Unanswered questions in FBI killing of Detroit Mosque leader

[Hannah Bell]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) killing of a Detroit-area African-American Muslim religious leader, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, on October 27, raises a number of troubling questions.

Abdullah, 53, was shot 18 times by an FBI “counterterrorism” squad in a warehouse in the suburb of Dearborn, after allegedly firing his gun. Abdullah and ten followers were not accused of terrorism, but mail fraud, conspiracy to sell stolen goods, and illegal possession of firearms. These are comparatively minor charges for which the government has thus far provided little evidence, and would carry a prison sentence, not the death penalty effectively applied by the federal agents.

Abdullah was a member of the predominantly African-American Muslim religious movement called Ummah, or “the Brotherhood.” Only Abdullah was involved in what the FBI claims was a “shootout.”...

...Two other raids were carried out in Detroit simultaneously, and on Thursday Canadian agents arrested Abdullah’s son, Mujahid Carswell, 30, across the border in Windsor, Ontario.

...Others pointed to the poverty of Abdullah’s neighborhood and those who attended his mosque. A number of those who knew Abdullah said he fed the hungry once a week and opened up his mosque to the homeless.

“They’re living in the hood, the ghetto of Detroit, one of the worst parts of Detroit,” Omar Regan, Abdullah’s son, said. “They don’t have anything! If my dad was involved in what they said, my dad would have some money—he didn’t ever have any money.”

Ummah was founded by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly H. Rap Brown. Brown was a member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s, joining the radical black power movement the Black Panthers in 1968. Targeted by the FBI, then arrested and imprisoned, he converted to Islam in the 1970s. Al-Amin was convicted of killing two police officers in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/nov2009/abdu-n05.shtml

[malaise]

1. Strange,

very strange.

[cali]

2. LOL! It's be almost impossible to find more blatant bias.

pathetic piece of propaganda.

[Hannah Bell]

3. and whose bias would might that be, vermont girl?

if you think so, elucidate.

[cali]

5. Sure, always happy to help the ill informed

and under educated. Let's deconstruct, shall we? Just follow the little red ball:

The author and his or her editors claim, that Mr. Abdullah was executed by gov't actors from a "counterterrorism" squad. Using quotation marks on the word counterterrorism is done to delegitimize. It's hardly a new rhetorical trick. The claim that the crimes leveled against Mr. Abdullah are relatively minor are unsupported and simply not true. They are serious felonies that carry long prison sentences. Nameless others are quoted to frame Mr. Abdullah as a godly man who fed the poor. Could be true but isn't evidence that he was innocent. The article quotes his son as saying his father was poor therefore he couldn't have committed the alleged crimes. Say what? And wow, what an unbiased source.

The article does not give any background on Mr. Abdullah. Not that he's a convicted felon or that he advocated violent overthrow of the U.S. gov't.

There may be questions but this piece doesn't enlighten us as what they may be. Really, it's about as fair and balanced as Fux News.

[Hannah Bell]

14. that's the bias of which it would be impossible to find a more blatant example?

Scare quotes around "counter-terrorism"?

lol.

fyi, it's the world *socialist* website. unlike POX news, it doesn't claim to be "unbiased".

If you find a falsehood, do let me know.

[Cal Carpenter]

6. You mean in the Detroit News and Free Press?

Yep, that's propaganda alright. All the harsh words on this site about the MSM/Corporate media, yet any time a wsws article gets posted the messenger gets attacked and none of the content.

What about the CONTENT of the story? What do you know that we don't? Have you been to Detroit lately? Do you know any Muslims in this area?

The WSWS is one of the only organizations doing any sort of critical coverage of what's really happening in Detroit. The major media outlets do their disaster-porn bullshit coverage, you're going to tell me *that* isn't propaganda?

At least the wsws makes their biased position clear - they don't pretend they don't have an agenda..

But the bottom line is that a tragedy happened and there are VERY VALID QUESTIONS about it.

WHY was a counter-terrorism unit conducting this raid when the targets of the raid were not accused of terrorism? When the targets of the raid could barely pull off blackmarket sales of furs and laptops?

Why did it play out this way? Why did they basically assassinate a guy for a political thought crime? If he was such a criminal why couldn't they bust him legitimately? Why did they approach it this way?

What does it mean for his community, those who supported them, and most importantly - those who HE supported?

Why don't you head on down to the boundaries of Dearborn and Detroit and ask some questions like the WSWS does and tell us how wrong they are...

[geek tragedy]

7. If this guy was a white Christianist no one here would think anything

was amiss.

Dude was an urban version of Tim McVeigh.

[Cal Carpenter]

9. Like Tim McVeigh? How so?

A couple weapons (in a shady part of the city - shocking!)? Where are the bombs? Where are the threats? Where are the charges of terrorism?

Are you serious?

[geek tragedy]

11. Let's see, extremist with criminal convictions with military

assault weapons engages in gun battle with police rather than surrender.

You're right. He's more like David Koresh.

[Cal Carpenter]

12. Look,. I'm not defending the dude himself

There is a lot we don't know. And he's got a history, for sure - and he has done his time for his crime.

Maybe when it all comes out, it will be obvious why this guy was targeted that way. But as of now, it looks like the feds seriously fucked up. Why are people so quick to assume they didn't fuck up, given their history? Because the dude is black, muslim, poor, and helping other poor people?

This is not justice.

[geek tragedy]

13. What proof is there that they fucked up?

The guy had an M-16 in his house. He engaged in a gun battle with policy who were trying to arrest him.

[Hannah Bell]

17. m-16 in his house? are you reading a different article?

"gun battle with policy who were trying to arrest him"

"allegedly".

the history of the police/fbi & black nationalist orgs doesn't immediately give us confidence in their version.

[Hannah Bell]

15. "criminal convictions"? where is that? you seem to be mistaking him

for h. rap brown.

[geek tragedy]

19. 1981 conviction for assault and illegal possession of a firearm. nt

[Hannah Bell]

20. where in this article did you see that? alternatively, if you're reading

a different article, post it.

besides which, to say the 25+-yr-old charges you describe justify the current events by the "counterterrorism" squad is ludicrous.

so now everyone with an old assault charge is a possible terrorist?

hey, you old wife-beaters, look out!

i'm sure they'll be surveilling middle-class white suburbs soon.

[geek tragedy]

24. Given that he was firing at law enforcement officers

and had an M-16 at his home, it would appear he didn't change his stripes over those 25 years.

LINK:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jP_QRvHo3fsvwobwjA0wtBGPfkNQD9BL1U6O0

"The FBI said at least five of the 11 people charged by the government have felony convictions, including Abdullah, who was convicted of assault and carrying a concealed weapon in Detroit in 1981."

"Arena said a search of a Detroit duplex where Abdullah lived turned up weapons, including an M-16 assault rifle."

[Hannah Bell]

26. at worst, that would make him an armed former felon running a local

fencing outfit, not "an urban version of Tim McVeigh".

you might have forgotten this, but something like 15-25% of black men are former felons, depending on the state.

I'm sure it's because they're all possible terrorists & genetically prone to "criminality" (sarcasm alert)- nothing to do with targeting of specific communities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/politics/campaign/23felons.html

So they called in the "counter-terrorism" unit.

Uh-huh.

The better to void your civil rights, dear.

& bust up any local groups which might have the will & ability to organize its membership in coherent opposition to the slash & burn of detroit.

[geek tragedy]

27. You glossed over the part where he shot at police

instead of surrendering to a validly issued arrest warrant.

[Hannah Bell]

28. you glossed over the part where that allegation is 100% on the "counter-terrorism"

squad's say-so.

he was alone.

you also skipped the part describing why a (alleged) petty non-violent criminal is being investigated & "arrested" by counter-terror units.

[geek tragedy]

29. Apparently he wasn't too non-violent. nt

[Hannah Bell]

30. apparently he has been for the last 28 years. he was being arrested by the frigging

national "counter-terrorism" group for dealing in stolen goods, not for violence.

the only violence is the (alleged) shooting of a dog after the "counter-terrorism" unit came onto the scene.

& the only source for what happened is this same "counter-terrorism" unit.

& this isn't the *first* time said units have gone after poor black males on scanty/no evidence of "terrorism".

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/12/liberty.seven/index.html


two mistrials for the destitute "terrorists" planning to blow up the sears tower. except the fbi was supplying the idea & materials; now a miami court convicts. try them til you get the verdict you want.

oh, yeah, i trust what the "counter-terrorist" unit tells me.

[cali]

10. Look, I deconstructed and explained in plain language why

this piece is nothing but propaganda. There may well be questions about this action, but the WSW doesn't even begin to make a case.

As for your questions,I'm not not saying they're unreasonable. In fact, quite a good op was publisx was published in the Free Press. Here's a link.

I happen to dislike propaganda masquerading as an article. I don't give a shit who's doing it.

osted October 31, 2009 - 4:56 p.m.
Government should heed calls to investigate Abdullah's death

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More than 1,000 mourners this morning attended the funeral of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the Islamic leader killed by FBI agents this week during a shootout in Dearborn. This was a solemn, sacred and beautiful religious ceremony, not a political rally. But imams did call for an independent investigation into Abdullah’s death. It’s a call the government should heed to clear questions harbored by Muslims around the world, as well as by many Detroiters, Muslim and non-Muslim.

Such calls will grow. The Dearborn Police Department is investigating the shooting now, but Abdullah’s killing has blown up beyond metro Detroit. It could threaten relations between the government and Muslim Americans, and even between the U.S. and Muslim nations -- relations that President Obama has cultivated. Enough is at stake for a national body to investigate whether agents properly targeted Abdullah, or could have avoided killing him. Whether that body is the Justice Department or Congress, or some other outside agency, it must have credibility with all parties.

As I wrote Friday, no one should assume government wrongdoing or impropriety — nor has anyone I’ve talked to in Detroit. Still, there is growing skepticism about what happened during the Wednesday raid, and how the government uses informants to infiltrate Muslim groups. The account now widely held in the community is that Abdullah was shot repeatedly by agents, after he shot an unleashed police dog, despite official reports that Abdullah fired on agents. Because Abdullah was both African American and Muslim, his death has racial and religious overtones, especially among a people who have faced excessive police force throughout their history.

<snip>

http://www.freep.com/article/20091031/BLOG2505/91031023/1068/OPINION/Government-should-heed-calls-to-investigatge-Abdullahs-death

[tekisui]

4. I am surprised this story hasn't gotten more coverage.

A raid on terrorists ending in an FBI killing in Detroit. This should have been big, big news.

[geek tragedy]

8. The wingnuts went crazy over it, claiming the jihadists were coming

to eat people's babies. It's actually proof that law enforecement works.

[arcadian]

16. Detroit Mosque leader = FBI/CIA informant

I'm speculating of course but Detroit has the largest Arab population in the U.S. Plus the FBI guys were "Anti-terrorism task force" what would they be doing there?

[Hannah Bell]

18. you haven't been paying attention. the "anti-terrorism" boys devote

a substantial portion of their time to busting black men in economically devastated areas.

if you have some evidence for your claim the deceased was an informant, let's hear it.

[arcadian]

21. I said I was speculating.

It's not a great leap.

[Hannah Bell]

23. it's not if you think the fbi kills their informants. which i do. but there's no evidence

the guy was an informant, or had run afoul of his minders such that he needed to be killed.

[arcadian]

25. It could have been an accident or mistake.

I don't know. When you think of Detroit think of it in these terms. During the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile crisis, Miami was the CIA's largest domestic station, JMWAVE, south Florida was crawling with spooks. Why? Because South Florida had the largest Cuban community in the U.S. Detroit is likely that way today, since it has the largest Arab population in the United States. Counter-terrorism agents are probably swarming the place and accidents do happen. I don't have any proof as to this man's fate, it's just guesswork on my part.

[HamdenRice]

22. Makes sense WSWS was reporting because they also were Federal anti-union informants nt