Dear Friends,
As you know, the Bush Administration has frozen the assets and has
confiscated the records of the largest Muslim Charity in the United States,
the Holy Land Foundation. That charity collected Zakat and Sadakat money
and diverted them to needy people in Palestine. Thus, the measures taken
against the Holy Land Foundation by the Bush Administration, under the garb
of anti-terrorist laws, serve two concurrent objectives:
- to help Sharon besiege the Intifada
- to paralyze the legal and legitimate political action of Arab and Muslim
Americans by associating it with "terrorism" and the September 11 attacks in
New York and Washington D.C.
Below you shall a petition demanding that the U.S. government reverse its
action on the Holy Land Foundation.
You are strongly urged to sign this petition using the link at the bottom of
the post.
And please note that this petition does not start with the usual
opportunistic endorsement of the Bush administration's bombardment of
Afghanistan, its so-called anti-terrorist laws, or the misnomer "peace
process"..
Sign this petition now.
Later
Ibrahim Alloush
Media Coordinator of the Association against Zionism and Racism (AZAR)
The text of the petition:
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We, the undersigned, urge the United States
government to reverse its decision to freeze the
assets of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief &
Development (HLF), a highly respected charity that has
been helping thousands of needy families around the
world, especially in Palestine.
We are very alarmed by the actions that the US government has
taken against HLF, which negate the declared
statements by top US officials, including President
George W. Bush, that the war on terrorism is not a war
on the Arab and Muslim community.
We believe that targeting such a respected charity is an action
that touches every Arab and Muslim in this country, in
fact every American who cares about human rights,
justice and the welfare of the needy.
Since the September 11th attack on the Twin Towers and the
Pentagon, the US government has pursued a policy where
it has targeted Islamic, Arab and Palestinian
organizations and individuals, in a manner that often
lacks legal legitimacy. We demand from the United
States government to stop this discriminatory and
prejudiced policy.
The Holy Land Foundation has an impeccable reputation in aiding refugees not
only in Palestine, but worldwide. There is no evidence
to link the Holy Land Foundation to any "terrorist"
actions or groups, and this accusation remains
unsubstantiated.
We add our voice to the voices of major American Muslim organizations
including the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American
Muslim Council (AMC), Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim
American Society (MAS), Muslim Public Affairs Council
(MPAC), and Muslim Student Association of USA and
Canada who stated in an earlier statement:
"No relief group anywhere in the world should be asked to
question hungry orphans about their parent's religious
beliefs, political affiliations or legal status. Those
questions are not asked of recipients of public
assistance whose parents are imprisoned or executed in
the United States, and they should not be a litmus
test for relief in Palestine.
"Charity is a duty for people of all faiths. In fact, it is one of
the five 'pillars' of Islam. Islamic charities in this
country help American Muslims fulfill their religious
obligation to help orphans and the needy. The frozen
assets therefore belonged not to HLF, but to the
entire Muslim community. This action is particularly
disturbing, coming as it does during the Islamic holy
month of Ramadan, a time when Muslims make many of
their annual charitable donations.
"We ask that President Bush reconsider what we believe is an
unjust and counterproductive move that can only damage
America's credibility with Muslims in this country and
around the world and could create the impression that
there has been a shift from a war on terrorism to an
attack on Islam."
The September 11th attack should not be used as pretext to attack
organizations or individuals who support the Palestinian cause, nor
to take arbitrary actions against them without the due
process of the law.
Sincerely,
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