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AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE ARAB-AMERICAN AND MUSLIM COMMUNITY TO THE US
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT
Dear peace and justice organizations and activists,
On March 20, 2004, the world will mobilize
against war and colonial occupations. The significance of this historic day is evident to all and requires no further
elaboration. The political clarity and character of this mobilization in the US, however, remains illusive.
This is
where our community stands:
In confronting war, the people of Palestine and Iraq have paid dearly. They stand
against the imperial project shoulder to shoulder with communities of color and the working class in the United States, along
with great many subjugated peoples around the globe - from Afghanistan to Colombia, and from the Philippines to Vieques, and
on. Without a doubt, the Palestinian and Iraqi people are both welded together in an inextricable unity at the forefront of
the global anti-war movement, transforming themselves as a whole as its embodiment and paying in its defense with the dearest
of all - their very existence. Yet, despite every home destroyed, child murdered, acre confiscated and tree uprooted, town
colonized and ethnically cleansed, wall built, refugee remaining nation-less, and incremental robbery of their self-determination,
they remain the very antithetical formulation of empire and with a vision of justice for all.
In the United States,
we, Arab-Americans and Muslims, have been maliciously targeted, stripped of our rights, and positioned outside the constitutional
framework of this country. A new COINTELPRO has been unleashed against our homes and living rooms, as our fathers, mothers,
sons, and daughters are plucked away and thrown into unknown prison cells. Thus, in a continuum of history, we stand
with African Americans, Japanese Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and all others in the painful struggle for justice.
From them all, we take our cue, for they are our predecessors and our partners in this long march.
Accordingly, we
the undersigned hereby declare that:
1. We do not accept delinking the struggle of the Palestinian people from the
anti-war movement, and regard the struggle in Palestine, as it is viewed worldwide, to be central to any peace and justice
mobilization.
2. We insist that the Palestinian right to return and to self-determination are the key anchors of the
Palestinian struggle, and that organizations that attempt to diminish, sidetrack, or abrogate these rights, regardless of
any other position they may take on Palestine, are acting contrary to the will and aspiration of the Palestinian people.
3.
We view all attempts to relegate our collective presence to the margin and to tokenize our participation in the movement to
be racist in character. In its attempt to silence the Arab and Muslim voices for decades, particularly that of the Palestinian
people, the movement in the US has stood alone in the global movement for justice. We see ourselves as full partners
in leading the movement as signified in the heavy price we continue to pay along the way, and reject any attempt to objectify
our presence.
4. We regard the positions
that the "colonial occupation of Iraq must be internationalized", or that ending the occupation must be conducted over a period
of time until the "Iraqis are able to secure their democracy", as implicitly colonial and racist. These are positions
that are rooted in the construct of "manifest destiny" and the "white man's burden" to "civilize".
5.
We call on our people everywhere to hold all organizations accountable to the positions they take, especially those that depict
racist attitudes towards us, implicitly or otherwise, particularly those that tokenize and objectify our struggle. Any
organization or movement that finds it acceptable to minimize or disregard for political expediency the struggle of any people
should not be allowed to function within the global justice movement. Justice is neither selective, nor partial or conditional.
We are firm on these principles for the March 20th mobilization and beyond as we call on all communities and organizations
to mobilize and stand in force under the following unifying five slogans:
1. End all colonial occupations from Iraq
to Palestine to everywhere!
2. Bring the troops home NOW!
3. No to internationalizing colonial occupations!
4.
Stop the attacks on civil liberties!
5. Money for jobs, education, and healthcare not for war!
As we salute and
stand empowered with sectors of the movement that have taken a principled stand on justice, we seek to participate in the
empowerment of all as we call for a genuine global united front against war.
All out on March 20, 2004!
(List
in alphabetical order. To be included, please write to: rashmawi@sbcglobal.net)
1. Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
2. Al-Bireh
Palestine Society, California Chapter
3. Al-Qalam Institute
4. American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ)
5. American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, Greater Sacramento Area Chapter
6. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, New Jersey
Chapter
7. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Seattle Chapter
8. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,
Los Angeles/Orange County Chapter
9. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
10.
Arab Center of Washington - Seattle
11. Arab Muslim American Federation
12. Arab-American Community Center, Chicago
13. Arab-American Forum, New Hampshire
14. Arab-American Press Guild
15. San Francisco Bay Area Palestine Coalition
16. Canada-Palestine Association
17. Canada-Palestine Friendship Society
18. Canadian Arab Federation
19.
Committee for Democratic Palestine - Canada
20. Committee for Justice - USA
21. Deir Yassin Society of New York
22.
Free Palestine Alliance - USA (FPA)
23. Friends of Ghassan Kanafani, Toronto Chapter
24. Kana'an Review
25. Muslim
American Society Freedom Foundation (MAS Freedom Foundation)
26. Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada (MSA-National)
27. Muslim Students Association, California State University, Sacramento
28. Muslim Students Association, University
of California, Davis
29. National Council of Arab Americans (NCAA)
30. Palestine Children's Welfare Fund
31. Palestine
House Educational and Cultural Center, Canada
32. Palestine Right of Return Congress - USA
33. Palestine Solidarity
Committee - Los Angeles
34. Palestine Solidarity Committee - Seattle
35. Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago
36.
Palestinian American Women's Association (PAWA)
37. Sacred Roots
38. Students for Justice in Palestine, California
State University, Sacramento
39. Students for Justice in Palestine, University of California, Davis
40. The Islamic
Association for Palestine (IAP)
41. The United Muslim Association of High Schools Club
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