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[Sis. Karen English, a pious Muslimah, is a long time admirer of Imam Warith Deen Muhammad for the good he did many years back. She is puzzled that he remains absolutely silent about the atrocities being committed against Islam and Muslims by Bush, Sharon and their allies Vajpayee and Putin. She wrote to W. D. on December 31, 2002, imploring him to break his silence. Till today, February 18, she has not received a reply. Hence this poem.]

Dear Imam Warith Deen Mohammed

I am puzzled by your silence
The dear little lives of our babies are being 
snuffed out
Our grandmother who ventures out to buy us Eid 
gifts is gunned down
Our elderly aunt is bulldozed in her home
Our little sister stands at the window to watch 
our cousin's funeral 
procession
She is shot for sport

My brother saves for a car for five years
When he buys it, 
Israeli soldiers destroy it for fun
We live in one room
My little brother cannot go to school
My other brother cannot go to the university
The doors have been padlocked

We see our mother beaten by soldiers.
One holds her while the other pummels her freely
The sun doesn't shine on our future

Still no words from you

I see a flag on your paper
Of the people who pay for all of this

In Afghanistan, 52 members of our family 
celebrate the joyous occasion of a 
wedding
They're mowed down mid laughter, mid joy
(Imagine 52 members of your own family no longer 
alive)

Our uncles in Guantanamo Bay……
Did you see them on the television?
Shuffling along with their ankles shackled?
Arms handcuffed behind them?
Faces hooded?Being pulled along on chains like 
dogs?
They're confined in jails built from shipping 
containers
The International Red Cross and Amnesty 
International
Say they are held in contravention of 
The Geneva Convention,
The International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights 
The US Constitution
What do you say?

Now many of our cousins are being arrested 
secretly
Held for six months
Unable to see family or lawyers
Declared combatants for Al Qaida
With little or no evidence
What of the ordinary,
The law abiding
The praying
The Fasting
The believers who love for their brothers what 
they love for themselves
Jailed?
What words do you have for them?

I read of the children in your community raising 
money for the victims of 9-11
But not a nickel for the victims of:
Afghanistan
Palestine
Chechnya
Kashmir
Iraq

Poor Iraq
Once again bombs poised over the women, the 
children, the innocent of Iraq
And, what do you say?

The world shouts NO!
Their voices grow louder and louder and louder

So, too, your silence
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Coble Supports Japanese-type camps for Arab-Americans!

Petition to Remove Congressman Howard Coble
by Kasie Lee •• Monday February 17, 2003 at 11:14 AM
removecoble@yellowworld.org

The Yellowworld.org Petition to Remove Congressman Howard Coble from his position as Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

LOS ANGELES CA -- Yellowworld.org, an online political Asian advocacy group, joins the Asian American community in denouncing Congressman Howard Coble's endorsement of the Japanese American internment last week and call for the immediate removal from his subcommittee chairmanship. Activists are circulating online petitions ( http://removecoble.yellowworld.org ) which have attracted a total of over 5,000 signatures to date. The groups say the Republican's comments are a reminder of a dark chapter in American history, when 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced into 10 U.S. internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor and argue that his comments will have political repercussions for Republicans, who were criticized after GOP Sen. Trent Lott made remarks deemed racially insensitive last year. "First Trent Lott, now Howard Coble," said Yellowworld.org president Elbert Oh. There seems to be a trend towards Republican insensitivity towards minorities, and in this case, the elected official has the capacity to act out upon his ignorance of the past." On Monday the Congressman issued a statement, saying the internment was "the wrong decision and an action that should never be repeated." "I regret that many Japanese and Arab-Americans found my choice of words offensive because that was certainly not my intent," he said. The congressman has said he won't resign from the subcommittee post. Activists found his comment inadequate. "The justification of past racism was not found offensive by just Japanese and Arab Americans," said Oh, who is a Korean American, "but were an affront to all law abiding Americans who see the internment as a blight on our nation's proud history."

removecoble.yellowworld.org
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2003-02-19 Wed 08:07ct