US Muslim leaders Thursday, September 6, condemned a federal search at the Texas offices of a Middle East Internet service provider, calling it part of an "anti-Muslim witch hunt." Anti-terrorism agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations were part of the joint operation Wednesday that descended on the offices of InfoCom Corporation, a Texas-based Internet service provider that hosts a web portal servicing the Middle East.
The search disrupted satellite television service in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports from Dubai. "American Muslims view yesterday's action as just one of a long list of attempts by the pro-Israel lobby to intimidate and silence all those who wish to see Palestinian Muslims and Christians free themselves of a brutal apartheid-like occupation," a coalition of nearly a dozen Muslim groups said in a statement.
"We believe the genesis of this raid lies not in Washington, but in Tel Aviv." Among the groups voicing their discontent were the American Muslim Council, American Muslims for Jerusalem and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
One of InfoCom's clients was the Qatar-based Al-Jazira satellite television network, the coalition said, a popular Arabic news outlet frequently criticized by Israel for its reporting on the situation in the Palestinian territories. — (AFP, Washington)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
