Religious organizations can sometimes confuse me. I read the press release from the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT) this morning and scratched my head. The press release has two conflicting messages. The AMT wants the press to stop linking the FBI shooting of Lugman Ameen Abdullah to Islam in any way. On the other hand, they want a civil rights investigation into the shooting death of Imam Lugman Ameen Abdullah because he was a Muslim. Read it for yourself.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a coalition of major national Islamic organizations, is calling for an independent investigation into the death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, who was shot and killed by the FBI on Wednesday in Detroit during raids in which a number of individuals were arrested on charges unrelated to terrorism.
AMT is also calling on the FBI not to link the raids or the allegations against the suspects to the Islamic faith.
In a statement, the Muslim coalition said:
"It is imperative that an independent investigation of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah's death make public the exact circumstances in which he died. And unless the FBI has evidence linking the criminal allegations to the religious affiliation of the suspects, we ask that federal authorities stop injecting religion into this case. The unjustified linkage of this case to the faith Islam will only serve to promote an increase in existing anti-Muslim stereotyping and bias in our society."
AMT is also urging the Congressional Tri-Caucus (Black, Latino, and Asian) to call for a judicial inquiry.
In keeping with its charter, AMT works for civil rights of all Americans and plans to hold a series of meetings across the United States, culminating in a civil rights summit in Washington, D.C., to address growing civil and human rights concerns of seven to eight million American Muslims.
AMT is an umbrella organization that includes American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), MAS-Freedom, Muslim Student Association-National (MSA-N), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), and United Muslims of America (UMA). Its observer organizations include American Muslims for Civic Engagement (AMCE), Islamic Educational Council of Orange County (IECOC), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).
Source: American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections
CONTACT: AMT Chair Dr. Agha Saeed, +1-510-299-9313,
aghaksaeed@yahoo.com
The press and the FBI have been falling all over themselves in their misguided attempts to separate Lugman Ameen Abdullah from “authentic Islam”. The message is pretty clear. These men are not real Muslims, they are American bred criminals using Islam as a front for their criminal activities. If anything, this alone helps the cause of Islam. Except… we know the truth. Abdullah was an Imam who lead prayers in a mosque. He was as real as it gets.
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