>FIGHT TO FREE JAMIL AL-AMIN!
>[Col. Writ. 9/16/01] Copyright '01 Mumia Abu-Jamal
>
> The struggle for the freedom and liberty of Atlanta Muslim
>leader, Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, must take place now,
>before the cold fingers of the state can close around his neck.
>
> Imam Jamil has already received what can only be called a
>biased and prejudicial press, which has sought to depict him as
>a dangerous, violent radical. In every substantive news report
>there has been coverage of his brief membership in the Black
>Panther Party, but there has been little reportage of his other
>associations, and much less of his life as a Muslim Imam, who
>worked as an anti-drug activist, and for the betterment of the
>entire community.
>
> Imam Jamil's political life didn't begin with the Black Panther
>Party. Indeed, accounts written by leading Panthers, like
>Huey P. Newton, or Elaine Brown, relate that Jamil, Kwame Ture
>(the late Stokely Carmichael) and James Forman, were "drafted"
>into the BPP, a "drafting" that was sabotaged by the FBI, and
>which did not last but for a few months.
>
> Imam Jamil spent most of his political life as a field director
>and activist of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
>(SNCC), before his later religious conversion.
>
> But if you are the media, which is more "juicy," a 6-month-long
>dalliance with the Black Panthers, or a 6-year period with SNCC?
>Which is more representative of his radical youth? Which is
>the longest? *Which is the most prejudicial?*
>
> Imam Jamil, in addition to being a spiritual leader, was a
>businessman, who owned a local store. This is hardly the
>profile projected by the national press.
>
> Arrested a year ago in connection with the shootings of two
>Atlanta sheriff's deputies, initial police reports strongly suggest
>the Imam is innocent of the charges. The surviving deputy
>told police investigators that his assailant was shot -- Al-Amin,
>upon his apprehension, was not wounded.
>
> Another police witness reported that the suspect had grey
>eyes - Al-Amin's eyes are a dark brown.
>
> At the time of this writing, the jury is being selected in a
>murder trial. This is especially troubling in light of the recent
>World Trade Center plane-bombings, as it has unleashed
>a national flurry of hatred against many in the Islamic
>community. When fear and hatred enter the mind, logic
>rarely lingers.
>
> That said, Al-Amin's freedom lies in people who express
>their support now, instead of later. Fairness does not lie
>in reversing an unjust conviction; rather it lies in preventing
>one in the first place.
>
> Imam Jamil has lived a good and rich life in service to
>his spiritual and ethnic community. He richly deserves
>the fullest support in all efforts leading to his freedom,
>so that he may return to the community. *Free Imam Jami!*
>
>Copyright 2001 MAJ
>
>Visit <http://www.ImamJamil.com>http://www.ImamJamil.com and lend your
>support!
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Sep 20 2001 - 17:49:33 EDT