[wvns] Imam killing needs independent investigation

Imam killing needs independent investigation
Dec. 3, 2009 EDITORIAL
Detroit Free Press
http://www.freep.com/article/20091203/OPINION01/912030356/1069/Opinion01/Imam-killing-needs-independent-investigation

Detroit's Muslim community and many local leaders, including Mayor Dave Bing, have called for an independent investigation into the death of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the imam shot by federal agents during a raid at a Dearborn warehouse. The U.S. Department of Justice should heed that call to clear questions harbored by Muslims around the world, as well as by many Detroiters, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

Abdullah's death on Oct. 28 may mark the first killing of a religious leader by U.S. government agents since David Koresh died at the Branch Davidian ranch outside Waco, Texas, in 1993. No one should assume government wrongdoing or impropriety, but the death of Abdullah, an African-American Muslim, has racial and religious overtones, especially in a community with a history of excessive police force. It has evoked the kind of skepticism, fear and anger that government should not ignore. Heavy-handed tactics by federal agents in the name of national security are not new. They were also employed against socialists and communists in the 1930s and black militants in the 1960s.

Muslim leaders contend that federal agents, not finding evidence of terrorist activity, often lure poor people into other illegal activities. The Justice Department -- or even the House Judiciary Committee -- should review these practices and, if warranted, recommend changes to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who suggested in a recent visit to Detroit that Abdullah's death had aggravated community tensions. Local government agencies should also act openly.

It didn't help community relations that the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office informed CAIR, in response to a freedom-of-information request, that photos of Abdullah's autopsy would cost $1,500. That makes government look as though it were hiding something.

No terrorism charges were brought against Abdullah, or any of the 11 mosque members indicted in the case. Instead, the government alleges that they conspired to traffic in stolen goods. An investigation should determine whether federal agents who shot Abdullah violated his civil rights, but it must also include a broader review of widespread government policies and practices regarding the use of informants to infiltrate mosques.

"Our government needs to show that there's not a double standard: a rule of law for the broader public and another standard for Muslims," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Michigan.

The FBI says its agents acted appropriately. Still, questions linger, not only about how Abdullah died but also whether federal agents inappropriately target Muslims and mosques. No American should harbor those doubts. They are, as Holder stated in Detroit, contrary to our Constitution and the government that created it. A thorough and independent review is the best way to dispel them.

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