[News] Chicago Muslim Groups respond to unfair verdict

[News at freedomarchives.org]

American Justice will apply to all of us
Chicago Muslim Groups Say Verdict on Boim Case Unfair
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Muslim Civil Rights Center, December 08, 2004

(CHICAGO, IL, 12/08/2004 ) - An unfortunate, but expected, decision was 
rendered today by a jury who heard one side of the story. The Quranic 
Literacy Institute (QLI) has been found guilty on evidence that is vague 
and poorly contextualized without having a realistic chance of addressing 
the evidence cited against it.

Few weeks earlier, before the trial began, Judge Arlander Keys ruled in a 
summary judgment against the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), the 
Holy Land Foundation and Mohammad Salah and held them liable for the death 
of David Boim without adequate due process.

Today, Judge Keys ordered the three Islamic charities and Mohammad Salah to 
pay $156 million to Boim’s parents.

SEE:
Judge Awards $156M to Dead Teen's Parents
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=nki7ozaab.0.9w4fpzaab.k7h77xn6.356&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fsns-ap-islamic-charities-suit%2C1%2C223551.story%3Fcoll%3Dchi-news-hed>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-islamic-charities-suit,1,223551.story?coll=chi-news-hed 


The defendants who had had their assets frozen already did not have the 
funds to hire the necessary legal representation; their legal team was 
comprised of one lawyer. They were denied a key continuance on the case, 
which is routinely granted, to prepare and refute the plaintiff’s 
arguments. Moreover, recent media coverage shows that many reporters have 
taken sides, and have presupposed guilt, condemning the defendants in the 
court of public opinion long before the verdict came out.

“Attention needs to be drawn to the fact that QLI has not received a fair 
trial - neither in the courtroom, nor on the pages of the daily papers. 
This is a case of justice catered to the more resourceful party, and proper 
due process denied to the usual suspects,” said Rasheed Ahmed , President 
of the Muslim Civil Rights Center .

“The implications of this case are trend-setting,” said Yaser Tabbara , 
Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations – Chicago. 
“Such a lawsuit, with the inordinate connections it’s trying to forge, is 
unheard of and therefore is likely to set an outrageous precedent in which 
every party with the necessary resources and an agenda will purport to sue 
every organization with the flimsiest links to suspected parties involved 
in the conflict in the Middle East, and for the most farfetched of behests.”

“In the case of QLI, the evidence cited to incriminate it has been vague 
and presumptuous; guilt was always presupposed. This is very much a 
political case in that the subjective identity of the defendant has 
solicited exorbitant and undue scrutiny, influencing the verdict. An 
unbiased fact-based pursuit of justice should really be the only 
determinant for the proceedings and outcome of a case entrusted to an 
official court of law. We ask that the media and the public remain vigilant 
of this alarming anomaly of democracy that seems to increasingly single out 
members of the Muslim-American community,” said Amer Haleem, Secretary of 
the Quranic Literacy Institute.

“This case was supposedly about remedying the harm that was done to an 
innocent young man, sadly, another egregious harm has been inflicted upon 
yet another completely innocent entity,” Haleem added

-END-



CONTACT: MCRC, Rasheed Ahmed, 708-598-6640, Email: 
<mailto:rasheed at mcrcnet.org>rasheed at mcrcnet.org


Muslim Civil Rights Center is a community based non-profit organization 
with the mission to create awareness about civil rights in the United 
States. For more information, please contact:

Muslim Civil Rights Center
7667 W. 95th Street, Suite 8E, Hickory Hills, IL 60457
Phone: 1-708-598-6640, 1-866-648-6272, Fax: 1-708-598-5283
Email: <mailto:info at mcrcnet.org>info at mcrcnet.org, Website: 
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=nki7ozaab.0.6h98n9n6.k7h77xn6.356&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcrcnet.org>www.mcrcnet.org 


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