RIYADH/TAMPA, 30 June 2006 — Two Saudi students, Mana Saleh Al-Manajam and Shaker Mohsen Al-Sidran, who climbed aboard a Hillsborough County school bus bound for Wharton High School in Tampa, Florida, last month will not be prosecuted, but they must complete a unique homework assignment from the State Attorney's Office.
"They have to write an essay in English documenting their experience," Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) told Arab News quoting state attorney's spokeswoman Pam Bondi.
The idea is that it would "aid other students from other cultures" by showing them "what is allowable and acceptable in our country." The assignment, along with a promise to avoid any future trouble with the law, makes up the pretrial intervention program to which the two men agreed. Such a program is common among first-time offenders, Hooper said.
"We've said all along this was a mistake and a misunderstanding," said Ahmed Bedier, director of the Central Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations. "They are very naive as to how the system works here. They didn't mean any harm." While Bedier did not object to the essay assignment, he still seemed upset by the initial treatment of Al-Manajam and Al-Sidran — namely, the days they spent in jail without bail and the assumption that they were considering a terrorist attack.
"People were jumping to conclusions," Bedier said. "This incident exposed the bias and the climate that exists for Muslims living in this country." Referring to the recent arrest of seven men charged with plotting terrorist attacks on US soil, CAIR said it has insisted that the men were not Muslims and should not be described as such in news reports.
Hooper said CAIR based its claim on a June 22 CNN interview in which a Miami man claimed to belong to the Seas of David group that apparently counts the suspects as members, and he tells of their religious practice. "We study and we train through the Bible," Corey said in the CNN transcript. He also referred to the group's habit of worshiping in a "temple," not a mosque.
"Given that the reported beliefs of this bizarre group have nothing to do with Islam, we ask members of the media to refrain from calling them 'Muslims,'" said Bedier.
Referring to the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip to secure the release of a kidnapped Israeli soldier, CAIR has called on President Bush to help end the Israeli and international "siege" imposed on the Palestinians following the results of democratic elections.
CAIR said in a statement released yesterday: "Mild rebukes for the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure in Gaza will not stop Israeli missiles.
“The Bush administration should condemn these war crimes and demand that Israel stop using American taxpayer-funded weapons to carry out attacks that will only serve to intensify the humanitarian crisis in Gaza."
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices, chapters and affiliates all over the US and Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
