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WEB POSTED 08-28-2001

 

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A landmark challenge
UK delegation praised in U.S. for struggle to lift ban on Farrakhan

by Dora Muhammad
Staff Writer

CHICAGO (Finalcall.com)�Coming to America to set the record straight, the legal team that fought to overturn Britain�s 15-year-old ban on Minister Louis Farrakhan has sent sparks of international support flying back across the Atlantic.

During a visit to Chicago Aug. 15-20, Minister Hilary Muhammad, Nation of Islam UK representative, and three attorneys launched intensified efforts to mobilize the U.S. public to petition the UK government against appealing the July 31 High Court�s decision. The history-making case resulted from legal brilliance and years of sacrifice by Min. Hilary and NOI supporters, said team members.

Joining Min. Hilary were Sadiq Khan, a prominent UK solicitor; Jeffery Muhammad, secretary of the UK study group; Tamara Muhammad, a junior barrister; and Barrister Matthew Ryder, the initial legal contact. In British law, two lawyers handle the job of one: solicitors prepare the case while barristers argue in court.

Following a first-day briefing with the Minister, radio and television interviews filled their daily schedule. Their visit was highlighted by an Aug. 18 meeting at Rainbow/PUSH headquarters, where Rev. Jesse Jackson expressed support during a live telecast; and a Sunday visit to Mosque Maryam with Min. Farrakhan.

"Britain, in the name of being a democracy, could not lock someone out of free speech whether they agreed with them or not. We think it is a wonderful thing that the Minister is able to go to London, or anywhere in the world," Rev. Jackson said after acknowledging the UK delegation seated before him.

Hectic schedule

The team made their first public apppearance holding a press conference Aug. 16 at the DuSable Museum, noted for chronicling the freedom struggles of Blacks such as Paul Robeson, The Honorable Marcus Garvey, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Sojourner Truth, among others.

The UK team declared the purpose of their visit and relayed thanks from Blacks in the UK to those in the American public who supported lifting the ban. Backing has begun to swell inside the UK borders, despite "poisonous" and "vitriolic" media reports, Atty. Khan said addressing the press.

"The challenge that we made was a very, very landmark challenge. What we said, in effect, was that the Home Secretary was acting in a perverse and irrational manner in maintaining the ban," Atty. Khan explained. "We�re asking a court of law to say that there is no evidence, no basis to exclude Min. Farrakhan," he continued. To beat this challenge, he said, the Muslims had to surmont a huge mountain.

"We salute these lawyers. We thank them," Attorney Andre Grant, president of the Cook County Bar Association, told the media. "We pledge our support as Black lawyers in America for their continued fight for freedom, justice and equality."

The group has agreed to be an amicus, or a friend, in the case, allowing them to deliver written and oral testimony in the court, Atty. Khan explained to The Final Call. Later that afternoon, the bar association made the UK team honorary members.

"There are only 300 Black members of the bar," Atty. Tamara said to the lawyers. "So, when we ask you for help and assistance, don�t take for granted that you can�t assist because we are very new in our struggle for recognition and we do need your support."

A critical juncture

On Oct. 1, Justice Michael Turner will give his reasons for lifting the ban. The Home Secretary will then have 28 days to appeal, but only based on a question of law used by the judge to overturn the ban.

The period from now until the end of October is a critical juncture, said Min. Hilary, as the world awaits the British government�s decision. "The real support begins now!" he said urging the public to rally their U.S. and UK family to pressure prominent persons who may have access to individuals of power in the U.K. "And keep us in your prayers," he added.

A dedicated website will soon be set up for supporters to register their names on a petition. Thus far, they have collected10,000 signatures, aspiring to gather 20,000 by Oct. 1.

Although Min. Hilary and others had been legally engaging the government since 1997, Oct. 2000 marked a major shift in the legal language. The newly elected democratic Labor Party incorporated the European Convention of Human Rights into legislation, enabling the lawyers to argue that Min. Farrakhan�s rights should be assessed by international standards since he was an international figure.

According to Atty. Khan, this change superseded the presumption of British civil liberties which is starkly different from the rights protected under the American Constitution. As the Queen�s subjects, everything is forbidden except for what one is given liberty to do, he said, adding, that while Americans are appalled that a ban existed, the British are shocked that it was overturned.

No one has ever successfully challenged a ban in UK courts, said Atty. Ryder, so this case has set a legal precedent. "The engagement of human rights discourse within this environment has never been successful before," he added, "The argument in the case was that the human rights of not only Min. Farrakhan but of the people in the UK were impacted by preventing him from coming into the country."

Min. Farrakhan discovered that he was excluded when his flight to Nigeria stopped in London. Officials tried but could not arrest him since he was not officially entering the country but in transit. Nevertheless, they detained him for hours in a holding room.

In 1998, the ban was maintained based on quotes attributed to the Minister that the government felt represented a risk of public disorder, said Atty. Khan. However, the government filed no evidence to support those assertions, said Atty. Ryder.

"What we found during the course of the legal case is that certain material that the government had been given and were relying on was not accurate and did not reflect the Minister�s quotes," he added. "The factual reality is that several of those statements were not made by Min. Farrakhan at all."

"There is no evidence on the planet that Min. Farrakhan has caused public disorder," Min. Hilary told The Final Call regarding the Minister�s work in 47 years. "There is a certain work in the United Kingdom that only he can do. This is why we want him to come. So, that he can fulfill that which God has raised him up to do."

Min. Hilary spearheaded years of the "Lift the Ban" campaign, holding rallies and raising funds. In 1999, Atty. Ryder became inspired to commit to lifting the ban, and soon discovered that Min. Hilary had already laid the groundwork with letters to the government. This duty-bound correspondence sufficiently proved that the UK was given every opportunity to change their position before litigation began.

Atty. Ryder later referred Min. Hilary to Sadiq Khan, who took charge of preparing the court case. "Hilary distinguished himself as being extremely professional, patient and careful in the way that he moved forward in giving us information. The quality of the presentation we make in court is entirely dependent on the client giving us what we need. We couldn�t have asked for more."

Atty. Khan continued, "The discipline and restraint shown by the Nation of Islam members in the UK has been an example to everyone because there were clearly elephant traps laid for us. And we could have acted in a hysterical, frenzied manner, but we didn�t ... it was a testament to the leadership of Min. Hilary."

But Min. Hilary quickly praised Atty. Ryder: "We cannot overstate how important it was for him coming to the case, with the enthusiasm, drive, determination, conviction and the resolve. He had and has the expertise to actually take the case where it needed to go so that we could actually win. ... It wasn�t a fluke victory. Every step that was taken was deeply thought about and heralded with precision."

The win is not just for Muslims, Atty. Khan pointed out, but for all who believe in the freedoms of speech and association. He also stressed that celebrating the success must not diminish efforts to garner support.

Anticipation of the Minister�s visit

The anticipation is at a fever pitch, said Min. Hilary, as countless thousands wait for the Minister�s visit while UK Muslims are eager to embrace them with a spectacular commemoration of the Minister touching down on the British tarmac in peace.

"What they (UK government) have effectively done is made me bigger than I would have been if they had just left me alone. So, since they didn�t leave me alone, my brother (Min. Hilary) saw it as an injustice, the attorneys saw it as an injustice," Min. Farrakhan said Aug. 19 at Mosque Maryam culminating the delegation�s visit.

"If his (Justice Turner) argument is airtight, as I believe it will be, as a matter of law," said Minister Farrakhan, "then the government probably will be forced to accept the decision."

Extending a general invitation to the Black community, Min. Farrakhan said, "When I go, naturally, I would like you to come with me.

"There are about one million Muslims in London; 1.7 million Blacks and five million people of color," he continued, "You really should see the effect of the Minister�s work all over the world. And the love that people have for me is just mind-boggling. All I can do is thank Almighty God Allah for allowing people to love me, which puts on me a great responsibility to strive to be worthy of that love."

Certainly, Min. Hilary is a witness of this love. He credits the Minister with making him a decent UK citizen. After listening to one of Min. Farrakhan�s audio tapes in 1987, he was inspired to establish the first London study group. That effort has since expanded throughout the UK and into Norway, Sweden, France and Ireland.

"It is very important to appreciate that if the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan can have such a profound effect on the citizens of the United Kingdom and now throughout Europe by video and audio cassette, it�s very clear that his physical presence will allow us to be much greater guided," Min. Hilary said.

Making a Biblical reference, Min. Hilary quoted: "If he be lifted up, he will draw all men unto him."

Photo: (L-R): Atty. Matthew Ryder, Min. Hilary Muhammad and attorney Tamara Muhammad share a delightful moment with Min. Farrakhan (center) at Mosque Maryam.

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