Rep. Pete King, the impresario of Capitol Kabuki, is very busy these days getting ready for his debut as the new chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

And for his opening act, some time next month, the congressman is planning a hearing on the radicalization of young Muslims by local religious leaders.

The New York Republican believes this is a serious problem. He says he has heard an increasing number of stories from federal law enforcement officials that U.S. Islamic leaders have not cooperated with police or are fomenting young Muslims.

“There’s a systematic effort to radicalize young Muslim men,” King told the Los Angeles Times. “It would be irresponsible of me not to have this investigation. If it was coming from some other demographic group, I would say the same thing,” he said.

But U.S. Islamic leaders are concerned that the hearing will be more like a McCarthy-style witch-hunt because of the over-heated rhetoric King has consistently used to attack the Muslim community in the U.S. They say he is “unfairly tarring the Muslim community,” which they said had “helped U.S. law enforcement break up terrorist plots.”

That statement would appear to be supported by a recent study by the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), entitled “Post-9/11 Terrorism Incident Database.” MPAC reported that:

• There were 77 total plots by domestic non-Muslim perpetrators against the United States since 9/11/01. In comparison, there have been 41 total plots by domestic and international Muslim perpetrators since 9/11/01.

• There are at least five incidents of non-Muslim domestic extremists possessing or attempting to possess Biological, Chemical or Radiological weapons. One of those occurred since Obama’s election. No such cases involving Muslim violent extremists have been reported since 9/11/01.

• Evidence clearly indicates a general rise in violent extremism across ideologies. Using Obama’s election as our measurement, since November 4, 2008 there have been 44 terror plots by non-Muslim domestic extremists.

By comparison, there have been 20 plots by Muslim domestic and international extremists. Each of these categories constitutes close to 50% of all violent extremism cases since 9/11.

• Yet MPAC found “little evidence of rising ideological extremism among American Muslims. We use Obama’s election as the start of a timeline for measurement. We found 14 out of the 19 post-election plots (74%) involved Muslim Americans engaging in ideological extremism before the vote. Only two out of 19 cases (10%) are individuals involved in extremist activities after Obama’s election.”

• Muslim communities have stepped forward to help law enforcement foil over one out of every three Al Qaeda-related terror plots threatening America since 9/11. Muslim communities have helped law enforcement prevent the last 7 out of 11 Al Qaeda related plots.

So far, King seems intent on brushing off approaches from Muslims that they get together with King to discuss the subject. Rep. Keith Ellison, one of two Muslim members of Congress, buttonholed King on the House floor and offered to volunteer himself and other witnesses as proof that several terrorist plots — including those in Times Square and in Virginia — were initially brought to the attention of federal law enforcement by Muslims.

MPAC wrote to King suggesting a meeting. As of today, King has not responded to either suggestion and says the hearing will go forward as planned.

But King’s lack of responsiveness has worried American Muslim leadership. Alejandro Buetel, MPAC’s government liaison officer and author of the Terrorism Incident Database, told The Public Record, “We have no objection to a hearing. We just want to be sure they are focused on real problem solving, not political theater.”

What concerns MPAC and other Muslim-oriented groups is what they characterize as King’s often-expressed prejudice against Muslims.

For example, he cited a recent Pew poll he said showed that 15% of young American Muslims believed suicide bombing was justified.

He has said, “I also know of imams instructing members of their mosques not to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the recruiting of young men in their mosques as suicide bombers. We need to find the reasons for this alienation.”

In 2004 King said on the Sean Hannity program, “…you could say that 80-85 percent of mosques in this country are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists…Those who are in control. The average Muslim, no, they are loyal, but they don’t work, they don’t come forward, they don’t tell the police.”

King has said there are “too many mosques” in the U.S.”

He has characterized American Muslim leaders as “an enemy living amongst us” [which does not] cooperate in the war on terror”.

In a 2004 non sequitur, King said: “The fact is while the overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding people, on the other hand 100% of the Islamic terrorists are Muslims, and that is our main enemy today.”

Two years later, King sent two letters to several thousand, mainly Jewish, constituents in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. The letters condemned American Muslim leaders, including those at the Islamic Center of Long Island (ICLI), for “failing to unequivocally denounce Islamic terrorism.”

Leaders of the ICLI, a Westbury-based mosque founded in 1985, supported King’s Democratic opponent in the last election, Nassau County Legislator David Mejias.

When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report in 2009 warning of the rising threat of right-wing extremism, King told TV host Joe Scarborough that, instead of discussing the threat of anti-government radicals, DHS should focus on the threat emanating from “Muslims” and “mosques” at home.

He said ”[DHS Secretary Janet] Napolitano has never put out a report talking about ‘look out for mosques. Look out for Islamic terrorists in our country. Look out for the fact that very few Muslims come forward to cooperate with the police.’ If they sent out a report saying that, there would be hell to pay,” King said.

“The (DHS) was set up primarily to protect us from another terrorist attack from Islamic terrorists, and yet they talk about everything but that,”  he said.

In an opinion column in Newsday, King wrote, “Federal and local law enforcement officials throughout the country told me they received little or — in most cases — no cooperation from Muslim leaders and imams.”

“There are too many mosques in this country,” King told Politico in 2007. “There are too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at them more carefully and finding out how we can infiltrate them.”

‘The leadership of the community is not geared to cooperation,’ Peter King says.

Corey P. Saylor, national legislative director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), called King’s investigation a “witch hunt.”

“If I saw that the hearings were sober and objective, I’d have no concerns,” said Corey Saylor, CAIR’s legislative director. “But King is opting for a political circus approach.”

CAIR has not been invited to testify at the hearing.

Rep. Ellison takes a more charitable view of Rep. King. “I don’t think Pete King is an evil person. He’s concerned about public safety and homeland security. And there have been cases where Muslims have done awful things. But it’s a narrow investigation, and it’s going to make a particular group feel targeted.”

“The bottom line is you have people who desperately want to help protect their country,” Ellison said, “and they are being nudged out of that opportunity because we’re told we are the problem.”

MPAC, in a January 7, 2011 letter to King, said the proposed hearings – as they are currently being framed – “would do little to solve the problem and would instead create an ugly political circus.”

MPAC called for a meeting with King to discuss his initiatives, the proposed hearings, and the efforts of the Muslim American community in fighting radicalization. “We certainly hope that Congressman King is serious enough about wanting to fight radicalization that he will take us up on this request in the coming days and weeks,” MPAC said.

“I hope my colleague from New York … does not make the mistake of trying to paint all Muslims with a broad, extremist brush,” Rep. Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat, who is the other Muslim in Congress. In an email to the journal, POLITICO, he wrote,  “Because for one, that’s not an accurate depiction of the millions of peace-loving Muslims; and two, our national security depends on us forging strong partnerships with people across the Muslim world.”

Possible witnesses, according to King, include the Dutch critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Zuhdi Jasser, the Arizona-based founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Jasser is a sharp critic of leading American Muslim groups, whose agenda he calls “Islamist.”

****

William Fisher, a regular contributor to The Public Record, has managed economic development programs for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Middle East, Latin America and elsewhere for the past 25 years and served in the administration of President John F. Kennedy. He reports on a wide-range of issues for numerous domestic and international newspapers and online journals. He blogs at The World According to Bill Fisher.

Dear Warden Jett:

After months of requesting you to meet with us in Communications Management Unit, you addressed us in Feb. 2008. Even though you hardly touched on the issues that we at CMU wanted to discuss with you, you mentioned that you had only 2 concerns:

1. Maintain security in CMU
2. No attempted escape.

I fail to understand how taking our own food from the Dining Area jeopardize either one of these two concerns.

If it is a matter to show us who is in charge, please rest assured that none has any illusion about this. If it is a matter of following policy, then what was going on for the last 2 years since we were brought here against our will?

Every time a “strange” new rule is announced I am told ” this is what applies to others in the compound”. I am willing to accept this argument if you are willing to allow me to be in the compound and treat me exactly as you treat every one else out there.

You have to admit and accept the fact that CMU is “different” from the rest of the compound. If not, please explain to me why am I restricted in my phone calls? Why can’t I have visits on weekends and holidays? Why can’t I have contact visits? Why I have no access to an open yard? Why are there no meaningful jobs for every one in CMU? Why am I restricted from going to the facility hospital but once a week regardless of how sick I am? Need I mention only some of the policy violations when it comes to CMU? ( e.g. Institution Supplement THX-5360.09c, 7, 8a, 8b, 9a, 10 a,b,c and d, 11k1-islam, 12e, 13 b,c and f, 18a and b), you know well that the dining area will not pass a Fire Marshal inspection. The tap water here is not potable. An inspection by the Health Dept. will definitely agree that it is the source of at least 2 cases of kidney stones, hair loss and the constant itching for many of us, just to mention a few.

If your concern is stealing food then please remember that the majority here are practicing Muslims. We simply do not steal.Our lockers are never locked. We had not had a single incident of theft for over 2 years since we were brought here. Besides, how is one to steal his own food? There is no food to steal. The food cart gets inspected on the way in as well as on the way out every time a meal is served.

If your concern is a health issue, our track record of over 2 years of no food poisoning speaks for itself. The only time there was an outbreak of viral gastroenteritis it was not from the food in CMU rooms but rather from J. Kennedy’s kitchen. Need I remind you of the rotten food served us on 9/14/08 which remedy #510416F1 is based on?

In your memo of 12/9/08 you justified your decision based on a memo from a J.Kennedy. No one here seem to know who this J.Kennedy is and no one (including the CMU staff) is aware of this Kennedy’s memo. It is said that it is easy to legislate from the bench. The fact that this J.Kennedy is an unknown in CMU indicates that he/she never or rarely set foot in CMU to realize the reality on the ground in here.

I, and many others, fast every Monday and Thursday as well as 3 more days every month for religious reasons. Something that I have done for years which Administration is well aware of as evidenced by a written memo from Mr. Henry upon our arrival here. This is a total of 11-13 days a month, in addition to Ramadan and other Holy Days. Depending on the time of the year, I am unable to eat at meal times. I cannot afford to buy my own food all these days if I am not allowed to store my meals as has been provided all along.

You have been in the “wardening” business for years.You know well that the best way to keep peace is to keep people busy. If not, they will complain, rightly or wrongly, about every and anything, verbally or by remedy process. There is hardly much to keep me/us busy here in CMU. No meaningful jobs, no outdoor recreational area, no real library (never mind about the library space), no adequate visits and phone calls, no meaningful live classes and education..etc.
Cooking is one of the ways to keep me/us busy and stay away from trouble. The food served here is far from being edible without spicing and further cooking. With only 2 microwave ovens for over 40 prisoners it will be a major riot trying to cook during the limited meal time.

I can go on and on but I hope that you get the picture.

Stubbornness is neither virtuous nor will it earn one respect. However, it takes a courageous man with wisdom to abandon a less than wise decision in favor of a better and more realistic one.

Please exempt CMU from this arbitrary decision because the old saying (If it “ain’t” broken don’t fix it) still applies.

Yours,
Rafil Dhafir

[You can find more information here to write to Warden Jett.]

Dr. Dhafir says:

There are a good number of us here who fast Mondays and Thursdays as well as 3 additional days every month for religious reasons. This is something highly recommended in Islam. This is a total of 11-13 days a month.

Please call Administration here constantly** and explain to them our request to accommodate us in such a simple request. We want no problem, just treat us fairly.

[** Phone number for Terre Haute: 812-238-1531. Please be respectful and courteous in all communication/correspondence.]

Help Dr. Dhafir’s have his concern heard by writing to:

Warden B. R. Jett
FCI-Terre Haute
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute IN 47808

———-

Here are examples of some letters that have been sent:

Dear Warden Jett,

Mrs. Claire Shearer, B.Sc. A.R.C.S.

——————–
Re Islamic religious hardship

Ed Kinane

—————

Dear Warden Jett,

Bob Elmendorf
Secretary, Dr. Dhafir Support Committee

United Kingdom
Nietzer Bales
Mr.& Mrs. Owen-Wales
Jean Pounder
Dorothy Birtles
Jo W & Friends Meeting House-Scotland
Jill Hathaway
Lydia Valliamy
Chris Booth
Susan Francis
Jan Durham
Shockport Quaker Meeting ( Elaine, Phoebe & others)
Gill- Oxford
Constance Burrough
Angela
Iman-Edinburgh
The Darbyshire group ( Michelle Denyer, Jane Taylor, Vivien, Pam, Sandra, J. Edwards, Machenzie, Anne Stones, Veronica, Tracy & others)

France

Desplanque
M. Guyard
Sylvie Niallet
C. Verrel
————————
Helen Bell-Spain
Gattis Laska-Sweden
Religious Socialists in Zurich- Switzerland
Heather McGushin-Australia

Thank you
Rafil

Two days ago, December 14, was my second anniversary here in CMU-Terre Haute, Indiana.

Two years ago, with dozens of others, I was whisked here without explanation, to this place reserved for those on death row.

The place was closed for years. It was filthy, with dead animals all over the place. It took days to clean it up to make inhabitable (no thanks to the idle staff).

In the beginning we were well accommodated in many things, mainly our religious needs. (The exception was the limit of only one 15 minute phone call per week and a maximum of 4 hours non-contact visits per month). But little by little all the “good” things were taken away to the point that they are trying to restrict our food as well. Our religious practices are severely curtailed.

Because we just celebrated our annual Eid (the end of Hajj or pilgrimage) I wanted to share our experience. We started the day, December 8th, with the prayer at 8:30 a.m., then had a gathering for a couple of hours for entertainment. We then had a meal that was prepared by us (the administration no longer provides a special Eid meal as they used to, but they continue to do so for Christmas). Afterwards, the movie Omar Mokhtar was shown.

But even this modest celebration was not easy to arrange. It was hard to find someone to give the Eid Sermon. Administration recently punished one of us for being outspoken during a Friday Sermon. They don’t provide clergy on a regular basis so we have to seek volunteers from among ourselves, but it is becoming dangerous to do so.

I love to bake. I volunteered to make a special dessert for everybody. I started collecting the material days beforehand as the resources are scarce here, only to discover the items missing from my room after the staff had a “shake down” of the rooms!!!!!!! I still managed to make dessert for all, including the non-Muslims. We made sure that nothing was going to stop us from enjoying our day of Eid, and we did.

No doubt the prayers and the well wishes of all who support us had an impact on our joy that day. I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all who have sent cards and letters of support for their kindness and thoughtfulness.

Rafil Dhafir is an Iraqi-American doctor whose multi-million dollar charity to Iraq violated the post-1991 sanctions, leading to unfounded accusations he funded terrorists, a malicious medicare fraud prosecution, and a 22-year sentence now being served in the Bureau of Prisons’ Communications Management Unit at Terre Haute penitentiary.

“I asked the warden around the holidays in December for a meeting with all of us here. He agreed, after I provide him with a list of the topics that concern us: I did. After waiting for almost three months, he finally showed up. I prepared myself to discuss the issues that concern us, with all the documents and statements and notes.

“The first thing he said, while every one (all 47 of us) was quietly listening, was that he had just brought bulletin boards for every one of us to use in his room to hang pictures on. That was never a concern of ours. Hearing this, I put my notes away and kept my mind far away from this place and its employees. He kept on for almost 2 hours.

“He made it very clear that “you,” meaning us, are nothing but “inmates” and that he is the “warden” and he does things as he pleases without any obligation to explain to any one of us why he does. To be fair, his tone and demeanor was not abusive but the message was clear.

“He claims:

• Medical services are adequate and good as he sees it.

• Phone calls and visits are not going to change. No promises, but “you might get 2 phone calls a week soon.” !!!

• The recreation area will be expanded. (We heard this from day one.)

• Email will start mid June. All equipment and connection in place weeks ago!!!

• Blocking outside windows (especially the eating area) to make it more depressing and prevent seeing daylight will not change.

• No half way houses for those about to finish their time.

• No help for those who are to be deported when finishing their time so that they will not be incarcerated by “ICE” further when they are out processing their cases.

• No bringing back of the prayer area we had for the first 6 months. No one [is] allowed to pray outside his room especially in a group (as mandated by our faith) other than once a week on Friday. He admits that our cells are too small for that.

• While our cells are small, we are much better off than any prison he has been associated with he stated!!!!

• No live educational programs.

• No educational programs more than the one-hour a week video!!

• He is waiting for an ok to have each prisoner have his own TV to make room for other usages of the TV room.

• No one will be issued any new clothes. This answer came after one complained that he was issued filthy underwear with “feces” in it that could never wash away.

• Any time someone brings a major issue, he asked him to talk to him one-on-one, as it was a “personal issue.” Never ventured to address it publicly.

• The major topic was the presence of an FBI agent among us. Several weeks ago they brought this “agent” to mingle with us. It was brought up to the warden’s attention that was illegal. It is one thing that this agent gets an office and does whatever he does away from us. But it is entirely different when he engages people to trap them. Aref got emotional and objected strongly that regardless of the warden assurances (“you are not obliged to talk to him or tell him anything” the warden said) he feared that this agent will fabricate stories about him (Aref) as they did to him all along (and me too and others) to land him here. One asked as to what law he can cite for this. The warden simply said that the FBI asked and he ok’d it!!! Another asked the agent to provide a written statement as to what his purpose of being here was and that he will not “entrap” people. The Agent and the Warden refused.

“The warden hinted that he might force us soon to wear like the general population of prisoners if we pushed the issue of providing new clothes for us.

“While I had many things to say, I kept my mouth shut. The first 30 seconds of his presentation was enough to convince me that the did not come to solve problem[s] but to enforce his authority especially when I noticed that for the entire presentation he never took a single note to himself as a reminder for the things that he claimed he will look into.

“As for my health, when the orthoped[ist] saw me and gave me an injection he said that he would like to wait for a month to evaluate the response. I knew better. I did not leave until the nurse with him made a note and promised that I have to do nothing as she will schedule me. Guess what!! It has been over a month & no follow up visit. Now I have to start my usual and familiar struggle to make them do what needs to be done. Have you heard this before?! [Smiley face.]”

————–
For more information on the CMU see, Dr. Rafil A. Dhafir at Terre Haute Prison’s New Communications Management Unit and, Dead Life in a Political Prison.

For more information on the medical neglect at the CMU, see here.

K.C. Saffron Walden, U.K.

M.F. and friends, Ilford, U.K.

F.L. & A.H., Villingen, Germany.

H.B., Malaga Province, Spain.

R.E.G., Vegreville, Canada.

L.B., Cambridge, U.K.

S.M., Hillsborough, U.K.

J. & N.McL. C., Liverpool, U.K.

J.H., Crowley, U.K.

M.C., Edinburgh, Scotland.

E.M., Netherlands.

G.B., Bedford, U.K.

S.F., Colchester, England.

Deutsche Friedens, Mainz, Germany.

D.B., Saffron Walden, England.

DFG-VK, Frankfurt, Germany.

T.F., Frankfurt, Germany

P.J., Lenah Valley, Australia.

S.McG., Lenah Valley, Australia.

R.A-T., Crawley, England.

M. & S.R., Nottinghamshire, U.K.

Finnish Union of Conscientious Objectors, Helsinki, Finland.

H.G., Winterthur, Switzerland.

D.H., Victoria, Australia.

M.T., County Wicklow, Ireland.

C.B., New Malden, U.K.

H.McG & Family, Lenah Valley, Australia.

C.H., Paris, France.

R.P., Frankfurt Group of the German Peace Society, Germany.

K.M.M., Kent, U.K.

Z.U.C., Beograd, Serbia.

M.P., Washington D.C.

Women for Peace, Amsterdam, Holland.

Thank you, from the Dr. Dhafir Support Committee
and the Muslim Solidarity Committee.

Warden Jett
United States Penitentiary
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

Examples of the Medical Neglect from correspondence with Dr. Rafil Dhafir and Yassin Aref:

Dr Dhafir wrote in August of 2007 to Katherine Hughes the following:

‘I am not in the habit of complaining, but you asked me to keep you informed of my situation.

‘I am having a great problem with the medical services here. They are ignorant, irresponsible and careless. Because of their neglect in not checking the results of my blood test from January and February ‘07, I suffered 2 painful attacks of gout needlessly. They put me on a diuretic for my blood pressure. Diuretics tend to raise the uric acid responsible for gout. In spite of my repeated attempts to have them look into this, they intentionally ignore it. I had to file a complaint so that I will exhaust all the routing before I decide on filing a mal practice law suit.’

——————–

Abridged from Yassin Aref’s “Dead Life in a political Prison” and corroborated by letters from Dr. Rafil Dhafir:

‘Another night at about 2 am I heard someone banging on the door of his cell and yelling, “C.O.! C.O.!” Other inmates started shouting, “What’s going on?” He yelled back, “It’s not me but my neighbor – he’s diabetic and he collapsed… he is crying for help.” We all started shouting for the guards to check on him, and the doctor [Dr. Rafil Dhafir] yelled that they should give him some honey or juice. It still took two hours until the emergency team arrived with a nurse. If his cellmate had not heard him and started shouting he would have died. Why is this a locked down unit but there are no emergency buttons in the cells?’

———————–

Excerpted from a letter dated June 4, 2007 by Dr. Rafil Dhafir to a friend:

‘Earlier a young kid with acute appendicitis was diagnosed as “food poisoning” …ignored for 48 hours until I saw him, made the diagnosis and demanded that he be taken care of right away. The criminals here made him WALK from his room upstairs to see the nurse or PA (no doctor) instead of going to his room. Needless to say his appendix burst. He was lucky to be still alive. We fear for our lives here from the lack of decent medical care. Our talk to administration regarding this got us no where.’

—————–

A death: (A full account is available at “Yassin Aref Life at the Communication Management Unit at Terre Haute Prison”.)

“But I was here when an inmate died. I still don’t know why but they said it was a heart attack. All we knew was his friend did not see him at breakfast, and after eating went to check on him, he found his body. Even if it was a heart attack, imagine what he must have gone through all alone. Usually in prisons they have an emergency button you can press. Not here. He could have been struggling all night. Maybe if someone had known his life could have been saved.”

And from a November letter from Dr. Dhafir:

‘At the present time we are 41 prisoners here. One was freed upon completing his time. One died because, in spite of asking to see the doctor the whole week, was never seen by any medical staff and died at night with no one knowing until morning. Two were transferred out momentarily for court dates.

‘Since our rooms have no “life alarm button” and the guards stay far away that they will never know or even hear if help is needed, I asked the administration to look into it and make the appropriate changes. Their response was “no one in the institution had that.” Mind you, no one in this institution of 3,000 prisoners has a quarter like ours.

‘This is the way it has been from day one. Every time we complain that we are mistreated, they respond that general population has the policy. But when it comes to us demanding to be treated like everyone else the response is, “you are a different unit.”’

Post updated 04/22/09

“I am not in the habit of complaining, but you asked me to keep you informed of my situation.

“I am having a great problem with the medical services here. They are ignorant, irresponsible and careless. Because of their neglect in not checking the results of my blood test from January and February ‘07, I suffered 2 painful attacks of gout needlessly. They put me on a diuretic for my blood pressure. Diuretics tend to raise the uric acid responsible for gout. In spite of my repeated attempts to have them look into this, they intentionally ignore it. I had to file a complaint so that I will exhaust all the routing before I decide on filing a mal practice law suit. All my medical records pertaining to this mal practice (in addition to extremely high triglyceride level not addressed or treated for months now) have been sent to Mr. Boss. I suggest that you get a copy of it and ask all the supporters to call and complain. They are playing with my life literally.”

“* We are told that we will be allowed to use emails soon (I will believe it when I see it). In preparation for that please send me a list of all the emails of those who would like to communicate with me. I have to provide it in advance I am told.”

“* A reporter from the Washington Report On Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) by the name of Janet McMahon asked to interview me. I consented in writing. But we were told by the warden early on when we arrived that he will never allow a reporter in. She should be informed of this.”

[Katherine: We may not be able to help get Dr. Dhafir's medical problems sorted out soon, or at all, although we will continue to try. In the meantime we can let him know he is not forgotten and that his humanitarian work is appreciated by writing to him and/or sending a card. Please write your name and address on the envelope (mailing labels will be torn off) so that he will know who the letter is from.]

Rafil Dhafir
11921-052
FCI Terre Haute
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute
IN 47808

“They didn’t touch my Encyclopedia Britannica, my Encyclopedia of the American History, none of the books of Richard Nixon or Henry Kissinger, nor Norman Schwarzkopf, the memoirs of President Bush Senior, James Baker or Colin Powell. Not the history books about the Jewish People, the famous Books of Eba Eban, the Israeli foreign minister, certainly not the book about the life of Golda Meier. None of the different versions of the Bible including the Arabic Bible were touched nor the books of the Jewish Laws. None of the books confiscated from my library have been returned. What do these books have to do with Medicare, HTN and taxes? I think the court should know this.

“I would like to draw the attention of the court to the fact that my accusers never stopped trying to imply a political agenda for our relief work. Look at the presentencing report. It had to put the word “Salafi” in there.

“Salafi simply refers to (as Dr. Smari testified) those who follow the footsteps of their righteous ancestors. Despite the testimony of Dr. Waleed Smari regarding its meaning, the government continues to give the word Salafi its own meaning and attaches a nefarious spin to it. This court will not be patriotic if it is not Salafi by following the laws of the Founding Fathers of this republic.

“Every good American should be a Salafi.

“If some Salafis did something someone is not pleased with then no one has the right to prosecute all. Just as no Christians should be jailed or harassed for professing Christianity because of what Jim Jones, David Koresh and Timothy McVeigh did in the name of Christianity.”

Dr. Dhafir’s sentencing statement that was handed to the press is: available here.

[Katherine: See this excellent article Prophetic Justice Many of the so called terrorist prosecutions have been pursued because individuals were Salafi.]

That Dhafir was Salafi received barely a passing mention in the 17-week trial and therefore no expert witnesses were called to testify on this subject. Experts on Salifism were called in other cases and Bernard Haykel, a professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University, who specialized in Salafism testified at one of these trials. Haykel disputed the government witnesses’ testimony that mainstream Salafism was violent; he agreed that this description applied to radical Salafism, but not to the mainstream Salafists. He explained,
“‘Mainstream Salafists advocate a strict adherence to Islamic ritual law,’ and a ‘total obedience to the ruler of the state they live in.’ They oppose electoral politics and political parties, and aim to convert the Muslim world to their way of understanding Islam ‘through preaching and teaching and propaganda.’” –Excerpted from “Prophetic Justice.”

The trial at which Haykel testified fell apart post trial and the prosecutor and lead witness were indicted and face substantial prison time. See: “Terrorism Prosecution Implodes: The Detroit ‘Sleeper Cell’ Case,” Barry Tarlow, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers(NACDL).

See also: The “Wahhabi” Myth.