Release of a book authored by Shamshad Ahmad, president of Masjid As-Salam
A
book by Shamshad Ahmad dealing with post 9-11 era of entrapment of
muslims nationwide, is being released. details are below
(also,attachment). The book tells the Muslim side of the story behind
such entrapment. It also tells the American public what Muslims, their
mosques and their communities actually are. After reading this book an
American's perception about Muslims will never be the same. Rounded Up
will be available for sale in local bookstores and online at both
Amazon.com and the Troy Book Makers. All proceeds from the sale of the
book will go to the Aref Education Fund, established by the author for
the educational needs of Yassin Aref’s four children.
Order From Amazon.com or from the author (
ahmad@albany.edu)
at a slight discount price.
Quotes from Rounded Up:“I invite you to think: there are
more than six million Muslims in this country, and eight years have
gone by since 9/11, yet not a single Muslim terrorist has ever been
found here. We are not terrorists. We are part of this society, we
share its concerns, and we want to share in its success and
prosperity.” About the sting tape of November 20, 2003:
“The
FBI has provided a transcript that contains only the first one-third of
the discussion in this meeting. Perhaps their mission was completed
when the camera recorded the picture of Malik [informant] holding the
SAM on his shoulder, with Hossain looking at it. Very few will bother
to investigate what actually went on during the rest of this meeting.
Any honest soul will feel sorry for a person who expressed his views as
Hossain did, and who was subsequently entrapped and convicted for
promoting terrorism.”
“In his testimony,
Agent Coll said, ‘On numerous times, he [Aref] said, “I understand
you want to legalize your money and it is good for you and good for
him, you should both have the benefit, it is part of the faith.”’ But
in the entire fifty hours of tape recordings, I found a discussion
about legalizing money only once… [Aref] had the impression that Malik
[informant] was claiming some kind of business tax credit by such
transactions––the same way people giving to charities get tax
deductions. ‘I had no clue of any
illegality of the loan arrangement,’ Aref told us. ‘How can I say money laundering is a part of our faith? Our faith forbids even interest.’
Justice for Yassin Aref
Yassin Aref is a Kurd from Iraq. He was a
resident of Albany, New York. He was unfairly accused of supporting
terrorists and sent to a special prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The
purpose of this site is to tell you who Yassin Aref really is and his
interesting story; his struggle as a Kurd in Iraq, how he survived the Anfal
genocide, his struggle for freedom, his journey to America with his
family; and above all, how he ended up in prison. To learn of his story
and about the Kurdish struggle for rights and liberty, Yassin wrote for
you his life's story, Son of Mountains.
Click on this link to add this site to your RSS Feed.
Read more about unjustly prosecuted Muslims at
Waiting for Mercy is a new documentary by Ellie Bernstein.
Visit the Waiting for Mercy website.
Waiting for Mercy tells the story of a
fabricated FBI sting operation that took place in Albany, New York
during the winter, spring and summer of 2004. The complex operation was
designed to entrap Yassin Aref, 37 (a refugee from Kurdistan in northern
Iraq) and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, 51, a United States citizen and
an immigrant from Bangladesh.
The Albany Counter-Terrorism Task force, the Justice
Department, local police, and IRS agents, organized the entrapment
scheme, which was planned to portray these 2 men as “potential
terrorists” who knowingly participated in a (fictitious) plot to send a
shoulder fired missile to New York to attack the Pakistani Ambassador.
As an end result of this long sting operation, involving hundreds of
work hours, a convicted criminal informant, and many thousands of
dollars, both men were arrested in 2004 and charged with money
laundering and material support of terrorism.
In 2006, the two defendants were convicted of material support
for terrorism and were each sentenced to 15 years in prison. Using the
actual material, recorded over many months by the FBI informer, a
Pakistani criminal, the documentary shows the documents and the lawyer’s
responses to the charges and asks the audience to judge for themselves.
Visit the Waiting for Mercy website for more information and to donate.
Make a donation to support this film. Send checks to
Ellie Bernstein PO Box 9174 Albany, New York 12209