MYM+calls+for+release+of+CPT+members

[|Christian Peacemakers Team]

= **MYM calls for release of CPT members** =


 * Issued by the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa**


 * 8 December 2005**

The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa joins with the Nationalist and Islamist forces in Iraq and in Palestine, with scores of Islamic scholars around the world and with large numbers of anti-war activists in calling for the release of four members of the Christian Peacemakers Team that have been abducted in Iraq.

Tom Fox (American), Norman Kember (British), James Loney (Canadian) and Harmeet Sooden (Canadian) were kidnapped about two weeks ago, on the 26 Novemeber 2005 in Baghdad. Their whereabouts and their state of being are unknown. They were abducted by a previously-unknown group calling itself the “Swords of Righteousness”. Yesterday, two of the four men, Tom and Norman, were shown on Al-Jazeera TV appealing to the British and American people to work for their release and for the “release of all Iraqi people from oppression”. Their captors have just announced an extension of the deadline in their threat to kill the four men.

Christian Peacemakers has an admirable reputation of promoting peace in conflict situations, of placing themselves in the way of the armour of occupation forces, of confronting Israeli bulldozers, of defending Palestinian homes and lives. As a result, many of their members have been arrested, beaten and humiliated. Their record of solidarity is one that all people should aspire to.

In Iraq, they have publicly expressed their opposition to the occupation of that country. CPT arrived in Iraq in October 2002 to oppose the occupation and its members have been in Iraq since. As in other situations, CPT members have been important in exposing to the rest of the world the horrors of the occupation of Iraq; CPT was one of the first organisations to blow the lid on the torture in Abu Ghraib. Tom, Norman, James and Harmeet are all committed to the struggle against war and occupation.

The Muslim Youth Movement appeals to the captors of the four men to release them unharmed. Their being kept in captivity serves the purpose only of the occupiers of Iraq. Their release, on the other hand, will strengthen the forces opposed to the occupation and those supporting the oppressed people around the world. The MYM believes that kidnapping and torture is unacceptable and condemnable no matter who the perpetrators. We understand that the American forces have been guilty of such actions too: in Abu Ghraib, in Guanatnamo Bay, in Afganistan, in Iraq. Islam does not condone such cowardly actions and Islam does not condone the deliberate targeting of civilians – even in a war situation. This position extends to the occupation forces – whose actions have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis – and to the Iraqi resistance.

Clearly, the suffering of the Iraqi people today is as a direct result of the war against and the occupation of that country. While there is no justifiable reason whatsoever for the abduction of the four CPT members, we need to remember that Iraq will never be safe for its people as long as it remains under any form of foreign occupation. And, we must remember that if any harm befalls Tom, Norman, James or Harmeet, the American, British and other forces and governments involved in the occupation will be as much to blame as those who commit the harmful acts.

For more information, call: Na’eem – 084 574 2674 Ebrahim – 031 306-2011

The CPT web site is at http://cpt.org/