MASJID AS-SALAM
276 Central Ave. Albany, NY
12206
(518) 463-6275
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
March
8, 2007
PRESS
RELEASE
The Muslim community of Albany is
deeply disappointed and saddened by the conviction and sentencing of Mr. Yassin
Aref and Mr. Mohammed Mosharref Hossain.
The lives of these simple, decent, law-abiding men are now ruined. The lives of their wives and ten young
children are shattered. The Muslim
community feels disgraced and demoralized, and believes that a great injustice
has been done to these men and their families.
Law enforcement agencies aggressively pursued Mr.
Aref and Mr. Hossain in a single-minded desire for a terrorism conviction. They gave little attention to the principles
of fairness, integrity, and impartiality upon which this nation's justice
system was founded. This was
exemplified by the FBI's employing of a convicted felon in an attempt to induce
incriminating statements from the men, and further demonstrated by the FBI's
use of dubious secret evidence during the trial.
We strongly feel that the amount of zeal, money and
manpower put into this case, as well as the calculating techniques employed by
the FBI to incriminate these men would have been much better directed at
capturing real terrorists, who actually pose a threat to our nation, than in
ensnaring these two innocent men in an elaborate ruse.
Nevertheless, we respect the law of this land. We respect the judicial process and hence
this conviction. We are determined to
pursue the judicial process all the way until justice is achieved.
We, the members of the Muslim community at large and
the members of the Masjid As-Salam Mosque in particular wish to let the general
public know that we are a law-abiding people. Respecting and obeying the law of
the land is an integral part of our religion. We have no interest in harming
the society and the country in which we and our children live. We condemn acts
of terrorism in all shapes and forms. Just like any other people, we wish to
participate and share in the good of this country, and provide that same
opportunity to our children. We are religious people. We worship One God, the same God whom Abraham, Moses and Jesus
(may peace be upon them) worshiped. We believe in and follow their teachings
and believe in the original books revealed to them. We believe that the
teaching of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) is simply a
continuation of the teachings of the earlier prophets, only that it is complete
and universal. Similarly, our Holy Book, the Quran, is the continuation of the
earlier revelations except that it is complete and it is in its original form.
Sincerely,
Shamshad
Ahmad, Ph.D.
President,
Masjid As-Salam Mosque
Tel: (518)-482-3456.