About 250 people gathered
Saturday to renew a call for an independent investigation
into an Islamic cleric killed during an October FBI raid.
(Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us Detroit)
New
information
released
in
killing
of
Muslim
cleric
in 2009
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) – A
coalition
of
political
activists
and
civil
rights
groups gathered
for a
town
hall
meeting
at New
Bethel
Baptist
Church
in
Detroit
to
discuss
growing
concerns
regarding
the lack
of
transparency
of
government
entities
relating
to the
fatal
shooting
of Imam
Luqman
Ameen
Abdullah
by FBI
agents
and a
warrantless
raid
conducted
upon a
Detroit
mosque
by the
Detroit
Police
on
October
28,
2009.
The
event,
which
was
organized
by the
Detroit
Coalition
Against
Police
Brutality,
Michigan
Democratic
Party –
14th
District,
NAACP –
Detroit
Branch,
the
National
Lawyers
Guild,
Delta
Sigma
Theta –
Detroit
Alumnae
Chapter,
the
Islamic
Organization
of North
America
(IONA)
and the
Michigan
chapter
of the
Council
on
American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR-MI).
The Rev.
Robert
Smith of
New
Bethel
said he
welcomed
the
rally --
and
likened
the
killing
to those
committed
by
police
during
the
civil
rights
movement
and
Detroit
riots.
"Something
is
happening
here
that is
an awful
and
dangerous
thing,"
Smith
said.
In
November
2009,
CAIR-MI
along
will
ACLU-MI,
the
National
Lawyers
Guild,
and the
Interfaith
Council
for
Peace
and
Justice
(ICPJ)
wrote a
letter
to the
Civil
Rights
Division
of the
Department
of
Justice
(DOJ)
requesting
an
investigation
into the
fatal
shooting
of
Abdullah,
which
includes
him
being
shot in
the
back.
Imam Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the
Council
on
American
Islamic
Relations,
one of
the
sponsors
of the
event
said,
"The
African-American
community
has had
a long
history
of this
kind of
experience
in
Detroit.
This is
a human
concern,
not a
Muslim
concern."
Following
the
November
letter,
several
Islamic
and
civil
rights
organizations
including
the
NAACP
and
House
Judiciary
Chairman
John
Conyers
Jr.
(D-MI)
sent
letters
to the
DOJ
requesting
a
thorough,
transparent
investigation
of the
FBI’s
shooting
of
Abdullah
as well
as
questioning
the
current
usage of
confidential
informants
in
houses
of
worship.
The DOJ
is
currently
reviewing
the case
to
determine
if they
will
launch a
civil
rights
investigation.
CAIR is
America's
largest
Muslim
civil
liberties
and
advocacy
organization.
Its
mission
is to
enhance
the
understanding
of
Islam,
encourage
dialogue,
protect
civil
liberties,
empower
American
Muslims,
and
build
coalitions
that
promote
justice
and
mutual
understanding.
