Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sirhan Bisharah Sirhan

Some of us, Arabs in the US, feel that Sirhan Bisharah Sirhan, has been singled out for harsh treatment because of his ethnicity.  There is no question about it.  Arabs in the US are afraid of even mentioning Sirhan (not to lionize him and not to exonerate him but to speak about his rights as a prisoner).  I spoke to his brother this week and it is clear that Sirhan has been punished illegally for his ethnicity.  For example: he has been keen on preserving his Arabic while in prison, so he keeps a copy of the Qur'an in his cell. This basically led the prison guards and the prisoners to treat him after Sep. 11 like a dangerous Jihadi terrorist--Sirhan is Christian by the way.  There should be more coverage of this case, but Arab-American and Muslim-American organizations are busy lobbying for arms sales for polygamous Gulf dynasties.  Sirhan has been isolated ever since they found the Qur'an in his cell.