Can only Muslims be terrorists?
Kamran Memon and Parvez Ahmed Special to Hernando
Today
Published: Jun 26, 2003
http://www.hernandotoday.com/MGA3VZX0EHD.html
Robert Jay Goldstein is not a “Jewish terrorist.”
After all, neither God nor his prophets ever condoned
the murder of innocent human beings. If a Jew engages
in terrorism, the blame falls on him, not on his
religion. That much we can all agree on. But that is
where our paths diverge.
In August 2002 ,Goldstein was arrested near his home
in St. Petersburg, Florida. In his possession were 40
weapons, 30 explosive devices, a list of 50 mosques
and a detailed plan to bomb an Islamic school.
Contrary to the suggestion from defense lawyers that
Goldstein is mentally ill, sheriff’s Detective Cal
Dennie characterized him as “a smart guy” who “knew
his stuff.”
Clearly Goldstein, a terrorist, was capable of
inflicting unimaginable harm. In chilling details, his
mission plan stated his desire to “open fire on all
‘rags’ and then bolt out and let the devices do the
rest.”
His motive was to “to do something for ‘his’ people,”
in retaliation for 9/11 and the ongoing Israeli-Arab
conflict. His goal was to “kill all rags” with “zero
residual presence.”
Despite Goldstein’s impressive arsenal and obvious
intent, federal prosecutors say he is no terrorist, as
his actions were not aimed at altering government
policy.
But the U.S. Patriot Act defines domestic terrorism as
“acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of
the criminal laws of the United States or of any
State; and appear to be intended to intimidate or
coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of
a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect
the conduct of a government by mass destruction,
assassination, or kidnapping; and occur primarily
within the territorial jurisdiction of the United
States.”
Intent to alter government policy is only one part of
a fairly broad definition of domestic “terrorism.”
Federal prosecutors ultimately charged Goldstein with
lesser offenses of violating civil rights, attempting
to damage religious property, obstructing people in
the free exercise of religious beliefs and possessing
unregistered firearms. Based on the evidence, there is
no doubt that Goldstein would have received life in
prison had he been charged as a terrorist.
Goldstein will not spend his life in prison and that
worries many Muslim Americans. When he is released,
after serving his sentence of 12-and-a-half years, he
will be only 50 years old, still capable of inflicting
potential harm.
The Goldstein terror plot remains perplexing for many
other reasons. After his arrest, there was little
information available about accomplices who were at
large and remained a mortal threat to peace. The
Muslim community naturally wanted to take appropriate
measures to secure their mosques from being targeted
by any of Goldstein’s accomplices. Several pleas were
made to law enforcement authorities for full
disclosure of all mosques on Goldstein’s target list.
Federal and state authorities declined to honor these
requests.
American-Muslims, the targeted victims of this plot,
were never asked by the prosecution to testify, a
practice routine in criminal cases. In a surprising
move, prosecutors argued that community members should
not be allowed to speak in court. Only with the good
graces of sentencing Judges Moody and Kovachevich were
testimonies from the Muslim community made part of the
official record.
Contrast Goldstein to the case of another terrorist,
who happened to be Muslim, who also pled guilty for
plotting to blow up Florida Power & Light substations
and a National Guard Armory. His planning was not as
extensive as Goldstein’s, but federal prosecutors
charged the Muslim as a “terrorist.”
Do not get us wrong. We are not pleading for leniency
for terrorists who happen to be Muslims. We’re all
safer when they’re locked up. Such terrorists have no
hesitation to kill innocent human beings, Muslim or
non-Muslims, as they did on September 11, 2001.
What we are arguing is that non-Muslims should also be
punished as terrorists if they engage or conspire to
engage in terrorism. Such crimes should be taken just
as seriously, even when the intended victims are
“only” American Muslims.
After all, the life of a Muslim child is worth no less
than the life of a Jewish or Christian child. I hope
that’s something we can all agree on.
Kamran Memon is a Chicago civil rights attorney.
Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D., is Chairman of Board for the
Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-FL).
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