: Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pakistani American Leadership
Center (PAL-C)
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 1:12 AM
To: Ahmed, Ehsan - ahmedex
Subject: Community Alert / May 2010 Newsletter
Weblink: Click Here
<http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001tCA0n-fejtsE4kai-JOtO8_oLiU
3XveUN96JpjE-34kY05MwX2x4_QZmLcQe0aCTujk0UyUu1aTPnoR4tUyxVdvZ8ok8JDxlH98ow3U
jnVU%3D>
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPsiVYvOSfS_
p86kt-b6cS4Wicu8xLrlxH3ezBhi6DAF99OVhUCbVdtfXOr-kgUpxkyWCq6hKC7z_bDNiAJconzf
Hz6y5fLu80MXq3qWFtXgQWyyhT9tvuXP> banner
PAL-C Newsletter
Seek Legal Advice Before Talking to the FBI
May 24, 2010
PAL-C Headquarters, Washington D.C., USA
Board of National Directors
Shoaib Kothawala Najeeb Ghauri Salim Adaya Dr. Salman Naqvi
Mossadaq Chughtai Pervaiz Lodhie Dr. Rafiq Rahman
Arif Mansuri Qaisar Madad Asim Ashary Nayyer Ali
Quote
"I see the strength and resilience of the American people. Terrorists want
to scare us. New Yorkers just go about their lives unafraid. Extremists
want a war between America and Islam, but Muslims are part of our national
life, including those who serve in our United States Army. Adversaries want
to divide us, but we are united..."
President Barack Hussein Obama, West Point Commencement Address, May 22,
2010
PAL-C Logo Banner
<http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs049/1101513693042/img/532.gif>
Joins
<http://app.icontact.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/282918/4988bffde58e302d51e
7e975fc4b8497/image/png>
In Issuing the Following
URGENT COMMUNITY ALERT:
Seek Legal Advice Before Talking to FBI
The FBI is contacting Pakistani, South-Asian and other Muslim Americans to
solicit information and advice about addressing violent extremism.
We strongly urge individuals not to speak with law enforcement officials
without the presence or advice of an attorney.
<https://app.icontact.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/282918/a514cf749ac5fe1969
958f188c65b554/image/jpeg>
You may think...
"I've done nothing wrong. I've got nothing to hide. I want to help law
enforcement."
You should know...
. Seeking the advice of counsel before you talk to law enforcement is the
smart thing to do.
. Speaking to law enforcement without an attorney present or advice of
counsel--however well-intentioned--places you and your family at great risk
of criminal prosecution or adverse immigration consequences (including
deportation). (In fact, in at least one recent case, individuals were
arrested and jailed on charges--such as alleged immigration
violations--completely unrelated to cases agents were investigating.)
. There is no legal obligation to speak to law enforcement officials. You
are only required to provide identification to law enforcement officials if
asked, and immigrants are required to carry proof of immigration status at
all times. Declining to speak cannot be presumed as guilt.
. Any statements made during contact with law enforcement can be used
against you at a later time. Lying to a federal officer, even by omission,
is a crime.
Steps You Can Take:
1. Be Smart. Protect yourself. Know your rights: Watch the Muslim
Advocates'
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPtLVBx1iUup
3nxAOWw9LQP8HsUyXBLwhu7Tzeu0qoyciI0Gwmfi5nsxo02JQupoHdVgCftjM7AWPBJAu69oHkHI
FsJwERqazWNoDR6iptNKOs68GigAH2mLZOg2Nr_hRQbk0W8-_LliKzMGbKes4xhI> "Got
Rights?" video. It provides crucial information about how to handle
contact from law enforcement officials. Click here
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPtLVBx1iUup
3nxAOWw9LQP8HsUyXBLwhu7Tzeu0qoyciI0Gwmfi5nsxo02JQupoHdVgCftjM7AWPBJAu69oHkHI
FsJwERqazWNoDR6iptNKOs68GigAH2mLZOg2Nr_hRQbk0W8-_LliKzMGbKes4xhI> to view
the video online.
2. Protect your friends, family & community: Forward this alert and share
Muslim Advocates'
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPtLVBx1iUup
3nxAOWw9LQP8HsUyXBLwhu7Tzeu0qoyciI0Gwmfi5nsxo02JQupoHdVgCftjM7AWPBJAu69oHkHI
FsJwERqazWNoDR6iptNKOs68GigAH2mLZOg2Nr_hRQbk0W8-_LliKzMGbKes4xhI> "Got
Rights?" video with your networks and listservs. (It's available in five
languages: English, Arabic, Farsi, Somali and Urdu.)
3. Learn more: Join Muslim Advocates for a webinar to answer questions
about how to safely and effectively work with law enforcement on Tuesday,
May 25th at 12pm PST/ 2pm CST/ 3pm EST. Click here
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPsV9fwCIe0z
SnZEPOeDHIp1I81LpVoXtwqjy7cSr0OZ3d5Vw7s5VDNAtqyUCJrMRge0-4BsGlj404Mz7Aw1ftc1
Ks1MSDf9QAye2PBexqWdN1DeKwxkmSHWtGFRMX4is55CSlmzQGxdWrwfSVL07PBokuDDAEk8uqo=
> to register.
4. Say your lawyer will contact them: If approached by the FBI or law
enforcement, ask for their business cards and say that your lawyer will
contact them.
5. Seek an attorney: For assistance locating an attorney in your area,
please visit www.muslimadvocates.org
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPtIuJGQ8VKE
u4vc_Z83T4o3VUO8HTYsjAYhqP7nGjNRDmz_B8ZO7jH2myKrMnnmNA1bUDFj_oEePU0B3-uwwkaK
Of7stLMA13i5swpXPl18ehClY4XfYBrk> or contact Nura Maznavi at
[log in to unmask] or 415.675.1495.
Pakistan and Times Sq.
By Nicholas Kristof | New York Times
If we want Times Square to be safer from terrorists, we need to start by
helping make Pakistan safer as well...
I can't tell you how frustrating it is on visits to rural Pakistan to see
fundamentalist Wahabi-funded madrassas as the only game in town. They offer
free meals, and the best students are given further scholarships to study
abroad at fundamentalist institutions so that they come back as respected
"scholars."
We don't even compete. Medieval misogynist fundamentalists display greater
faith in the power of education than Americans do.
Let's hope this is changing under the Obama administration. It's promising
that the Kerry-Lugar-Berman aid package provides billions of dollars for
long-term civilian programs in Pakistan, although it's still unclear how it
will be implemented. One useful signal would be for Washington to encourage
Islamabad to send not only troops to North Waziristan but also teachers.
We continue to be oblivious to trade possibilities. Pro-American Pakistanis
fighting against extremism have been pleading for years for the United
States to cut tariffs on Pakistani garment exports, to nurture the textile
industry and stabilize the country. Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah
Mehmood Qureshi, told me that his top three goals are "market access, market
access, market access." But Washington wants to protect North Carolina
textile mills, so we won't cut tariffs on Pakistani goods. The technical
word for that: myopia.
Education and lower tariffs are not quick fixes, sometimes not even slow
fixes. But they are tools that can help, at the margins, bring Pakistan back
from the precipice. It has been reassuring to see the work of people like
Greg Mortenson, whose brave school-building in Pakistan and Afghanistan was
chronicled in "Three Cups of Tea." Ditto for Developments in Literacy, or
D.I.L., which builds schools for girls in Pakistan that are the most
exhilarating things I've seen there.
It costs $1,500 to sponsor a D.I.L. classroom for a year, and that's just
about the best long-term counterterrorism investment available.
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPv8Xu0Ssf3o
MZ9PJNplvXiTJDqdUSYimJNW-wAgldQ4w_AFQc3zBuMkneezhtgbZ4kckditx0Rou38_JfGc_mGn
LF5AKY3EGvpfTxGlPWjeVOj99KLtlnTAIfftwDMOKYYBIEqmFlxxZCFaRrTbQMzNszaXsyKRo-Q=
> MORE
New Release:
Reading Corner
Journey into America Cover
"A timely and stimulating contribution to a critically important issue: The
West's (and especially America's) relationship to Islam." Zbigniew
Brzezinski, Former National Security Advisor
The most comprehensive study ever done on the American Muslim community,
Journey into America explores and documents how Muslims are fitting into
U.S. society, seeking to place the Muslim experience in the U.S. within the
larger context of American identity. In doing so, it is a major contribution
to the study of American history and culture.
Renowned scholar Akbar Ahmed and his team of young researchers traveled
through over seventy-five cities across the United States-from New York City
to Salt Lake City; from Las Vegas to Miami; from large enclaves such as
Dearborn, Michigan, to small towns like Arab, Alabama.
They visited over one hundred mosques and visited homes and schools to
discover what Muslims are thinking, what they are reading, and how they are
living every day in America.
Ahmed illuminates unexplored Muslim-American communities through his pursuit
of challenging questions: Can we expect an increase in homegrown terrorism?
How do American Muslims of Arab descent differ from those of other origins
(e.g. Somali or South Asian)? Why are so many white women converting to
Islam? He also delves into the potentially sticky area of relations with
other religions. For example, is there truly a deep divide between Muslims
and Jews in America? And how well do Muslims get along with other larger
religious groups, such as Mormons in Utah?
Much like Ahmed's widely hailed
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPtizyFRYJwD
gk5c06MYWgnZLtLYr_XFvM8Lm_Yn9aroU9bUlnLEV9dcUcC-lWoe-H_KCStRvl3kHDt0y3EjEbXM
LD8TvFiHntv0usXbzZWDGLYayOsni33vwuAbwUk-tk4ucrYkERRDatLEhn-Dqan7qGMIqbupyLqW
OiZ7WRDOqRnHzS7XmeaB> Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization
(Brookings, 2007), Journey into America is equal parts anthropological
research, listening tour, and travelogue. Whereas the previous book took the
reader into homes, schools, mosques, and public places in heavily Muslim
nations, Journey into America takes us into the heart of America's Muslim
communities in America. It is absolutely essential reading for anyone trying
to make sense of America today, especially its Muslim population-the
challenges it faces, the challenges it poses, and its prospects for the
future.
List of Contents
Chapter 1: Muslim Odyssey
PART 1: AMERICAN IDENTITY
Chapter 2: Defining American Identity
Chapter 3: Searching for American Identity
PART 2: ISLAM IN AMERICA
Chapter 4: African-Americans as First Muslims
Chapter 5: Immigrant Muslims: Living the American Dream/American Nightmare
Chapter 6: Muslim Converts: Shame and Honor in a Time of Excess
PART 3: ADJUSTING AND ADAPTING
Chapter 7: Jews and Muslims: Bridging the Great Divide
Chapter 8: Mormons and Muslims: Getting to Know You
Chapter 9: The Importance of Being America
Praise for Journey into America:
"Professor Akbar Ahmed turns his intrepid approach to cultural dialogue and
inter-faith understanding onto American society, in this brilliant follow-up
to "Journey into Islam". His insights should be required reading for anyone
grappling with national security, national identity and national cohesion in
today's complex era."
Colonel David Kilcullen, author of Washington Post Bestseller and Economist
Book of the Year, The Accidental Guerrilla
"Journey to America is an essential pillar in the effort to build the
interfaith bridge of understanding. It will inform, provoke, and inspire
Americans of all colors, cultures, and faiths." Congressman Keith Ellison
culture.
The great Pakistan aid debate
By: David Rogers | Politico
Jacqueline Novogratz preaches "patient capital" to an impatient world. Jim
Bever is a beaver about building dams.
Roshaneh Zafar in Lahore, Pakistan, welcomes a hybrid approach, if only the
U.S. would get off the dime. And in his seventh-floor sanctum atop the State
Department, Deputy Secretary Jack Lew is still the same unaffected,
good-government guy from Boston City Hall and Tip O'Neill's office. Only he
laughs a bit nervously now that special envoy Richard Holbrooke keeps
calling him his "unindicted co-conspirator."
Welcome to the great Pakistan aid debate: a $7.5 billion, five-year
commitment; its own corporate-sounding logo, KLB; and new urgency after the
Times Square car bomb attempt May 1...
In truth, AID knows it will have to transform itself if the program is to be
successful. And with new leadership of the agency under Rajiv Shah, a former
Gates Foundation executive who made his first visit to Pakistan as AID
director in April, that's very much the hope.
Too much foreign aid still goes to Beltway contractors and never leaves the
United States.
At a recent Senate hearing, Shah cited a technical training school in
Afghanistan that he said cost taxpayers 35 percent too much. Sen. Patrick
Leahy (D-Vt.), who oversees AID's budget, is threatening to withhold his
support unless the agency changes its "ivory tower" culture and an attitude
that "no matter what your idea is, we know better, so we don't need you."
One who has felt that rejection is Zafar, a 41-year-old Pakistani
development economist trained at the Wharton School and Yale University.
Established in 1995, her Kashf Foundation today boasts as many as 1,400 loan
officers and a client list of more than 300,000, a microfinancing network
with a portfolio near $40 million and a record of extending hard-to-get
credit to Pakistani women. Lew himself was on hand in Islamabad last year to
present an award to Zafar for her work.
But when she turned to AID, seeking money to double her operation and expand
into vulnerable areas of Pakistan like Swat and Hazara, her application went
nowhere, even as Washington struggled to get its programs up and running.
"Both sides need to trust one another. There are good entities," Zafar told
POLITICO. "This is not about whether Kashf gets the funds. It's really about
ensuring that the promise behind the Kerry-Lugar bill is fulfilled."
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPsVAzz9Zou7
5SZw4j7ZmN32-ewuWAi2gOfv0-Kq_SNKVyYZI9evT3oyqTjpv-NrdMqsTBJhYBC07YmVeJDEa20r
-_HucGDPM1YGCMSUmPkl5wDjl9Jp4NEd_Ire7tkPrL8LfXVLJ88PwrWA3hYHjOrsUcWnR4kW7dAC
3hac89qAukJ9jdPQgpWY> MORE
What I understand about Faisal Shahzad
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPsxGpETWXuU
LvUA1qKBouTWfIpOGqgAXDaJbmA4OGsc8uSFS4rfEgevuoTdtu3JLFKOG-DpyU-x--t0nXfRe6Hw
HFk9vhy_kzZCBqATevbtShm1-k_lLfgePR1pI0JHDQvIS85Sh26k-N7oUwMf6FMFW4IKUuM3yOGT
2HF94r34pMqTnnuco4M-TlDz5GqPVXtpEz_RE30PxDk3OsA0hmYGTuFSWPtpB05zs3auh-JwkvqN
6UJ_rAyD> Fasisal Shahzad
As a Muslim Pakistani, I can't tell you why he did it. But I know one
violent nut can change how Americans see me
By Wajahat Ali | Salon.com
Last Saturday, I was drinking my chai, reading the latest Green Lantern
comic, and participating in the glorious American hobby that is Googling
when I saw the news about the foiled NYC Times Square terror plot. I
immediately began reciting the "Post-Crisis Minority Mantra," familiar to
many ethnic minorities and religions in these troubled times:
"Please don't let it be a Muslim or Pakistani dude.
Please don't let it be a Muslim or Pakistani dude."
Back then, it wasn't. They had footage of a suspicious white guy.
"Phew! Thank God!" I said out loud.
But I had to invoke the mantra repeatedly over the next few days, as details
emerged and the truth became all too clear: The terrorist was a recently
naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan named Faisal Shahzad. A Muslim
Pakistani.
"No! Not again! Why, God, why??"
A Muslim born and raised in America with Pakistani parents, I was the
"token" at early age. Growing up, I was like any other socially awkward,
overweight, dorky American kid who wanted to date Alyssa Milano and beat
Contra on my Nintendo without using the secret, unlimited life code --
except my T-shirts were smeared with turmeric and lentil stains instead of
PB and J, and in place of Lunchables my mom fed me homemade, green-colored,
lamb patty burgers. I was the kid comfortable with all his identities --
Muslim, American, Pakistani -- and as such, I became the one people
consulted when uncomfortable questions had to be asked, or misconceptions
and stereotypes needed to be explained.
After news of the averted attack, I was hit with a blitzkrieg of texts,
Facebook updates and gchat pings. Friends from varying backgrounds --
Mexican-American, African-American, Arab-American -- wanted to know what I
thought about another "Rage Boy" foolishly attempting to commit violence
with an amateurish terror plot.
Several made a similar confession: How glad they were that the suspect
didn't belong to "their tribe." What I did know, with a sinking feeling, was
that many moderate, peaceful Pakistani Muslims like me were further doomed
to collective mistrust and suspicion...
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPsxGpETWXuU
LvUA1qKBouTWfIpOGqgAXDaJbmA4OGsc8uSFS4rfEgevuoTdtu3JLFKOG-DpyU-x--t0nXfRe6Hw
HFk9vhy_kzZCBqATevbtShm1-k_lLfgePR1pI0JHDQvIS85Sh26k-N7oUwMf6FMFW4IKUuM3yOGT
2HF94r34pMqTnnuco4M-TlDz5GqPVXtpEz_RE30PxDk3OsA0hmYGTuFSWPtpB05zs3auh-JwkvqN
6UJ_rAyD> MORE
* Continue reading
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPvmiDOax42G
Gc0sgxQcsG4SaSF9UFT5o3CHxJWJ8D_bpmuQSrUbiKKuS-f2x3B1pIg4NumdN3goChWeR8bkAgCb
OO3Fme6cpHiqamNIy7RMqZeb_Hdl6YoxKX52Gz8iDYgTK7JETsSRhKVxwSASljcXhlt_Ziaxs1Yi
nFF_80QAKAXzvJro49a32agpAxRZeUvaBWoNLVg6dHaBNzq9kt3w>
U.S. Is Still Using Private Spy Ring, Despite Doubts
By Mark Mazzetti | New York Times
WASHINGTON - Top military officials have continued to rely on a secret
network of private spies who have produced hundreds of reports from deep
inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to American officials and
businessmen, despite concerns among some in the military about the legality
of the operation.
Earlier this year, government officials admitted that the military had sent
a group of former Central Intelligence Agency officers and retired Special
Operations troops into the region to collect information - some of which was
used to track and kill people suspected of being militants. Many portrayed
it as a rogue operation that had been hastily shut down once an
investigation began.
But interviews with more than a dozen current and former government
officials and businessmen, and an examination of government documents, tell
a different a story. Not only are the networks still operating, their
detailed reports on subjects like the workings of the Taliban leadership in
Pakistan and the movements of enemy fighters in southern Afghanistan are
also submitted almost daily to top commanders and have become an important
source of intelligence.
The American military is largely prohibited from operating inside Pakistan.
And under Pentagon rules, the army is not allowed to hire contractors for
spying.
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPvbbiXzkXwb
FMI8eiKXTZtrBp1bJDK3cDVMzyuX_GjDYPqidhMFX6M1ZH-bOdNehZxAEEwNzJVv6hZ_NGOJhRGR
B_DIKknMkX6-T3M47RurRXAlh0Ssb00nTnvVVQscxxuVMJrVIKNrA_pcAg3LbguP169RuOrCY1Q=
> MORE
PAL-C welcomes your feedback and strives hard to better serve the Pakistani
American community. Please feel free to give us your feedback on the
newsletter, suggest improvements, and please provide any thoughts on PAL-C's
efforts.
We also ask that you contribute
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPvEkMiznTvc
TbaXCUCx9ESmkA9QowYMEAkkgLMvXEj45e9J7MLvCe-QQtqazNMe3WhpkpkPagTdtvVFeD3IMozw
OYQsQvcDuas6qvraQDQ4g2rNnqJI1sUx> so we may continue to offer these types of
services and advocate on your behalf for your rights, your interests, and so
that your children may see a better and brighter tommorrow here in America.
Sincerely,
Taha A. Gaya <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Executive Director
Pakistani American Leadership Center
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103433366925&s=9867&e=001SQMWo8lCHPtifLEL15PC
HsPuKlAN9SW4OBfiyU1k4V0oVT0nN7S2HXHW_Zo2cHt9Guz-Of7rG5lM2p3gWnSTJz1WONquW72g
Bj-QBDv8gvE=>
Forward email
<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1101513693042&ea=ahmedex%40jmu.
edu&a=1103433366925>
<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001uV3jnccU8bacoh596cJW8e-td-7HL
3YKgrnH6f_-PhUfraHMcOJI6IguddQ_PNQgzXzLZ2rOyiB6WuxlSkSZwg%3D%3D&p=un> Safe
Unsubscribe
This email was sent to [log in to unmask] by [log in to unmask]
Update Profile/Email Address
<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001uV3jnccU8bacoh596cJW8e-td-7HL
3YKgrnH6f_-PhUfraHMcOJI6IguddQ_PNQgzXzLZ2rOyiB6WuxlSkSZwg%3D%3D&p=oo> |
Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe
<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001uV3jnccU8bacoh596cJW8e-td-7HL
3YKgrnH6f_-PhUfraHMcOJI6IguddQ_PNQgzXzLZ2rOyiB6WuxlSkSZwg%3D%3D&p=un> T |
Privacy Policy <http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp> .
<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_News_113> Email Marketing
by
<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_News_113>
PAL-C | 236 Massachusetts Ave., NE | Suite 207 | Washington | DC | 20002
<http://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?t=1103433366925.0.1101513693042.9867&ts=S0491&o=h
ttp://ui.constantcontact.com/images1/s.gif>
|
