Letters to the Editor, August 1, 2003

I enjoyed reading your web site, and I enjoy getting both sides of the story. Thanks.

I am a Texas redneck. You would think that I would take what that moron Bush said for the gospel, but I know there is more going on in the world than I can get in our controlled media. I just want to thank you for so many different views.

James Costello

By Marvin X

While watching the Discovery channel's documentary on Saddam Hussein,
I was shocked to see my former Arabic and Islamic teacher, Dr. Hussein Shahristani, now an atomic scientist, visiting the prison where he was tortured during Saddam's regime because he refused to work on weapons of mass destruction. Although I have not seen him since 1967 when I was exiled in Toronto, Canada, after refusing to fight in the Vietnam war, I recognized his name, face and voice. We initially met during Friday prayers at the University of Toronto where Muslim students from around the world gathered. It was there that I met Muslims from Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Persian Gulf and elsewhere.
After prayers we would often retire to a brother's home to discuss Islam. As a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I was questioned intensely by the Sunni and Shiite brothers. I was forced to defend the teachings of the HEM against orthodox Islamic teachings that did not recognize HEM, although Hussein told me during an interview that the teachings of the Nation of Islam were similar to those of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which he was a member, additionally, he was president of the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada. He believed in a "Nation of Islam," and had strong feelings those Arab countries were not representing Islam. His feelings eventually manifested in the Islamic Republic of Iran, although Iranian students today are protesting against Iran's Islamic regime, claiming it doesn't represent a true Islamic society because of oppression and suppression of human rights.

Hussein told me not to worry about the Palestinian problem, in fact, don't worry about anything. All things are the will of Allah, In sha'Allah. He said there have been problems in Jerusalem for thousands of years and they shall continue. He volunteered to teach me his version of Islam which was Shiite, very similar to the teachings of HEM, especially with respect to God/Man/Man/God. Over a period of months, I met with him at his apartment to perfect my prayers in Arabic, but I soon tired of Canada and returned underground to the United States, arriving in Chicago shortly before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I never saw or heard from Hussein again until last night. I was hurt to know he had been tortured, but happy and relieved to know he was alive.

I wish I could communicate with him because I have many questions about the future of Iraq, since it was, in spite of Saddam, perhaps the most advanced Arab society. Even Saddam was given an award by the United Nations for spreading literacy. But I have a feeling the worse is yet to come, that the daily killings of American troops is but the harbinger of deeper troubles, especially once America attempts to suppress the Shiite majority, who are determined to have an Islamic State, yes, patterned after Iran.

So far the Shiites have been low-keyed, except when American forces provoke them, but they have made clear their intentions to establish an Islamic society. What is amazing is the US's determination to prevent such an occurrence, despite the Shiite majority?

We know it will be a bitter pill for the American version of "democracy," if the Shiite majority rules, or simply dominates a federated Iraq, but how can America "in good conscious" suppress the Shiites democratic desires, even if they are contrary to America's secular goals. It portends dark days ahead for true freedom in Iraq, but who believes America intends to play fair in the game of global political/economic and spiritual warfare?

I don't know what my friend Dr. Shahristani thinks about all this, but I am certain if he resisted Saddam, being a Shiite, he shall resist the American occupation of his land. My wish is that if the Shiite majority rules, their version of an Islamic State will be truly democratic and respects the human rights of all, including the Sunni, the Kurds and women.

For more writings by Marvin X, go to www.nathanielturner.com, www.blackthinktank.com,
www.aalbc.com, www.marvinx.com.

Remember the "Deck of Cards"? According to the reports from CENTCOM that of the 55 most-wanted on this infamous "deck of cards" - two, maybe three, have been killed; eighteen are still at large; and the remaining 34 have either been captured or surrendered.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2939125.stm

Where are these guys?
Are they being "detained" in Guantanamo?
Has the Red Cross been able to have access to them?
Have they given any testimony regarding WMDs?
Have they been tortured?
Are they still alive?
This is a rather morbid and speculative site, See: http://www.joevialls.co.uk/transpositions/hussein.html

But, some of the questions that it raises deserve an answer.

claimed to be in US Custody -
Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Saadi — surrendered 12 April
Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti — captured 13 April
Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti — captured 16 April
Samir abd al-Aziz al-Najm — captured 17 April
Hikmat al-Azzaw — captured 19 April
Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti — captured 20 April
Muhammad Hazmaq al-Zubaidi — captured 21 April
Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur — captured 21 April.
Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib — captured 23 April
Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih — captured 23 April
Tariq Aziz — surrendered 24 April
Hossam Mohammed Amin — captured 27 April
Amir Rashid Muhammad al-Ubaydi — captured 28 April
Walid Hamid Tawfiq al-Tikriti — surrendered 29 April
Abd al-Tawab Mullah Huwaysh — captured 2 May
Taha Muhyl al-Din Maruf — captured 2 May
Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash — captured 5 May
Ghazi Hamud al-Adib — captured 7 May
Ibrahim Ahmad abd al-Sattar Muhammad al-Tikriti — captured 15 May
Fadil Mahmud Gharib — captured 15 May
Adil Abdallah Mahdi al-Duri al-Tikriti — captured 15 May
Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan Tikriti — surrendered 17 May
Ugla Abid Sighar al-Kubaysi — captured 20 May
Aziz Salih al-Numan — captured 22 May
Sayf al-Din al-Mashhadani — captured 24 May
Sad Abd al-Majid al-Faysal — captured 24 May
Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al-Tikriti — captured 23 April
Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi — captured 5 June
Husayn al-Awawi — captured 9 June
Latif Nussayif Jasim al-Dulaymi — captured 9 June
Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti — captured 14 June
Abid Hamid al-Tikriti — captured 18 June
Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad — captured 9 July
Mizban Khidir Hadi — surrendered 9 July

Ray Lauzzana
Penrose Press, San Francisco, CA, USA "Unite for Peace"