Notes on March 20 Protest

The energy of Saturday’s anti-war march proved yet again that questioning and anti-war sentiment is not dead among the youth. The crowd was overwhelmingly youthful, creative, and colorful in their modes of protest. Young Muslim women in hijab were out in force. Student activists, acting on ANSWER’s (ie, the organizer’s) suggestion to bring drums, pots, and pans (“anything to make noise against the war”) to the march, banged away just feet from the White House gates. The hugely talented Korean and Palestinian drum troupes, in particular, drew attention to the protest.

The commitment of the protesters was inspiring. Many had traveled all night or spent long hours on buses and trains to get to the protest. One young Caucasian man I met had driven from Chicago by himself. Evidently not of means, he’d intended to camp out while waiting for the protest to begin. He went to one campsite and then another, each time greeted by a sign “Closed Until April.” Undeterred, he slept in his car until the morning of the protest.

I am always surprised at the diversity of kaffiya-wearers at such events: there were the usual Palestinians, Arabs, Pakistanis, and Kanye West-ers. But then there were the kaffiya-wearing Caucasian males, whom, encountered elsewhere, I’d easily mistake for a redneck. That’ll teach me to stereotype.

Many leading voices in the struggle for justice were present: Ramsey Clark, Dick Gregory, Rev. Graylan Hagler, Hodari Abdul-Ali, Cindy Sheehan, and others. The local peoples’ radio station, WPFW (89.3 FM), which has told the truth about the war since its inception, was well represented. Representatives of D.R.U.M. (South Asian immigrant rights group) were there, as were Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Military Families for Peace. Representatives of the campaign to impeach Bush, as well as those from ArrestBlair.com, a group which challenges U.K. citizens to arrest Blair on war crimes (http://arrestblair.org/), made their presence felt.

Most striking was the line of pallbearers leading the march. In a mock funeral procession, they carried symbolic coffins bearing the flags of Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, Yemen, and other countries invaded and occupied by the U.S. or its henchmen. There were also coffins draped with American flags, a reminder that predominantly poor, black, brown and Latino people have been the cannon fodder of America’s illegal wars. I noted the green and white flag covering the coffin of my native Pakistan, and immediately thought of Abdur Rasheed Ghazi (shaheed) of Red Mosque fame, lying there bleeding to death, forever changing the legacy of that centuries old Islamabad mosque, assaulted by Paki mercenaries in U.S.-supplied tanks.

Theatrics abounded at the protest. An American flag was burned on stage, by a former U.S. Army machine gunner and her youthful companion from the IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War). At one point, as the march proceeded past the offices of Halliburton, an effigy of Dick Cheney was squeezed, stomped, and finally trampled “to death.” At the end of the march, the coffins were delivered to the White House gate. Cindy Sheehan called Barack Obama a war criminal as she was led away in handcuffs (part of a civil disobedience action in which eight people were arrested), her supporters emotionally responding with shouts of “Let her go!” The Muslim American Society’s Mahdi Bray spouted anti-war rhetoric reminescent of pre-election Obama, into a megaphone tenderly held for him by Brian Becker, but carefully avoided mentioning a single Islamic resistance movement (even though without these, the war would be passé). A spacewoman, in intergalactic helmet, swayed to the drums of peace, while a short distance away, a hula-hooper kept rhythm to the beat.

Among the most insightful and relevant signs carried by the protesters:

• “Myth No. 1: This Time War will help Afghan Women” (carried by an older Caucasian woman)

• “End drone attacks” and “Northrup Grumen + One Drone = 35 Mil” (both carried by representatives of Code Pink, which did a particularly excellent job of calling attention to the inhumanity of the U.S. use of drones in killing)

• “Stop Israeli War Crimes, Stop Billions of Tax Dollars to Israel” (this was one of the largest banners)

• “US troops out of the Philippines, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and everywhere” (this was a beautiful, colorful sign, carried by members of Alliance-Phillipines USA)

• “Shariah law for a peaceful Iraq and Afghanistan” and “Is it terrorism to defend one’s land?” carried by brothers from the Islamic Thinkers Society, an independent group from Comstock, NY, which seems to have broken from the limited thinking of the big money Moozlem groups which take their queque from Riyadh/Cairo/Washington (more on this at a later date)

• “We need jobs and schools, not war” (preprinted, unfortunately, on hundreds of signs by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, but still helpful in drawing the interest of many bystanders)

(The march proceeded from Lafayette Park through downtown, past the corporate offices of Morgan Stanley, the Washington Post, Halliburton, and the National Bankers Association. Unfortunately, I missed the procession, as I came to the protest directly from the National Marathon, which I ran that morning, in dedication to Leonard Peltier, Native American political prisoner, whose case first made me personally aware of the many political prisoners held in U.S. prisons. So, alhamdulillah, I ran the 26.2 in a shirt calling for his freedom. I finished the marathon close to 11:00 AM, and left soon after, since I knew the anti-war actions would begin at 12:00 noon. Unfortunately, the many road closures that morning delayed me, until famished and dehydrated, I took a break to grab some Thai noodles, slurped these down, then abandoned my car, and hopped on the metro to catch up to the protesters.)

Alhamdulillah, we were able to distribute some JAMI literature. At one point, I was speaking to an older Caucasian woman who held a sign that said “Free Gaza.” She asked for a copy of the flier I was distributing. When I gave it to her, she looked it over and immediately asked for additional copies to pass along to others. This scene replayed itself throughout the day, as many people were pleased to receive JAMI’s now old, famous “Boycott Major Supporters of Zionism” flier, and wanted additional copies for their friends.

As I was about to leave the protest, I spotted a young man in a tee that read “I fund international terrorism.” I grinned and offered to buy the shirt from him. He grinned back and said rhetorically “Yup, I pay taxes to the U.S. government.” It was a heartening last view of the protest, the thinking youth, who are this country’s hope for the future.

Notes on March 17

Okay, so I broke my “no-political-activities-during-the-semester” rule and went to the March 17 March on the Pentagon. What better way to start Spring Break, right? ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which organized the protest, must be credited with a keen sense of history, in planning the event to coincide with the anniversary of the historic 1967 March on the Pentagon. It had been a while since I'd experienced the joy of participating in an independent Muslim contingent, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As we marched down the hill overlooking the Citadel of Death (the Pentagon) reciting “Allah ho akbar” and “Free, free Palestine” I felt as if I were in a dream. Maybe the rednecks sending me hate mail were right, that I should thank ma lucky stars to be in this great country where I could spew such things and not get arrested. Then again, the protest was on a Saturday afternoon, sparing the tender feelings of the Pentagon brass in particular, and government officials in general. And why not let the proles blow off some steam if it’ll prevent a revolution, especially with Dick, Condi, and Alberto outta town for the weekend. So, I won’t lick Unca Sam's boots outta gratitude for allowing me to be there just yet.

I’ve gotten mostly negative feedback on the protest from Muslims: the protest was lackluster; ANSWER has no program; the turnout was miserable; the Muslims were few in number, disorganized, and undisciplined; and the ever popular it was too cold. My view is that the protest gave us badly needed experience as Muslim organizers. It should have taught us the importance of being on time (or, in some cases, simply showing up); of marching in formation; of good communication (both prior to and during the protest); and of making our voices heard (through distribution of literature, sloganeering, etc) instead of simply blending in. And it should have increased collaboration and trust between Muslims of diverse racial, educational, and socio-economic backgrounds, as is necessary for the building of an independent Muslim movement. Should have.

That the Muslim voice was much more evident than at previous marches was a victory in my view. I do not recall, for instance, hearing takbirat, or very evidently Islamic slogans at previous ANSWER, UFPJ, or MoveOn.Org protests. Distribution of Jamaat al-Muslimeen's "Boycott Israel" fliers, Free Imam Jamil postcards, and CDs of Imam Musa's speeches in defiance of the finger-freezing cold was another victory (thanks to Br. Nabil, Br. Aqueel, and Br. Bilal).

Some have asked me why the need for an independent Muslim contingent for the March 17 (and other) protests. After all, the Muslim American Society (MAS) was a major signatory to the protest, so why not simply join hands with them?

The answer is simple: MAS’ credentials are questionable, to put it mildly. In a July 25, 2005 press conference at the National Press Club, MAS leaders called for support of “law enforcement,” and promised to hand over Muslim dissidents to the FBI. The video is unfortunately not yet on youtube, but is available for purchase through C-SPAN:

http://www.c-spanstore.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=187913-1

The self-described "pioneering Muslim organization" has yet to take a strong stance on any major political issue in advance of the winds of political correctness. Even on the Palestine issue, MAS' position is feeble:

“It is not our argument to deny the fundamental right of the people of Israel to survive in peace and security. But it is our position that the long-term interests of the United States would be advanced if American foreign policy in the region supported the demilitarization of the current conflict between the State of Israel and the people of Palestine....”

http://masnet.org/articlesandpapers.asp?id=3974

According to its website, MAS has always worked very closely with ISNA, a pro-establishment organization which helped organize the bloc vote for Bush, among other things. On the same webpage, MAS refers to NAIT, a reactionary Saudi government-funded organization, as a “pioneer” in the Islamic movement.

http://masnet.org/aboutmas.asp

I would like to know why a seemingly radical political organization such as ANSWER would select the reactionary and reformist MAS as its liaison with the Muslim community. Why is MAS' announcement that it would effectively infiltrate and snitch on Muslim dissidents of no concern to ANSWER, particularly in view of the Left’s historical victimization under similar programs during the McCarthy witchhunts?

While working closely with ANSWER on a previous anti-war protest, I asked Brian Becker these questions. The reply was an odd one: ANSWER worked with MAS because they were out there (ie active). And the July 2005 press conference? Perhaps MAS did this to keep the authorities off their back, said Becker. And something is rotten in the state of Denmark....