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FRIENDLY from page 39

Sending money to Al Qaida, Osama
bin Laden's terrorist network, is prop-
erly punishable, but what about sim-
ply voicing an opinion, held by some
Muslims in America, that we would
all be better off living under Islamic
law? Should supporting your nation's
opponents be counted as subversion
when the nation is not clearly at war
in the traditional sense?
Both America and Israel are
Western-style democracies that
cannot function optimally if
their citizens are not able to
criticize their governments. The
United States was, for example,
made better by the critics of
the war in Vietnam as well as
by the civil rights movement
that directly challenged the
governments of Southern
states. Israel is better for its
internal debates about the
IDF's use of torture to interro-
gate prisoners, for example, or
the handling of the Israeli Arab
riots when the intifada began.
Israel is handling the Bishara
case properly, by bringing charges
publicly and preparing for a trial in
which the evidence will be out in the
open. Of course, the process will like-
ly give Bishara an even broader forum
to present his views, but that is neces- •
sary to show all Israeli citizens, includ-
ing its Arab citizens, that justice is
being done.
We in America are certainly going
to have to wrestle with the same issue
of what amounts to treasonous dis-
sent. To do so, we are going to have to
have access to information — specifi-

What Bishara and many
of the other Arab Israelis
have done seems wrong
on its face. But the cure
for that wrong is to expose
it publicly and punish it
through the courts.

PIPES from page 40

77,
4,1

11/30

2001

42

Lorio Ross Enteaainmenrinc

Call (248) 398-9711

505 S. Lafayette • Royal Oak • www.lorioross.com

cally, what did this person do, what
did that one say, when and in what
context, toward what aim.
If President George W. Bush and
Attorney General John Ashcroft really
want to keep the nation strong, they
will turn away from their proposals
for arbitrary detentions and secret tri-
als of people whom they and they
alone judge to pose a terrorist threat
to the United States. They will return
to the experience-tested path of judi-

unconvincing campaign to de-legit-
imize the Taliban (or any other
instances of militant Islam) on reli-
gious grounds, Washington should
stick to its knitting — politics. The
oppression, poverty, violence and
injustice of Taliban rule offer plenty of
evidence to indict it, without having
also to contest the regime's Islamic cre-
dentials.
Life in Afghanistan has been a living
hell. Beatings and arbitrary executions
are commonplace; for example, eight
boys who dared to laugh at Taliban sol-
diers were shot dead. In 1998, the
Taliban massacred 600 Uzbek villagers
in the west; in early 2001, they fol-
lowed with a massacre of 200 civilians
in the center. To prevent defections to •

cial due process and open trial.
What Bishara and many of the
other Arab Israelis have done seems
wrong on its face. But the cure for
that wrong is to expose it publicly and
punish it through the courts.
fnformation will be the best anti-
dote to the confusion and tension that
fills Israel and-America. As we struggle
to draw fair lines between legitimate
dissent and treasonous action, we will
need public debate that is informed by
hard facts rather than dictated by
secret government processes. ❑

the Northern Alliance, the Taliban have
taken thousands of families of their
own soldiers as hostages and some 400
of those soldiers were just massacred to
prevent their changing sides.
The U.S. government has a power-
ful message for the world, a message of
individualism, freedom, secularism,
the rule of law, democracy and private
property. But it should have nothing
to say about the proper practice of
Islam (or any religion).
It's right for President Bush to con-
demn Taliban rule for the fact that
women are "beaten for wearing socks
that are too thin. Men are jailed for
missing prayer meetings." He just
shouldn't give his opinion on whether
or not these punishments constitute
genuine Islam. ❑

