THE WHITE HOUSE (FinalCall.com)�After a series of real and imagined
insults, Muslim leaders walked out of a White House meeting June 28 to
protest poor treatment by Bush administration officials. Just one day
later, the president apologized.
Nearly two dozen national leaders and community representatives
walked out of a briefing by the Rev. Mark Scott, associate director of
the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives after
Secret Service agents and White House officials escorted Abdullah
Al-Arian, an intern in the office of House Minority Whip David Bonior
(D-Mich.) and a student at Duke University, out of the session.
�The president is very upset about this,� press secretary Ari Fleischer
told reporters. �The president is very concerned that an action was
taken that was wrong and inappropriate, and the president apologizes for
it on behalf of the White House.�
Mr. Al-Arian�the son Sami Al-Arian, a prominent professor at the
University of South Florida who is leader of the National Coalition to
Protect Political Freedoms, which is challenging the government�s use of
secret evidence to detain immigrants�had been cleared in advance to
attend the meeting, as had all the other attendees.
�In this one instance, the Secret Service made a mistake,� said Mr.
Fleischer in response to a question from The Final Call. �They�ve
acknowledged it. They have said so. They will continue to say so, and
the president is concerned about it to the point where he does
apologize.
�This White House has engaged in extensive outreach, all part of the
Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The president was very pleased
that the House took the action it did to support a program that can help
the nation�s mosques receive help from the federal government to help
them complete the good works that they do on behalf of people in their
community.�
The Secret Service did admit it committed an error in asking Mr.
Al-Arian to leave.
�As they were departing, the Secret Service realized that an error
was made regarding that clearance issue and that individual should not
have been asked to leave,� Secret Service spokesman Marc Connolly told
The Final Call.
�That information was passed to the White House staff and the entire
group, including that individual, was invited to return to the meeting,�
he said, but the Muslim delegation declined, �which is certainly
understandable, due to the disruption of the meeting caused by the error
made by the Secret Service.�
Muslim groups were courted by the GOP at election time and voted for
Mr. Bush in historic numbers, leaders say. But with the election behind
them, many feel slighted by the man they helped put in office.
The latest incident came after several embarrassing snubs by White
House officials, according to Muslim leaders involved.
First the White House canceled an Eid-Ul-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice)
observance, reportedly because of snow, according to Imam Johari Abdul-Malik,
Islamic chaplain at Howard University. Eid-Ul-Adha and Eid-Ul-Fitr (at
the conclusion of Ramadan) are the two holiest holidays on the Islamic
calendar. President Bill Clinton hosted an Eid-Ul-Fitr observance in
December 2000.
Vice President Dick Cheney then failed to attend a briefing he
scheduled with 150 leaders of the American Muslim Council attending the
group�s 10th annual convention on June 22. Bush senior policy advisor
Karl Rove filled in.
Mr. Cheney also declined to attend the convention dinner the
following evening. And Dr. John Dilulio, director of the Faith Based
Initiative was unavailable for the June 28 briefing�claiming
illness�delegating the chore to his deputy, the Rev. Scott. Mr.
Fleischer explained that Mr. Cheney was not present because of logistics
and travel time problems that were �beyond the control of the vice
president.�
Rep. Bonior complained that he is �very troubled� by the latest
incident. �There have been too many instances where Muslims have been
stopped, harassed, or discriminated against for no apparent reason,� he
said in a statement. �This happens in airports, on our highways and now
it seems to happen in the Bush White House. This administration says it
wants to reach out and be inclusive, this is the wrong way to begin.�
Muslims contend administration officials backed out of the latest
meetings, following a June 22 report in The Jerusalem Post which alleged
that American Muslim Council leaders support Middle East �terrorists.�
�The incident is the latest in an unfortunate pattern of exclusion by
the Bush administration,� the Muslim leaders said in a joint statement.
�This sends a message to American Muslims that the White House will
engage only if it is allowed to dictate the terms and decides who is
allowed at the table.
�American Muslim organizations reject the notion that community
members must pass a litmus test. A meaningful dialogue must be based on
equity, accessibility and fairness and not exclusion, discrimination or
exploitation by special interest groups,� said the statement, which was
endorsed by American Muslims for Jerusalem, the Coalition for Good
Government, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muslim Women
Lawyers for Human Rights, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, among
others.
�The Bush administration seems to want to court American Muslim votes
and money behind closed doors,� Khalid Turaani, American Muslims for
Jerusalem executive director, said following the incident.
�This clearly indicates a pattern,� Imam Abdul-Malik told The Final
Call. �It should serve as a wake-up call to the Republican faction of
the Muslim community that these people are not serious. They do not want
to deal in good faith. Their promise is an empty promise.�
At least one Muslim, who advocated most strongly in behalf Mr. Bush
in last fall�s election, now regrets his unqualified support for the
GOP.
�Eight months after the verdict (election), I feel that the decision
was wrong for Muslims and for the country,� Dr. Aslam Abdullah of the
Coalition for Good Government wrote in a commentary after the June 28
incident. �I was blinded by the blindness of Gore to the Muslim
community. However, now I feel that the decision was wrong and harmed
the Muslim community. Thus, I offer my unconditional apology for asking
the community to support Bush.�
