Arafat was surely poisoned; Anti-Pals remarks anger US Muslims

By: Mohamed Ali

SAN FRANCISCO: American Muslims were outraged at comments made on MSNBC television's "Imus in the Morning" program that referred to Palestinians as "filthy animals" and gave suggestion that they all be killed.

American Muslim organizations are asking for an apology from the program's host, Don Imus, and his colleague for their inflammatory remarks used in discussion of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's passing.

The American Muslim Voice's Executive Director Samina Faheem Sundas last week called for an apology from the program's host and said these remarks would only provide license to practice hate and discrimination in an already divided society.

In a letter to MSNBC President Neal Shapiro, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) stated that these hate-filled and racist remarks can only serve to legitimize anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry, leading to further discrimination against Muslims, especially those of Arab origin.

Meanwhile, Most Palestinians dead sure that Arafat was poisoned. Ghalab Abu Khamis has no doubts. “Abu Ammar was poisoned by Israeli agents, it cannot be otherwise.” Two weeks after his passing, conspiracy theories about Yasser Arafat's still unexplained death abound among Palestinians.

Prime minister Ahmed Qorei has established a special commission to probe the exact cause of the veteran leader's November 11 death in a French military hospital in an effort to bring about some form of closure to the debate. The Palestinian parliament has also passed a resolution calling on the government to present its report on the cause of death within a month.

The motion was passed after a parliamentary commission submitted an initial report to MPs that said Israel bore responsibility for the 75-year-old's death "as a result of the unfair siege of the last three years." But fuelled by ambiguous comments from officials, many ordinary Palestinians are already convinced that Arafat's death was far from natural.

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