Bellow is the full text of Dr. Safi's letter to the Security Council President.

His Excellency Moctar Ouane
President of the United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Organization

Dear Mr. Moctar Ouane

I am writing to you to share with you my concerns, and those of my colleagues at the Center for Balanced Development, regarding the continued degradation of the state of human life in Iraq, and to join the growing number of individuals and organizations who have become convinced that the economic sanctions have given rise to humanitarian disaster of lasting material and moral impact. Many of us who are committed to a future based on the principles of justice, cooperation, and respect for human rights and dignity are astonished to see a society of over 22 million people being exposed to conditions that resemble those found in concentration camps. The images of starved children suffering from malnutrition bring to mind the prisoners of concentration camps under the Serb regime in Bosnia and the Nazi regime in pre-1945 Germany. Starving the children of Iraq and denying them decent education is unacceptable, particularly when the United Nations Security Council holds the key to stopping all the misery visited on them.

While I am aware that the economic sanctions are intended to curtail the aggression of the Iraqi regime, and to limit its ability to bully its neighbors, such an objective should, and can, be pursued, I believe, without putting the entire Iraqi population under extreme hardships and dangers.

The Security Council's sanctions are now contributing not only to the nutritional deprivation of the Iraqi people, but they have had debilitating effects on the education system. As such, the sanctions have become counterproductive, since they are breeding ignorance and illiteracy, the very conditions that give rise to tyrants and dictators. If the objective is to defeat the authoritarian regime of Iraq, a policy that create more openness and strengthen civil society institutions and projects should replace the current isolation imposed on Iraq. It is not difficult to see that rather than weakening Saddam's regime, the sanctions are playing to the hands of the Iraqi government by setting in place the very conditions which ensure its survival. After nine years of sanctions, Saddam's regime is as entrenched in power as it has ever been.

The oil for food plan has done very little to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people, and UNICEF and WHO reports show that the overall health, education, and poverty conditions continue to deteriorate. Apparently, those who need the food and medication the most are the last to receive them.

While Saddam's regime bear the main responsibility for leading the people of Iraq to two major wars with their neighbors, and for bringing destruction and adversity to millions of families both within and without, the United Nations Security Council holds the key to ending this sad situation. The Security Council must recognize that its efforts to fight Saddam's regime through economic sanctions has instead created a major catastrophe for the civilian population. If the sanctions are meant to destabilize the military regime of Saddam, as repeatedly argued by their defenders, the last nine years should provide sufficient proof of the futility of this strategy. A more meaningful approach to limit the capacity of the Iraqi government to commit aggression against its neighbors is to impose a military embargo.

I wish therefore to conclude my letter by urging you, and through you the members of the Security Council, to work towards lifting the economic sanctions as soon as possible, and to consider replacing them with an embargo on military technology and hardware. A military embargo can achieve the stated aim of preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors without destroying the people of Iraq.

Sincerely,

(Signed)

Louay M. Safi
Director
Center for Balanced Development

http://home.att.net/~louaysafi/commentaries/SecurityCouncil.htm

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At the time of the FBI raid on the IIIT Safi was also president of the AMSS and director of the CBD

The AMSS, IIIT, and Kamran Bokhari of Al Muhajiroun :

Less then zero degrees of separation...

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Louay Safi, director of research at the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), said that the raid shocked his organization; federal agents entered the building around 10 a.m. and kept the staff confined in a room for several hours without showing them the search warrant initially.

"My organization is a research organization," Safi said. "We are committed to reforming Islamic thought... and working... to integrate the Muslim community into the American system. We are very much surprised and even shocked at agents... looking for terrorist support [in our offices]."

http://www.refuseandresist.org/newrepression/032302raids2.html

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Note that Louay Safi gives his email adress at the Islamic Society of North America

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President: Dr. Rafik Beekun (University of Nevada, NV) [email protected] Vice President: Dr. Aminah McCloud (DePaul University, IL) a [email protected] Secretary: Mr. Kamran Bokhari (Howard University, Wash, DC) k [email protected] Treasurer: Mr. Kamran Bokhari - Interim Treasurer - (Howard University, Washington, DC) [email protected] Members at Large: Ms. Jasmin Zine (University of Toronto, Canada) [email protected] Ms. Maliha Chishti (University of Toronto, Canada) [email protected] Ex-Officio Member: Dr. Louay Safi - Outgoing AMSS President - (ISNA) j[email protected] ---------------------------- http://www.islam-democracy.org/board.asp

Current Directors Ali A. Mazrui, Chair (3/1999 - ) John L. Esposito, Vice Chair (3/1999 - ) Radwan.Masmoudi, President & Founder (3/1999 - ) Akbar S. Ahmed (4/2003 - ) Asma Afsaruddin (4/2003 - ) Nimat Hafez Barazangi (12/2001 - ) Asma Barlas (4/2003 - ) Charles Butterworth (3/1999 - ) Louis J. Cantori (3/1999 - ) Joseph Montville (4/2003 - ) Abdulaziz Sachedina (12/2001 - ) Louay Safi (3/1999 - ) Robert Schadler (4/2003 - ) Antony Sullivan (3/1999 - ) Svend White, Secretary (12/2001 - ) Past Directors Sana Abed-Kotob (9/1999 - 9/2000) Taha Jaber Al-Alwani (3/1999 - 5/2003) Abdulwahab Alkebsi (6/2000 - 3/2003) Jamal Barazanji (3/1999 - 4/2003) John Entelis (3/1999 - 12/2001) M. A. Muqtedar Khan (3/1999 - 4/2003) More proof of "zero degrees of separation" between the CSID and the AMC. The Council for the Study of Islam and Democracy and the American Muslim Council wrote a joint letter to President Bush telling on "Dealing with Muslim World" Note that the signatory and contact person of the AMC is Albdulrahman Alamoudi. He is currently in jail on charges of taking money from Libya and planning to aid the assassination of the Saudi ruling family in order to sow chaos in the kingdom. This is more evidence of how the above named Islamist organisations agenda is linked to groups like the Al Muhajiroun,Hizb ut Tahrir, the CDLR, MIRA and ultimately Al Qaeda. "Abdurahman Alamoudi (search), an American Muslim leader now in jail in Alexandria, Va., and Col. Mohamed Ismael (search), a Libyan intelligence officer in Saudi custody, have given separate statements to American and Saudi officials outlining the plot, the New York Times first reported Thursday." "U.S. officials confirmed the supposed plot to kill Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah (search) to Fox News. The United States has launched an investigation into the plan, which apparently was hatched at the same time Qaddafi was renouncing terrorism and negotiating the lifting of sanctions". http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122367,00.html CSID & AMERICAN mUSLIM cOUNCIL SEND LETTER TO PRESIDENT ON DEALING WITH mUSLIM wORLD http://www.islam-democracy.org/LettertoPresident.asp On Friday, Feb. 9, 2001, the American Muslim Council (AMC) and the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID) sent a letter (click here to see letter in PDF format) to President George W. Bush congratulating him on becoming the 43rd President of the United States and making some policy recommendations for improving relations with the Muslim World. Muslims have also noted with interest President Bush's new policy on faith-based charities. The letter states that: "As Muslim Americans, along with those who study Islam's role in the world, we want to work with you, and with your administration, to build a more diverse, united, and compassionate America, and to bridge the gap between the U.S. and the Muslim world." The policy recommendations were developed by a panel of 25 scholars and experts who met on January 12, for the purpose of developing a strategy for improving relations between the United States and the 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. The policy recommendations are related to democratization and economic development in the Muslim world, the Middle East peace process, economic sanctions on Iraq, relations with Iran and Libya, and the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir. The text of the letter was released to the media in a press conference on Monday, February 12, 2001 , National Press Club. Dr. Yahya Basha, President of AMC, and Prof. Ali Mazrui, Chair of the Board of CSID, and other board members were available to answer questions from the media. There are approximately six million Muslims in the United States and 74% of them voted for President Bush in the recent elections. Islam is the second largest religion in the world and the third largest in the United States and Europe. Muslim Americans are increasingly active on the political scene and want to have their voices heard in domestic as well as foreign policy issues. AMC's Board of Directors: Dr. Yahya Basha (President) Mr. Aly R. Abuzaakouk (Executive Director) Mr. Ali Khan Mr. Abdurahman Alamoudi Prof. Ali Mazrui Prof. Sulayman Nyang Mr. Mujahid Ramadan Mr. Nedzib Sacirbey Mr. Nasim Ashraf. For further information about AMC, please contact Mr. Aly Abuzaakouk, Executive Director, at 202-789-2262, or visit the AMC web site at: www.amconline.org. CSID's Board of Directors: Prof. Ali A. Mazrui (Chair) Prof. John L. Esposito (Vice-Chair) Dr. Radwan Masmoudi (Executive Director) Dr. Layla al-Marayati Sheikh Taha Jaber Alalwani Dr. Jamal Barzanji Prof. Charles Butterworth Prof. Louis Cantori Prof. John Entelis Prof. Muqtedar Khan Mr. Ali Nawaz Memon Dr. Fathi Osman Mr. Abdulwahab Alkebsi Prof. Tamara Sonn Click here for further information on the CSID's Board of Directors Here is a press release showing how the Islamist 5th Columnists downplayed the dangers faced by American solders from Muhajideen in Bosnia and objects to the media referring to the Muhajideen as "mercenaries". The AMC spokeswoman Layla Sein is now the coordinator for the AMSS and gives her email at the IIIT . The PR also shows that in 1995 Muslims were complaining about being "stereotyping and scapegoating". AMERICAN MUSLIM COUNCIL FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION December 6, 1995 Layla Sein: (202) 789-2262 AMC Says News Reports are Greatly Exaggerated on Possible Danger of Mujahadeen to American Troops in Bosni In response to news reports in reference to the Mujahadeen in Bosnia-Herzegovina, we believe there are issues which need to b addressed. The Mujahadeen came to Bosnia to fight on the side of th people of Bosnia at a time when the rest of the world hesitated. They came under difficult circumstances with intentions of defending innocent civilians and stopping genocidal aggression committed by Serb terrorists in Bosnia. News reports indicating the number of Mujahadeen and their possibl danger to American troops in Bosnia are greatly exaggerated. Most of the Mujahadeen view the United States as an ally in Bosnia and not an enemy. The very same Mujahadeen fought on the side of the US in Afghanistan just a few years earlier. Some news reports refer to the Mujahadeen as mercenaries. Thi reflects a very unfair and biased judgment on people willing to sacrifice their lives to stop the suffering of the Bosnian people. In fact, the Bosnian government has already made an agreement with th Mujahadeen clarifying their future under the Dayton Peace agreement. Those who agree to lay down their weapons as part of the disarmament provision included in the agreement will be allowed to stay in th country. Those who do not will be asked by the Bosnian government to leave. We ask the media to be fair to everyone and not to try, in yet another case of stereotyping, to use Muslims as scapegoats, thus falling into the trap of Serb propaganda. The Mujahadeen must not be turned into tool in the effort to affect American sentiment so as to deny US troo in Bosnia the much-needed support of the American public. ------------------------ ------------------------ American Muslim Council 1212 New York Ave, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: (202) 789-2262 Fax: 789-2550 internet: [email protected] ------------------------------------------- John Esposito with Ramsey Clark and Ramadan Abdullah Shallah speaking at an event in Georgia in 1995. In the same year that this picture was taken Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, who is named in the caption as the director of the World and Islam Studies Enterprise set up by Sami Al Arian as wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad left his teachng position at the University of South Florida and took over as head of the the Islamic Jihad in Syria . http://www.gactr.uga.edu/gcq/gcqspr95/islam.html A panel discussion group on Islamic society during "Islam and the West" includes, left to right, moderator Alan Godlas, UGA assistant professor of religion, and panel members Sulayman Nyang, professor African studies at Howard University; Amina Wadud-Muhsin, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University; Ramadan Abdullah, director of the World And Islam Studies Enterprise; and Ann Mayer, associate professor of legal studies at the University of Pennsylvania. "Islam and the West": Conference Focuses on Global Understanding "Islam and the West," a symposium focusing on greater understanding of Islam and the Middle East, attracted more than 500 attendees to the Georgia Center for Continuing Education January 18-20, 1995. The symposium, sponsored by The University of Georgia Humanities Center, the Georgia Humanities Council, and the Georgia Center, is the first in the "Cultures in Conflict Series." The conference brought together speakers from a wide variety of political and theological viewpoints in an attempt to promote better understanding between the Islamic Middle East and the West. Discussion groups were scheduled during the symposium to encourage debate and complement major addresses. Topics included the Persian Gulf War, political relationships between the Islamic Middle East and the West, and Islamic society. The conference also included discussions of Islamic music and art. Speakers included Ramsey Clark, U.S. attorney general for the Johnson Administration; John Esposito, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University; Kanan Makiya, research fellow at the Center of Middle East Studies at Harvard University; and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, university professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Future programs are being planned now, including one next year which will focus on the Pacific Rim. For more information about the UGA Humanities Center's "Program for Global Understanding," of which the "Cultures in Conflict Series" is part, contact Betty Jean Craige, professor, comparative literature, and director, The Humanities Center, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-1628, 706-542-9265. Or e-mail [email protected]

AMSS CSID AMC and CBD member Ali Masrui visits the International Center for Islamic Propagation at the Bin Laden Centre in South Africa. The IPCI is funded by the Bin Ladens. The director, Achmed Deedat, has met Bin Laden many times.

See for more information on Deedat , Bin Laden , and the ICPI

Note that Masrui is listed as a "special advisor to the World Bank"

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/212

http://www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/news5.asp

US based Mazrui visits South Africa

International (IPCI) recently hosted the world renowned academic Ali Mazrui, Professor Ali Mazrui, widely known for his nine part documentary series featured on the BBC was in South Africa recently for the 14th Biennial Congress of the African Association of the Political Science (AAPS).

Despite his busy schedule Prof. Mazrui managed to present two lectures under the auspices of the IPCI at Mohammedeya Musjid in Sparks Road and at the IPCI Lecture Room. Prof. Mazrui spoke on the "Role of Muslim Organizations in
Africa and South Africa". In his talks he emphasized the urgent need for the Muslim community to play a prominent role in the social and political transformation of the country.

These talks, although organized at short notice, were well attended and well received.

Professor Ali Mazrui is a Professor of Humanities and Director of the Institute of Global and Cultural studies at Binghampton State University, New York and a special advisor to the World Bank. Professor Mazrui is the Chairman of the Islamic Centre Centre for Islamic Studies and Democracy in Washington D.C. He has also written over 20 books and is the Chairman of the Centre for the Muslim / Christian Understanding.

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http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Afaiz/afaiz40.htm

CSID director John Esposito in Malaysia in 1997 at a conference for "Civilizational Dialouge" where he was a speaker together with International Progress Organisation director Hans Koechler and Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy.

Esposito defended Sheik Tantawi's ruling condoning suicide bombings and stated that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter "

Esposito

Do not be too Quick to Draw the Bid'a Gun Against the Sheikh al-Azhar

The Conference for Civilisational Dialogue organised by the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue of Malaya University on Sept. 15-17, 1997 saw the meeting of some of the renown scholars of the world such as Prof. Tu Wei Ming, Dr. Roger Garaudy, Prof. Hans Koechler, Prof. Joseph Camillery, Prof. Chandra Muzaffar and, of course, Prof. John Esposito.

The matter which figured prominently at the three day conference was the so-called clash of civilisation thesis propounded by Bernard Lewis and brought to the fore by Prof. Samuel Huntington. In particular, arguments tended to converge on the fact that such a thesis was meant to demonise the perceived enemy so as to legitimate unwarranted actions that would otherwise be difficult to justify under ordinary circumstances.

Discussions had drifted into and around Huntington's social or cultural determinism of Islam as having, inevitably or otherwise, "bloody borders."

One of the most notable presentations was that of Prof. Esposito's. In his usual scholarly suave and candour, Esposito stated to the effect that in order to protect Western vested interests, Western powers in collusion with certain academic and media personalities have drawn a convenient picture of Islam as a monolith to be reckoned with. Three is, after all,
ample ammunition for loading the anti-Islam gun of the West.

As Esposito stated, "Ayatollah Khomeini's call for other Islamic revolutions found ready believers not only in the Muslim world but also in the West. In France, Raymond Aron warned of 'the Islamic revolution wave' generated by 'the fanaticism of the Prophet and the violence of the people,' which the Ayatollah has [supposedly] unleashed."

"US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance stated that a major reason for his objection to a military mission to rescue American hostages in Iran was fear of an 'Islamic-Western war.... Khomeini and his followers, with a Shiite affinity for martyrdom, actually might welcome American military action as a way of uniting the Moslem world against the West'," added Esposito.

He also pointed out that it was Charles Krauthammer, a syndicated American columnist, who wrote, "History is being driven by another force as well: the political reawakening of the Islamic world."

As Esposito explained, it is a challenge all the more ominous because it is perceived to be pan- Islamic. It is a "global intifada," supposedly embracing not only the Islamic heartland but also occurring on the peripheries of the Muslim world where Islam confronts the non-Muslim communities: in Kashmir, Azerbaijan, (Kosovo) Yugoslavia, Lebanon and the
West Bank.

A similar attitude was expressed by Hirsh Goodman, whereby he stated that "the incipient threat we see facing Egypt - the inexorable spread of radical uncompromising, violent and militant Islamic fundamentalism - is by no means unique. Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, some Gulf states, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia are, in varying degrees, all in similar crisis."

Such slanted views were unfortunately affirmed by Muslim themselves. As M. J. Akbar, an Indian Muslim writer, noted that the West's "next confrontation is definitely going to come from the Muslim world. It is in the sweep of the Islamic nations from the Maghreb to Pakistan that the struggle for a new world order will begin."

Governments in the Middle East like Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey have used not only the perceived regional "fundamentalist threat" but also its global threat to appeal for greater understanding and aid from the West to justify their crackdown and at times indiscriminate repression of Islamists. They do not distinguish between those who espouse a violent revolution to overthrow the political system and those who, operating within the system, challenge the power of political elites.

The Turkish government, no longer able to portray itself as a buffer state against the spread of communism to NATO's southern flank, is recasting itself as a buffer state and bulwark, only this time against revolutionary Islam. As the then-Prime Minister Tansu Ciller warned, if Turkey is not admitted to the European Economic Community, there "will be a
confrontation in the world... fundamentalism will find a fertile land to flourish in and then this will be the last fortress which will fall."

Such views or sentiments coming from the Muslim world itself have unfortunately lent credence to, among others, the repression of Palestinians by the Tel Aviv regime. "The Israeli government," said Esposito, "no longer able to present itself as the bulwark against the spread of communism in the Middle East, a role that powerfully justified substantial American aid, found in political Islam not only a domestic threat but also a new more virulent global threat."

Amongst Israel's typical arguments would be that "Our struggle against murderous Islamic terror is also meant to awaken the world, which is lying in slumber.... We call on all nations, all peoples to devote their attention to the great danger inherent in Islamic fundamentalism... This is a real and serious danger that threatens world peace... we stand on the line of fire against the danger of fundamentalist Islam."

Ironically, these or similar arguments were used by the Serbian terrorists in order to justify the genocide of Bosnian Muslims during the civil war of Bosnia Herzegovina.

Indeed, such irrationality has even gotten the better of some of the best among scholars. Bernard Lewis, in "The Roots of Muslim Rage", wrote that "Fundamentalist leaders are not mistaken in seeing in Western civilisation the greatest challenge to the way of life that they wish to retain or restore for their people.... It should now be clear that we are facing a
mood and movement far transcending the level of issues and policies and the governments that pursue them. This is no less than a clash of civilizations - perhaps irrational but surely a historic reaction of an ancient rival against our Judaeo-Christian heritage, our secular present and the worldwide expansion of both."

Such is truly irrational because Lewis refuses to examine particular problems or conflicts in light of the prevailing politics or the state of contemporary international affairs. He even asks that Western Christendom revive its crusader mentality of "them and us" in order to justify the continued domination or even subjugation of non-Western worlds. It is also irrational because he assumes that the Judaeo-Christian heritage is necessarily aligned with Western vested interests in sheer neglect of the needs or aspirations of the Third World in which reside a substantial number of Christians of non-European descent.

In light of these facts, during the question and answer session, I asked Prof. Esposito whether we should include in the list of those Muslims who contribute, inadvertently or otherwise, to the notion that Islam equals fundamentalism which equals terrorist violence, the Sheikh al-Azhar. After all, the Sheikh had recently declared the suicide bombings in Israel to be unequivocally Islamic, in that it is a legitimate form of self defense. I pointed out to Esposito that in accordance with the examples of the Prophet (pbuh), "jihad" is built upon the foundations of justice and compassion, not terror. Hence there can be no justification in the primary sources of the Shariah for suicide bombing, meaning that the Sheikh's "fatwa" is truly a "bid`a" or innovation of the worst kind, over and above the inconsistencies of logic inherent in his "fatwa".

In a rather long winded response, Esposito explained that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter; and that terrorism, as seen in the case of Israel's or the Tel Aviv regime's treatment of Palestinians, can and has been used to legitimate wanton violence and continued acts of oppression. However, surprisingly, Esposito added, "Although I have not read or come across the actual 'fatwa', as a rule, we must not be too quick to draw upon the 'bid`a' gun against anyone, not least of whom the Sheikh al-Azhar."

At such a point, the moderator for the session Prof. Syed Hussein al-Attas of Malaya University intervened and unequivocally stated that "such suicide bombings are unIslamic. How does anyone justify throwing a bomb into a bus filled with people who are not belligerent, let alone kill oneself in the process? And we know from the primary sources [Quran and Hadith] that women and children, the old and the sick are to be spared during battle. These suicide bombers are different from the Japanese kamikaze, whereby the latter would commit an act of selflessness, brought about by desperation, against legitimate military targets."

Hussein al-Attas words were met with silence.

Ahmad Faiz bin Abdul Rahman

19 September 1997.

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