RE: Requesting support for a community-wide open le

salam,

i got this, too. the anti-war movement should be against all atrocities... not just palestinian issues. there are horrible things taking place in the world. it is sad that usually the same people who want the palestinian issues to be highlighted do not want muslim terrorism to be highlighted.

for the longest time, there was a discord in the movement... which has been one-sided. while the anti-war has been rightfully condemning western imperialism, it has abandoned to condemn muslim terrorism... which in my opinion... is as much a threat to the world. here is an interview with fateh sheikh on the issue of anti-war inadequacies regarding muslim terrorism:

http://www.wpibriefing.com/34-2Inadequacies%20of%20Antiwar%20coalitions.htm

i'm up for the highlight of all crimes, not just picking and choosing ... based on god knows what. atrocities are atrocities. period.

afdhere

Afdhere Jama
Editorial Director
HURIYAH Publications
S A N F R A N C I S C O
[email protected]
http://www.huriyahmag.org

>From: "Na'eem Jeenah" >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected], [email protected] >Subject: [Progressivemuslimsnetwork] Requesting support for a community-wide open le >Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 10:15:08 +0200 > > Salaam > > This letter that I have received from comrades in the > anti-war and palestine solidarity movements in the US. > I'm sure some of you from Norht America would have > received it too. While for most of us on the this list, anti- > war and palestinian issues cannot be separated, this is > not the case with the broad anti-war movement in the > US. Comrades there are now trying to prevent this > delinking from happening. This letter calls for the link to > be maintained. They are asking for endorsements for it. > Mostly,
endorsements are from US and Canadian orgs, > but they want to include a section of endorsements from > organisations outside of North America as well. If your > organisation wants to endorse this call, please email me > and I will pass the endorsement on. > > I will urge all organisations, esp from North America to > support this call. We cannot allow Palestine to be > isolated as an issue unrelated to colonialism, imperialism > and the threat to world peace. > > na'eem > > > > Dear friends, > > I am sending this message to a select number of friends and > colleagues only. > > This is a request for organizations in your respective areas to join a > list of now 135 organizations from across the United States and > Canada in support for the following open letter (please see below). > The reasons for the open letter ar
e outlined in the "Background" > section that precedes the text of the letter. As the situation stands, > we have finally made great headways with those who were insisting > on dropping Palestine from the anti-war movement- they are now > searching for language to include it. However, the March 20 > National Coalition, of which our community is akey anchor, has > significantly expanded to include all major centers in the US, with > massive support from all significant areas. This massive coalition is > significantly an positively affecting the way various community > centers, peace organizations, churches, andlabor unionsfrom > across the USsee our issues. > > You can help a great deal by sending your organizational > endorsement as soon as possible - we will issue this open letter with > the new list in the next 2 days. We encourage all organi
zations to > join, not only our community entities. > > We appreciate your help very much, as we anticipate a great > mobilization on March 20, 2004, and from there onward as we > engage in grassroots efforts to make significant impact on US > policies domestically and otherwise. > > All the best > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > > ** For wide distribution ** > > Background: A call to mobilize against colonial > occupations on March 20th, 2004, was issued and > endorsed by a large nationwide coalition of > organizations and communities that included the > A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition; Al-Awda, the Palestine > Right to Return Coalition; the National Lawyers > Guild; the Arab Muslim American Federation; the > Free Palestine Alliance-USA; the Muslim American > Society Freedom Foundation; and th
e Muslim Student > Association of the U.S. and Canada. The National > Council of Arab Americans (NCAA) supported this > call in full. > > The call to mobilize demanded ending "all colonial > occupations from Iraq to Palestine to > everywhere". It also called for "bringing the > troops home NOW" without delay, and for opposing > giving an international cover to the colonial > occupation of Iraq. > > Some sectors in the anti-war movement objected to > and are organizing against these demands, > insisting that Palestine be dropped from the call > for March 20 (as these same sectors have often > demanded), and that internationalizing the > occupation of Iraq should remain a viable option. > > As a result, and in the context of a long history > of being silenced and marginalized, the Arab- > American and Muslim community prepare
d this open > letter to the movement. > > > An Open Letter from the Arab-American and Muslim > Community to the US Anti-War Movement > > Dear peace and justice organizations and > activists, > > On March 20, 2004, the world will mobilize against > war and colonial occupations. The significance of > this historic day is evident to all and requires > no further elaboration. The political clarity and > character of this mobilization in the US, however, > remains illusive. > > This is where our community stands: > > In confronting war, the people of Palestine and > Iraq have paid dearly. They stand against the > imperial project shoulder to shoulder with > communities of color and the working class in the > United States, along with great many subjugated > peoples around the globe - from Afghanistan to > Colombia, a
nd from the Philippines to Vieques, and > on. Without a doubt, the Palestinian and Iraqi > people are both welded together in an inextricable > unity at the forefront of the global anti-war > movement, transforming themselves as a whole as > its embodiment and paying in its defense with the > dearest of all - their very existence. Yet, > despite every home destroyed, child murdered, acre > confiscated and tree uprooted, town colonized and > ethnically cleansed, wall built, refugee remaining > nation-less, and incremental robbery of their > self-determination, they remain the very > antithetical formulation of empire and with a > vision of justice for all. > > In the United States, we, Arab-Americans and > Muslims have been maliciously targeted, stripped > of our rights, and positioned outside the > constitutional framework of this c
ountry. A new > COINTELPRO has been unleashed against our homes > and living rooms, as our fathers, mothers, sons, > and daughters are plucked away and thrown into > unknown prison cells. Thus, in a continuum of > history, we stand with African Americans, Japanese > Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and all > others in the painful struggle for justice. From > them all, we take our cue, for they are our > predecessors and our partners in this long march. > > Accordingly, we the undersigned hereby declare > that: > > 1. We do not accept delinking the struggle of the > Palestinian people from the anti-war movement, and > regard the struggle in Palestine, as it is viewed > worldwide, to be central to any peace and justice > mobilization. > > 2. We insist that the Palestinian right to return > and to self-determination are t
he key anchors of > the Palestinian struggle, and that organizations > that attempt to diminish, sidetrack, or abrogate > these rights, regardless of any other position > they may take on Palestine, are acting contrary to > the will and aspiration of the Palestinian people. > > 3. We view all attempts to relegate our collective > presence to the margin and to tokenize our > participation in the movement to be racist in > character. In its attempt to silence the Arab and > Muslim voices for decades, particularly that of > the Palestinian people, the movement in the US has > stood alone in the global movement for justice. > We see ourselves as full partners in leading the > movement as signified in the heavy price we > continue to pay along the way, and reject any > attempt to objectify our presence. > > 4. We regard the positions
that the "colonial > occupation of Iraq must be internationalized", or > that ending the occupation must be conducted over > a period of time until the "Iraqis are able to > secure their democracy", as implicitly colonial > and racist. These are positions that are rooted > in the construct of "manifest destiny" and the > "white man's burden" to "civilize". > > 5. We call on our people everywhere to hold all > organizations accountable to the positions they > take, especially those that depict racist > attitudes towards us, implicitly or otherwise, > particularly those that tokenize and objectify our > struggle. Any organization or movement that finds > it acceptable to minimize or disregard for > political expediency the struggle of any people > should not be allowed to function within the > global justice movement. Justice is neith
er > selective, nor partial or conditional. > > We are firm on these principles for the March 20th > mobilization and beyond as we call on all > communities and organizations to mobilize and > stand in force under the following unifying five > slogans: > > 1. End all colonial occupations from Iraq to > Palestine to everywhere! > 2. Bring the troops home NOW! > 3. No to internationalizing colonial occupations! > 4. Stop the attacks on civil liberties! > 5. Money for jobs, education, and healthcare not > for war! > > As we salute and stand empowered with sectors of > the movement that have taken a principled stand on > justice, we seek to participate in the empowerment > of all as we call for a genuine global united > front against war. > > All out on March 20, 2004! > > > 1. Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Ret
urn > Coalition > 2. Al-Bireh Palestine Society, California Chapter > 3. Al-Qalam Institute > 4. American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ) > 5. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, > Greater Sacramento Area Chapter > 6. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, > New Jersey Chapter > 7. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, > Seattle Chapter > 8. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, > Los Angeles/Orange County Chapter > 9. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, > San Francisco Bay Area Chapter > 10. Arab Center of Washington - Seattle > 11. Arab Muslim American Federation > 12. Arab-American Community Center, Chicago > 13. Arab-American Forum, New Hampshire > 14. Arab-American Press Guild > 15. San Francisco Bay Area Palestine Coalition > 16. Canada-Palestine Association > 17. Canada-Palestine
Friendship Society > 18. Canadian Arab Federation > 19. Committee for Democratic Palestine - Canada > 20. Committee for Justice - USA > 21. Deir Yassin Society of New York > 22. Free Palestine Alliance - USA (FPA) > 23. Friends of Ghassan Kanafani, Toronto Chapter > 24. Kana'an Review > 25. Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation > (MAS Freedom Foundation) > 26. Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and > Canada (MSA-National) > 27. Muslim Students Association, California State > University, Sacramento > 28. Muslim Students Association, University of > California, Davis > 29. National Council of Arab Americans (NCAA) > 30. Palestine Children's Welfare Fund > 31. Palestine House Educational and Cultural > Center, Canada > 32. Palestine Right of Return Congress - USA > 33. Palestine Solidarity Committee - Los Angeles &gt
; 34. Palestine Solidarity Committee - Seattle > 35. Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago > 36. Palestinian American Women's Association > (PAWA) > 37. Sacred Roots > 38. Students for Justice in Palestine, California > State University, Sacramento > 39. Students for Justice in Palestine, University > of California, Davis > 40. The Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) > 41. The United Muslim Association of High Schools > Club > > >_______________________________________________ >ProgressiveMuslims mailing list >[email protected] >http://willo.nitric.co.za/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/progressivemuslims

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