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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
September 11, 2005
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| July 29, 2005 |
Are We Terrorists? The Voice of Muslims in New York: Liberty for the Country of Liberty – Ms. Debbie Almontaser, Muslim-American Guest Educator from New York |
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| Naji and Debbie Almontaser, guest educators from New York. |
It has been almost four years since 9/11. Almost four years since the media reported that the attacks were the work of extremist Muslim terrorists. And almost four years since the United States (US) government implemented The Patriot Act, which ultimately suspended the civil rights of many Americans. Many Muslim-Americans, Arab-Americans, South Asian-Americans and countless other Americans who are perceived to be of Middle Eastern descent have been profiled as potential enemies and detained for hours, if not days. Ms. Debbie Almontaser, a multicultural programme director and peace activist from New York, is herself a Muslim-American, and she came aboard Peace Boat to speak about the backlash against Muslim- and Arab-Americans in the United States today. “Because of what started to happen we couldn’t just sit back and watch what the US government was doing,” she began. “In our different communities we started to hear about people disappearing”. Although the US government has reported to detain approximately 1,200 people after 9/11, Muslim and Arab communities firmly believe the number is closer to 5,000 people. Unfortunately, this has been difficult to prove “because when the US government holds people they don’t give the names or charges they were holding people by”. All of this was happening under the Patriot Act. |
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| Casual chat session with English-speaking participants. |
The Patriot Act was written by US government officials before 9/11. The 342-page document was “put on a shelf waiting for the one day it could be used”. Congress passed the act immediately after 9/11 on October 21, 2001. “They didn’t even read it thoroughly to see what the document was,” stated Ms. Almontaser. “If they had, they would know the document totally goes against US Constitution.” One article of the Patriot Act allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assess personal records without a warrant or probable cause. It forces any third party, including doctors, libraries, bookstores, universities, and internet service providers to turn over records of their clients or customers. “On numerous occasions my internet was interrupted, because it was being monitored for what emails and websites I used as an activist,” stated Ms. Debbie Almontaser. The week Ms. Almontaser came aboard Peace Boat, the US Congress passed a 4-year extension of the Patriot Act. The decision was influenced by the London bombings, which occurred in the summer of 2005. |
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| Poster advertising one of Ms. Almontaser’s lectures. |
Ms. Almontaser believes the Patriot Act provides civil society the opportunity to discriminate against Arab-Americans. There were over 700 violent incidents, including several murders, against Arab-Americans or those perceived to be Arab-Americans in the first nine weeks after 9/11. Moreover, over 80 cases of illegal and discriminatory removal of passengers on aircrafts were based on passengers’ perceived ethnicity as Arab. Medical and other social services have been denied to Arab-Americans. Under the US government’s Special Registration program, Arab and Muslim males between the ages of 16 to 25 have to report to immigration and naturalization services (INS) to be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed under oath upon arrival into the US. Failure to comply with the requirements means the threat of immediate deportation. These men have come from 25 countries, including North Korea, South Asia and the Middle East. In December 2002, approximately 400 men and boys from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Syria were detained in Los Angeles. |
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| Preparing a lecture with CCs (interpreters). |
Furthermore, domestic law enforcement has the opportunity to spy on lawful political and religious activities. FBI agents frequently visit mosques, churches and synagogues to monitor their activities. Since the Patriot Act allows the seizure of assets without due process, the US government was able to shut down 15 Muslim charities. The charities were accused of giving money to terrorists. The case is currently in court, and there has been no evidence that these charities have funded terrorists. (Pic D) |
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| Ms. Almontaser held a series of lectures onboard from New York to Costa Rica. |
In reaction to negative media reports and discrimination against Arab and Muslim communities, non-governmental organizations and groups, including ordinary citizens such as Ms. Almontaser, began to organize visits and workshops to synagogues, churches, and other organizations and community centers to talk about Islam and the Arabic culture. The Dialogue Project is one such activity, which “opened doors for me to work with Jews and Christians and others interested in multicultural education.” The project started in March 2001 with 25 people. There are now seven dialogue circles in various parts of New York City alone. “I felt empowered by those of us who decided to take a stand,” stated Ms. Almontaser. “For many Muslim women, hijabs [traditional head covering] were pulled off or spat on. And it was ordinary American citizens who volunteered to escort them to the supermarket.” Eventually, this evolved into monthly community events about interfaith relations. The “Know Your Rights Forum”, about the Patriot Act, was formed by the Arab- and Muslim-American community, immigrant communities as well as the American public. Further, as an educator, Ms. Almontaser helped prepare the 9/11 curriculum project promoting social responsibility and peace education. This project was created in reaction to the US government’s appeal not to introduce Islam and Arabic culture into the topic of 9/11 in schools, because it was deemed “too emotional”. Created in partnership with Columbia University, the project provides grade school teachers with a thorough and fair curriculum. A high school curriculum was also created called “Re-embracing Diversity in NYC Public Schools”. “There is still a lot of work to do,” says Ms. Almontaser. “But I firmly believe we can make a change, not only for Muslim and Arab communities but for all communities”. |
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