Did the FBI special agents in Detroit, Michigan really shoot Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah last week because he shot a dog?
Did they unleash a dog to subdue Abdullah because he would not get down on the ground as had the other targets of the arrest warrant?
Did the FBI special agents shoot Abdullah 18 times?
Did the FBI special agents handcuff Abdullah after he had been shot 18 times?
Did the FBI special agents airlift the FBI dog for immediate medical care while Abdullah lay handcuffed and bleeding with 18 bullet wounds?
And is it true that Abdullah did not shoot at FBI agents but only at the dog that was unleashed upon Abdullah?
Is it true that, prior to two years ago (prior to the confidential informants being planted), Abdullah and his followers were not planning crimes?
Is it true that the FBI headquarters in Detroit are very close in proximity to Abdullah's mosque and that the FBI has no evidence of any planned attacks on the facility and or a member of the agency?
With regard to the alleged plot to attack the super bowl a few years ago (as reported by the newspapers), is it true that Abdullah is recorded or reported as having said that he did not want to attack and or harm innocent people?
Is the location of the shooting being preserved so that evidence of the shots fired from Abdullah firearm can be analyzed vis-a-vis his location and the location of the special agents on the operation in order to assess (probably rather than precisely - since only Abdullah could have told us what his intent was) what he was aiming at and attempting to shoot?
What is the FBI's policy on use of deadly force and for shooting to kill?
These are the kinds of questions people are asking, and these are the kinds of questions that need to be answered in order to address allegations that the shooting of Abdullah was unlawful.
The leaders who spoke at Abdullah's funeral prayers called upon the government to conduct an independent investigation and I suspect that these are some of the questions they want answered by an unbaised and independent investigation. Honestly, as much as I want to give the FBI the benefit of the doubt, the more I hear about some of the circumstances surrounding the investigation and the shooting, the less I think an independent investigation is just a good public relations effort and the more I think it is a necessary step in holding the FBI accountable for its actions.
Others believe it is a good idea to conduct an independent investigation. Jeff Gerritt of the Detroit Free Press writes that an independent investigation into Abdullah's shooting is a good idea too. Gerritt writes on his blog that
no one should assume government wrongdoing or impropriety — nor has anyone I’ve talked to in Detroit. Still, there is growing skepticism about what happened during the Wednesday raid, and how the government uses informants to infiltrate Muslim groups. The account now widely held in the community is that Abdullah was shot repeatedly by agents, after he shot an unleashed police dog, despite official reports that Abdullah fired on agents. Because Abdullah was both African American and Muslim, his death has racial and religious overtones, especially among a people who have faced excessive police force throughout their history.
This is a reasonable position and outlook. Gerritt pragmatically points out that the shooting death of Abdullah can become a source of tension between us and the Muslim world abroad. While we cannot stop others from thinking what they will, we certain can do our part in not giving our detractors with more "evidence" of America's bias against Muslims and Islam.
Imam Johari Abdul Malik wrote the following on his blog:
This tragic shouting raises deep concerns regarding the use of lethal force by law enforcement agents.
This troubling issue did not begin with the shooting death of Abdullah. African Americans have long suffered from bona fide cases of excessive force by law enforcement. For now local and national African American leaders have been relatively quiet on the shooting death of Abdullah but that may be because they are working out the dynamics between themselves and the American Muslim community since Abdullah was a member of both.
We can already see the skepticism with which American Muslims who knew Abdullah are receiving the news of his shooting death and the allegations surrounding the indictment that predicated the arrest warrant. People who knew Abdullah are shocked by allegations that he advocated an "offensive jihad" and that he was advocating a "separatist Islamic state" within America.
What individuals like Ihsan Bagby and Imam Johari Abdul Malik and members of Abdullah's family are saying is that the allegations and claims are wholly out of character with the Abdullah they knew. This is not a matter of excusing illegal actions.
Clearly those who knew him, and who are themselves are law-abiding and upstanding citizens themselves, are shocked at the allegations. It is completely understandable for those closest to Abdullah to be skeptical of the allegations and downright suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his shooting death at the hands of the FBI.
The best way to bring closure to this tragic story is to conduct a full, fair and independent investigation of the FBI shooting and if it is found that there was a deviation from the FBI's policies and procedures (or that the policies and procedures themselves are flawed and warrant revision) or that the investigation itself was in any way illegal or unjustified, then those holding positions of accountability should required to account for these shortcomings and or failures.
But how can the FBI be made to conduct such an investigation? People are going to have to organize and act in concert in order to make the authorities with the power to act follow through. Masjid al-Haqq and the shooting are in Representative John Conyers district. Rep. Conyers has always appeared to be a man of conscience and a person inclined to do the right thing. However, in a case such as this, with many hot-button allegations in the mix, it is up to the people who care about seeing justice done to organize the civic actions and advocacy that "forces" the hands of Rep. Conyers to act. Press releases and statements and so forth on one dimensional. The effort, if it is going to work, needs to include a wide range of voices from across the country. This is not just an American Muslim issue. It is not just an African American issue either.
Assuming that the justice community is succesful and there is an investigation and it is full, fair and independent, then all parties in interest must be prepared to live with its results. If a full, fair and independent investigation exonerates the FBI then we will all breathe a bit easier. That kind of a finding might be the basis for a more meaningful dialogue between the FBI and American Muslim leaders going forward. This is in everyone's best interests.
If the investigation discloses that the FBI acted improperly or illegally, then we are all in trouble. We cannot afford for our primary domestic anti-terrorism agency to even appear to be carrying out seemingly extrajudicial killings. This is not in anyone's interest.
But in the end, regardless of what the outcome of an investigation is, the fact remains that Abdullah will not be able to tell us what he meant by his words or whether he even uttered them, and we will not be able to see our justice system at work in affording Abdullah due process. I believe that all law enforcement officers would agree that this would have been the ideal outcome.
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