To the Editor:
I hope you can publish my letter along with the other three letters you received from Gay Montague, Linda Bergh and Katherine Hughes.

Thank you,
Magda Bayoumi

Dr. Dhafir is not the only one

Since 9/11 our government have made it their business to have a Dr. Dhafir in every city and in every town to show us that they are doing something about terrorism. They are telling the people that we are safe now, as we had no attacks since 9/11 and that it is because we have Dr. Dhafir and other Muslims like him in jail. People need to ask why after 9/11 the Muslim population in jail increased by 700 to 800 percent. These are not Muslims who just came to this country, they have been here for 30 or 40 years. Some were even were born and raised here, and worked hard in this country to make it a better place for all of us.

The 17th of September had been declared as, ‘The Constitution Day’, however some people are willing to give up that constitution for what they believe to be safety. A recent study by Cornell University revealed an alarming trend of Americans who are willing to accept restrictions on the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, especially if they are applied to groups other than their own in the society. Have they forgotten these sayings, ‘Give me liberty or give me death’, or “Those who give up essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither”? Have they forgotten that so many people around the world are dying fighting for freedom as many of our forefathers did? Unfortunately, people trust the government so much, that they willing to lose their freedom and themselves.

According to the law, if you see a crime and you do not do anything about it, you are a participant in the crime. We see our government committing a crime everyday and many of us are not doing anything about it. Those brave people who speak out are called traitors or unpatriotic. Patriotism does not mean waving the flag, but means questioning the government, holding them accountable and forcing them to uphold the constitution.

We need to ask the government, how can they hold a person without charge for years like in the case of Jose Padilla, or the Guantanamo Bay prisoners? We need to ask why they use selective prosecution for Muslims like the case of Dr. Dhafir? We need to ask our government to respect the Constitution; because today it is Jose Padilla and Dr. Dhafir, and tomorrow it is you and me. Wake up America before its too late, before we find ourselves ending up like Germany over sixty years ago. We need to wake up for the sake of our children and grandchildren.