanitarian Muslim doctor who is in prison for showing compassion to Muslims.

      * There is a pattern of discrimination against Islam which can't be explained by the supposed faith of those accused in the World Trade Center destruction. Many people understand the September 11th catastrophe as a 'false flag' operation. While there aren't attempts to physically harm entire Muslim communities there is evidence of a campaign to psychologically imbalance, terrorize and impair and control the functioning of an entire religious group. There's evidence of extreme degradation and humiliation of Muslim detainees within the U.S.. The very high profile cases of torture at Guantanamo, at Baghram, at secret facilities, with token prosecution of the torturers and without redress for the victims, has as effect a public dehumanization of Muslim peoples. Torture is a profound symptom of dehumanization and if allowed, puts others of the victim group at risk. Then it puts us all at risk. Historically this inevitably leads to greater violations of human rights. The U.S. government was able to launch criminal wars of aggression against civilian populations and infrastructures of Afghanistan and Iraq. "Profiled" and threatened Islamic peoples in North America are under pressure to show their loyalty to the aggressors, and lack the freedom to protest crimes against foreign Muslim populations, or defend themselves against the outrageous. Islamic communities are psychologically at the mercy of the U.S. government's agenda. While the physical appearance of genocide is currently avoided within North America, there's a clear threat against an entire group to assure cooperation with criminal foreign policies. The false equation of Islamic faith with terrorism (and this rises from the guilt of killing hundreds of thousands of Islamic civilians), the clarity of injustices without accountability or redress, the relentlessness of a propaganda which denies human rights to its victims, are establishing a pattern which history recognizes as a crime.