There are certain types of articles (reports and/or commentaries) from mainstream media organizations that when re-published in Muslim media should automatically be attended by an official disclaimer (or qualifying statement on why it is being included for reader’s review). The Associated Press article below is one such example.
In reading this article, my mind traveled back to a federal courtroom in downtown Dallas during the second trial of “The Holy Land 5.” I remember feeling a sense of outrage when one of the defense attorneys stated, in her closing arguments, “We all know that Hamas is a terrorist organization.” After the proceedings ended, and again later that same day, I voiced my opposition to that line of argument on two grounds: (1) it is patently false; (2) in a post-9/11 world where committed Muslims have been officially made the new boogeymen on the block, it is a profoundly short-sighted and counterproductive courtroom strategy to make!
As in the present case involving Dr. Ali Al-Timimi , the attorneys representing the brothers in Dallas were a seasoned mix – and contracted by the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA). In the end, however, the strategic mind-set behind that pronouncement may have been a major factor in why the brothers were ultimately found guilty of a manufactured offense that they never should have been put on trial for in the first place! The jury saw a connection between HLF and HAMAS; and since both the prosecution and the defense recognized Hamas as “terrorist,” guilty as charged became a forgone conclusion.
Now we have the appeals hearing for Ali Al-Tamimi in another US courthouse in Northern Virgina; with yet another seasoned attorney, Jonathan Turley, making the argument that the late Anwar Al-Awlaki may have been a government informant. And once again we have this writer feeling a sense of outrage on two counts: (1) the accusation flies in the face of the character of the Anwar Al-Awlaki that many of us knew; (2) and he is no longer with us to defend himself. Does that matter? Yes!
