British MP Galloway Takes Emperor’s Clothes Off Bush and His Mideast Policies

By Pat and Samir Twair


	British MP George Galloway prepares to autograph his book, Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington (Staff Photo S. Twair).

“BUSH AND the neocons already would be in Damascus and Tehran if it weren’t for you,” was British MP George Galloway’s answer to a Los Angeles activist’s question on what more the peace movement can do.

The occasion was Galloway’s Sept. 22 appearance in Los Angeles, just two days before he was to address the massive national war protest in Washington, DC.

More than 1,200 activists gathered at Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Wilshire Boulevard to hear the Respect Party MP from East London and to buy his book, Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington.

Speaking without notes, the dapper statesman’s delivery was reminiscent of his May 17 appearance before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee (see July 2005 Washington Report, p. 11), which first endeared him to American opponents of the war on Iraq.

Galloway made it clear he was not speaking against American troops, nor for “that medieval savage” Osama bin Laden. “The right invented Osama bin Laden,” he averred, “and it should stop trying to hang him around our necks.”

If the West fails to comprehend why Muslims resent its policies, it is doomed to more tragedies, he predicted.

“The heart of the crisis is the 50 years of injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people,” he said to a standing ovation. “Even though the U.S. is oblivious to this, each Muslim in the world knows every bullet shot into Palestine is paid for by the U.S.”

Galloway harked back to the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon by Falange militiamen under the encouragement of then Israeli Gen. Ariel Sharon. “Americans may have missed the double standard last week, when President Bush gave the red carpet treatment to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Sharon,” he noted, “but no Muslim did.”

Instead of demanding justice for the Palestinians, Galloway said, Bush called Sharon a man of peace. “Even Sharon doesn’t think he’s a man of peace,” he commented.

Alex Odeh Murdered 20 Years Ago

On Oct. 11, the 20th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Alex Odeh, the FBI once more announced its $1 million reward for the apprehension of people who booby-trap-bombed Odeh’s Santa Ana, CA office.

Odeh was western regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) when he was killed. He left a widow, Norma, and three children.

Authorities immediately suspected Jewish militants, particularly members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), then headed by Irv Rubin. Although he denied involvement in the assassination, Rubin said he would shed no tears over the slain Odeh.

In 1988, JDL members Keith Fuchs, Andy Green and David Manning were identified as suspects, but they had taken refuge in the militant Jewish Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron. The Israeli government refused to extradite the three for Odeh’s murder, but Manning was returned to the U.S. and found guilty of the letter bombing death of Patricia Crenwinkle. The U.S. has not pressed for extradition of Fuchs and Green, on the grounds that it does not recognize Israel’s jurisdiction over the West Bank.

Rubin and another JDL member, Earl Krugel, were arrested for the 2001 plot to bomb a Culver City mosque and the field office of Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Vista). Rubin subsequently committed suicide while in custody. On Sept. 22, Krugel was sentenced to 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Ronald S. W. Lee handed down the maximum sentence, citing among other grievances that Krugel did not satisfactorily cooperate with federal officers in disclosing the names of Odeh’s murderers.

MPAC Presents Media Awards


TOP: MPAC Media Award recipients “Allah Made Me Funny” (l-r) Azhar Usman, Preacher Moss and Azeem Muhammad; CENTER: Prof. M. Cherif Bassiouni; ABOVE (l-r) Rev. Jim Lawson, Rev. George Regas and Rabbi Leonard Beerman (Staff photos S. Twair; Center photo P. Twair).

Since 1991, the Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation has presented its Media Award to public figures who promote positive and accurate portrayals of Islam and Muslims. Recipients for 2005 are “30 Days” creator Morgan Spurlock and “Allah Made Me Funny: the Official Muslim Comedy Tour.”

At the Oct. 1 ceremonies in the Omni Los Angeles Hotel, Spurlock told the several hundred guests that when he took his idea for “30 Days” to the networks, he was told the project was “too real, too serious.” But when he took it to FX Network executives, he was told his show was just what they were looking for.

Spurlock was honored for his segment in which a Christian insurance salesman from West Virginia, David Stacy, lived for 30 days in the home of a Muslim family in Dearborn, MI.

The segment reignited debate over what it means to be American, stated Spurlock, whose 2004 documentary, “Super Size Me,” chronicled his McDonald’s-fast-food-only diet.

Also taking the podium was Stacy, who quipped that, beforehand, the Dearborn Muslim family of Shamael and Sadia Haque probably was expecting a crazy redneck from West Virginia. “I think they were relieved to discover I was neither a Nascar driver nor a member of the KKK and that I wore shoes and had a decent amount of teeth.”

As the 30 days drew to a close, Stacy said his preconceived ideas of Islam turned 180 degrees. Eventually he wore traditional clothing and woke at 5 a.m. to say prayers.

“I discovered Muslims are not dour or overly serious, they have a sense of humor and love sports,” concluded Stacy, who says he’s now called “Muslim Dave” in his hometown.

FX executives also were presented awards for giving the go-ahead for the “30 Days: Muslims and America” segment.

Members of “Allah Made Me Funny” performed standup routines from their comedy tour, launched in May 2004. Preacher Moss, Azhar Usman and Azeem Muhammad received awards for their act, which fuses humor and religion to address post-9/11 misconceptions of Islam.

The tour, which has appeared in 30 U.S. and Canadian cities, was created by Moss, a former writer for George Lopez, Darrell Hammond of “Saturday Night Live,“ and Damon Wayans. Uzman practiced law, and Azeem is the founder of Azeem’s Kids Foundation, a charity helping children in foster and juvenile care.

CAIR Stages Annual Banquet

Prof. M. Cherif Bassiouni of DePaul University’s College of Law was keynote speaker at the ninth annual fundraising banquet of the Southern California Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). More than 1,200 guests were on hand for the Sept. 17 event in the Anaheim Convention Center.

Bassiouni called for a renaissance of Islam adapted to the modern world and enacted by Muslim scholars of religion and other disciplines.The 1999 Nobel Peace Prize nominee said this task can be met in the U.S., where there is freedom of assembly and the press.

Even in the U.S., however, he cautioned, Muslims must be vigilant against those who intentionally activate suspicion of Islam.

“Our job is to confront the Daniel Pipes, Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells who engender animosity toward Muslims,” he continued, while urging those present to heed the hadith: “If you see a wrong, you must correct it.”

The legal scholar recalled former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s frequent mention of “terrorist sleeper cells” in the U.S. which generated prejudice against Muslims. Accusations were never proved, but exaggerations fed anti-Islam bias.

“Our basic ideals were lost because we had an attorney general who engaged in violations of the Constitution,” stated Bassiouni, who was the 1996-98 vice chair of the U.N. General Assembly’s Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. “And now we have an attorney general [Alberto Gonzales] who condones torture.”

One cannot fight for legal rights by apologizing, he warned. “I as a Muslim will not apologize for Islam. I find it shocking when Muslims who find their way to the White House do nothing more than apologize for Islam. It is not my obligation to say we are a good religion. My obligation is to live as a good Muslim.”

George Regas Honored on 75th Year

All Saints Church in Pasadena led the way in community opposition to the Vietnam War and has voiced dissent over sanctions against and then the invasion of Iraq. Southern Californians gathered by the hundreds on its steps to pray for peace and calm in the aftermath of 9/11. The force behind this has been the Rev. George Regas, who served as rector of the church from 1967 until his retirement in 1995.

Mindful of the approaching 75th birthday of Reverend Regas, All Saints’ Rector Rev. Ed Bacon formed a committee, and, on Oct. 2, hundreds of friends and relatives gathered for a special celebration at the church.

Reverend Bacon recalled that weeks before the invasion of Iraq, he and Reverend Regas participated in a peace demonstration at the Downtown Federal Building, were arrested, and walked to jail because there weren’t enough paddy wagons to transport the apprehended protesters.

Rabbi Steven Jacobs of Temple Kol Tikvah offered the opening prayer, as well as several humorous reminiscences. Laughter abounded in nearly all the comments offered by Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, actor Mike Farrell, Dr. Nazir Khaja of the Islamic Information Service, Rabbi Leonard Beerman, founding rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple, and Jane Olson, national chair of Human Rights Watch.

The Rev. James Lawson, pastor emeritus of Holman United Methodist Church, praised Reverend Regas for launching Interfaith Christians United for Justice and Peace.

The celebration continued on the church patio, where Greek cuisine was served.

Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles.