Hi there,

There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Democracy Now!’s independent reporting is more important than ever, when only a galvanized, engaged public, supported by resilient, pro-democracy grassroots movements, can prevent authoritarianism from triumphing. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Sami Al-Arian: “When You Have War and Oppression Overseas, You’re Going to Have Repression and Injustice at Home”

Listen
Media Options
Listen

The Justice Department yesterday indicted a leading Palestinian professor in Florida and seven other Muslim men for alleged connections to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization.

The professor Sami Al-Arian was a leading member of the Muslim community in Florida. He made national headlines shortly after Sept. 11 when his school, the University of South Florida, put him on paid leave because of suspected ties to terrorists.

Yesterday Attorney General John Ashcroft charged that he is the North American leader of Islamic Jihad and a chief financier of the group. Islamic Jihad is designated by the State Department as an international terrorist organization.

As FBI agents lead al-Arian away in handcuffs, he told reports, “It’s all about politics.”

Al-Arian’s attorney, Nicholas Matassini, said Al-Arian was a political prisoner and described the Justice Department’s indictment as a work of fiction.

The indictment claims Al-Arian and the other men provided material support to an organization that conspired to kill and maim people abroad. Each man could face life in prison if convicted.

We talked yesterday with Georgetown law professor David Cole about the case. Cole formerly represented Al-Arian’s brother-in-law Mazen Al-Najjar who was once jailed in the U.S. for three and a half years on secret evidence.

I also talked recently with Sami Al-Arian himself, when he spoke at the Not in Our Name rally in Central Park last October.

Tape:

  • David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor and author of “Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security.” He represented Sami Al-Arian’s brother-in-law.
  • Sami Al-Arian, South Florida professor and Palestinian activist who was one of eight men indicted Thursday on terrorism charges by the Justice Department.

Related Story

StorySep 14, 2021“Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire”: Deepa Kumar on How Racism Fueled U.S. Wars Post-9/11
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top