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Four Muslim leaders on the case
of Imam Jamil al-Amin: Dr. Jamal Badawi, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui & Imam
Khalid Griggs
Muslims need to stand up and defend Imam Jamil al-Amin's character from media attacks and support his right to a fair trial, say four Muslim North American leaders. Imam Jamil al-Amin is the former head of the Islamic Shura Council of North America and Imam of the Atlanta Community Mosque in Georgia. He has been arrested in connection with the March 16, 2000 shooting death of Atlanta police officer Ricky Kinchen. The district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, announced
last May that he intends to seek the death penalty against Al-Amin for
the shooting. "He [al-Amin] has been projected as some kind of gun-toting, irresponsible Black thug and my personal involvement with him and relationship with him has proven that he's anything but that," says Khalid Abdul Fattah Griggs, Imam of The Community Mosque of Winston-Salem in North Carolina. He has known Imam Jamil since the late 1970s. "He's a very calm, very thoughtful individual and Muslim,"
added Griggs in an interview with RadioIslam.com and Sound Vision. "He
is not one given to making hotheaded decisions and acting irrationally". "Unlike whatever I have read in the media, he is not a reactionary person. In all of the meetings I have attended with him and conversations I have had with him, he will always discourage others from reacting to issues." Mujahid recalls how after the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, America's worst act of terrorism, Imam Jamil kept his cool during an Islamic Shura Council Meeting where it was suggested Muslim leaders speak out to condemn the bombing and the false accusation against Muslims in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Through most of the meeting, Imam Jamil remained calm, and expressed the view that Muslims should not react by speaking out, since they were not involved in the crime.A changed man "Since he embraced Islam [in 1976] he has been a totally changed man," notes Jamal Badawi, a member of the Shura Council of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Fiqh Council, in an interview with Sound Vision. "I found him to be a very loving, peaceful, committed brother," adds Badawi. "I met him on several occasions and talked to him on a personal level, so I'm speaking about someone I consider to be a close brother." Words and actions, too But Imam Jamil's character is not the only thing Badawi lauds. It's his actions as well. "He has been instrumental in cleaning some areas in Atlanta from drugs and some crime so I wonder if there's any connection here given the unfairly negative image of Islam and Muslims and the hostility sometimes manifested in a variety of ways all the way from discrimination to false accusation to stereotypes." Badawi also notes Imam Jamil's success as a representative for Islam."He is very effective in Dawa (inviting others to Islam)," he notes. "He published a book (after his conversion, Imam Jamil authored Revolution by the Book in 1993) and he has spoken on numerous occasions. [He] has been a good spokesperson for Muslims. " Many people have accepted Islam through the Imam's influence. "That could be troubling for some," notes Badawi. "Anyone who has hostility towards Islam and Muslims, would not look at him favorably." "As far as we have known him, he is a decent, peaceful and honest person," Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) told Sound Vision. Imam Jamil must be ensured a fair trial The leaders expressed concern for his right to fair legal representation and hearing. "Using the term fair trial I mean trial based on proven facts which is free from any false witness and conspiracy, if there is any, and by fair judgment I mean a judgment which is not influenced by racial or religious prejudice on the part of the judge and the jury," explains Badawi. "We are not asking that anyone be treated above the law," he adds. "But we are also asking that no one is treated below the law (i.e. mistreated, abused etc.)." In Imam Jamil's case, though, bias-free legal proceedings are beginning to take on even more importance. "We would like to see that he has a fair trial because so many different conflicting reports [are coming out]," says Siddiqi. For example, there is contradictory information about whether or not Imam Jamil was even present at the scene of the crime. As well, blood stains initially believed to be the Imam's near where the two police officers were shot at, were later found not to be his when he was arrested on March 20 with not a wound on his body. Imam Jamil has the respect of Muslims and their leadership Griggs stresses that Muslims need to be personally involved in standing up for Imam Jamil's legal rights as well as against the media's characterizations of him. "He has the respect of over 30 Imams (leaders) across this country who are part of the national community that he heads," he says. "He has respect across lines of even ideological groupings of Muslims in this country and around the world. He is a well-respected Muslim leader and so the characterizations that have come across in the press put all of us in a very tenuous position because if someone of his stature can have his character so assassinated in the media, what can happen to the rest of us?" Badawi encourages Muslims to "continue to demand fair trial and fair judgment" for Imam Jamil and to use "the media, petitions, all legitimate and peaceful forms [of expression to demand] what is basically an American value of fairness in judgment and justice." Griggs also encourages Muslims to support the Imam's legal defense fund, and one supporting his family, as well as discussing this issue with other Muslims. The Imam's double jeopardy Badawi gave Muslims a strong reason the Imam will need their support during his ordeal: "In the case of Imam Jamil, it's a double jeopardy being an African-American and also being a Muslim [and] an effective Muslim at that."
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