From Steve Downs Esq.  Project SALAM

I am requesting that you send me the names of any groups that you know of who are supporting Muslims, even if the group is no more than just family relations. (And if you could include their Congressional Districts and nearby Congressional Districts I would be especially happy).   I am particularly interested in getting the names of Muslims support groups, because I have a feeling the Muslim and non-Muslim communities have been on parallel paths for some time without necessarily coming into contact with each other.  I would like to be able to create a complete list of all the groups or persons who are supporting our effort to free falsely imprisoned Muslims.

Hi Everybody – Yesterday a group of us with the Muslim Solidarity Committee (in Albany representing support for Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain)  had an opportunity to meet with Sean Shortell, the district dicector of US Rep. Paul Tonko’s office.  Mr. Shortell was helpful and sympathetic.  When we described our frustration that nobody in Congress seemed to be responsive to our concerns about innocent Muslims who had been set up and framed by the Bush Administration (and now extending into the Obama Administration) he suggested that we were not being heard above the clamor in Congress because we were not coordinated in our approach.  Individual Representatives have a difficult time being heard, but if a number of Representatives can come together on an issue and present a clear statement of what they want, other Representatives can join them and a movement starts to grow.

Mr. Shortell noted from his viewing of the Project SALAM web site, that what we are asking for is relatively simple – we want an independent inspection of the governments files in the Muslim “terrorism” cases, (similar to what occured in the case of former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska), to determine if the government itself believed that a crime had been committed (as opposed to charging Muslims based only on suspicion), and whether there was exculpatory information in the file which the government should have disclosed to the defense but was not.  (I am confident that if a “Stevens” review was conducted, most if not all the defendants would be released or given new trials because the secrecy of the government prevented them from disclosing exculpatory information.)

Mr. Shortell noted that we have groups from all over the country representing unfairly targeted Muslims, and therefore there are potential Representatives from all over the country that could get together in the interests of representing their constituencies to push for such a governmental review.  (This of course is the very premise as to why Project SALAM was founded in the first place.)  Mr. Shortell said that if we could provide him with a list of groups around the country (and presumably a statement from the groups to their local Congressional Representative as to why they wanted a review), he would try to coordinate the various Representatives into supporting just such an effort.

I think this is a good time and a good opportunity to take the steps suggested by Mr. Shortell.  So as a beginning I am requesting that you send me the names of any groups that you know of who are supporting Muslims, even if the group is no more than just family relations. (And if you could include their Congressional Districts and nearby Congressional Districts I would be especially happy).   I am particularly interested in getting the names of Muslims support groups, because I have a feeling the Muslim and non-Muslim communities have been on parallel paths for some time without necessarily coming into contact with each other.  I would like to be able to create a complete list of all the groups or persons who are supporting our effort to free falsely imprisoned Muslims,   If you know of such groups please send me the contact information (and Congressional Representatives) and I will put a list together.  Thank you very ! much.

Steve Downs
<swdowns68@aol.com>