Is there a pattern of targeting Arabs and Muslims by the current US administration? In June 1996, President Clinton
signed into law one of the most repressive pieces of legislation in our time: the "Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act." Since its the passage, the Justice Department has held and deported over 12 Arabs of
Palestinian, Egyptian and Algerian origins, on the basis of "secret evidence."
In this decade "international terrorism" has replaced "international communism" as Public Enemy Number One. Yet, there is no evidence of foreign
involvement in most of the highly publicized incidents in recent years in the US in which civilians were killed, such as the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building and a park at the Atlanta Olympics. Nevertheless, in
each of these cases, the government and media were quick to suggest that "foreign terrorists" were responsible. From what we know, there were no international connections in the World Trade Center bombing in NYC in 1993, nor
is there evidence that the FBI (as well as the Israeli and Egyptian secret police) knew about the plan ahead of time and allowed it to go forward.
Is there a justification for targeting Muslims and Arabs, in the
US or elsewhere? According to the US Department of State publication, 1996 Patterns of Global Terrorism, of the 296 recorded international terrorist incidents, only 15% originated in the Middle East. The majority
of incidents, 41%, originated in Europe, and 28% in Latin America. In the same year, of the total 73 Anti-US Attacks, 4% originated in the Middle East, with the majority, 79%, in Latin America, and 11% in Europe. Also,
international incidents have decreased from a little over 600 in 1985, to 296 in 1996. Despite these facts, of the 7 countries identified as having "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism," 5 are
Muslim populated countries. Of the 52 "foreign terrorist organizations" classified by the Secretary of State, nearly 32% are identified as Islamic or Arab groups.
Do we need new legislation to combat "international
terrorism"? It's too late to ask the question. The Anti-Terrorism Act is now law and the stereotyping of Muslims & Arabs was used to get it passed.
Initially introduced in 1995 as the Omnibus Counter-terrorism Act, an
ad-hoc alliance of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans opposed to expanded federal police powers, a less harmful version of the original bill passed with the following provisions: the following are excerpts from a
paper published by the New York Network Against the Counter-Terrorism Act, entitled The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act: Repression Under the Guise of Protecting the People.
1)
Criminalization of International Fundraising and Humanitarian Aid: This law makes it a crime to raise and contribute funds, donate educational and humanitarian supplies, or to provide lodging or other forms of "material
support" (with the exception of medicine and religious materials) to designated foreign terrorist groups. This could include making donations to the legal defense funds of Zapatista or IRA political prisoners, or sending
funds or supplies to medical clinics and Islamic schools in the Palestinian West Bank.
2)Creation of a List of "Foreign Terrorist Organizations": "Terrorist activity" is defined broadly. It includes
hostage taking, vehicular sabotage, and the use of an explosive or firearm with intent to endanger the safety of others or damage property. Under this definition, any liberation movement that takes up arms against a
repressive regime friendly to the US (or even damages property in that country) could receive a terrorist label.
3)Banks must Freeze Funds: The Secretary of the Treasury will direct banks and other
financial institutions to freeze the assets of these designated groups. Under the threat of heavy fines, the law also directs banks to freeze the assets of individuals and groups (including US citizens and domestic groups)
that the banks believe are "agents" (undefined) of designated foreign groups, with no mechanism to appeal.
4)Deportations of Immigrant Activists Without Due Process: The Attorney General can bring
politically active immigrants before newly created "Alien Terrorist Removal Courts," with their judges possibly drawn from a secret court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). In these deportation
proceedings, the Justice Department can use secret evidence--information that is classified to protect "national security"--which the jailed immigrants will never get to see.
5)
Denying Entry to the US based on Guilt-by-Association and Political Advocacy: The law prohibits entry into the US of immigrants or visitors who are alleged members or representatives of designated foreign groups, or who
have allegedly "incited terrorist activity." Well-known foreign journalists invited to speak in the US can now be refused entry based only on such alleged associations, or based on their writings which would normally be
protected in the US by the First Amendment.
6)Criminalization of Financial Transactions with Designated "Terrorist States": It is now a federal crime, to engage in a financial transaction with a
foreign government that, according to the US, has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. This gives the US government an additional tool to target people who are sending used computers to countries
like Cuba to link hospitals and rural clinics, or humanitarian groups assisting Iraq in rebuilding its health care system.
7)Creation of New Federal Crimes: The law turns many state crimes into new
"federal crimes of terrorism." It also creates two new crimes with international scope and harsh penalties: "Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries" and "Conspiracy to Harm People and Property
Overseas." For example, disabling (or attempting to disable) a Border Patrol vehicle just north of the US-Mexico border by Mexican day laborers, who planned their actions just south of the border, would constitute a
trans-national act of terrorism, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
8)Expansion of FBI surveillance and Other Operations: By turning protected political activity into new federal crimes, the
anti-terrorism law gives the FBI a legal green light to step up its surveillance of immigrant communities and hundreds of organizations in the US that support struggles for freedom and justice abroad. The new law also
completely drops a prior ban on investigations of international solidarity work protected by the First Amendment.
9)Gutting the Right of Habeas Corpus: The "Effective Death Penalty" component of the new
law does not even claim that it is concerned with terrorism...The new law drastically limits the ability of state prisoners to receive habeas corpus review in federal court of their convictions and sentences, including death
penalty cases.
This law, in combination with the often-hysteric and generally stereotypical portrayal of Muslims in the media combines to threaten the civil rights of over 6 million Muslim Americans. More important,
however, is the threat they pose to the rights and freedoms of all citizens of this country, a nation that was founded on the principles of liberty and justice for all.
For more information, please contact the Islamic Networks Group at (408) 296-7312.
