Saudi Repression is not news in the West Edmonton imam assaulted, arrested in Saudi Arabia, witness says By Mariam Ibrahim and Andrea Sands, Edmonton Journal October 31, 2011 EDMONTON — An Edmonton imam was assaulted and arrested early Sunday morning while on a pilgrimage in the Saudi Arabian city of Medina, a witness says. Usama Al-Atar, a prominent Islamic scholar and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alberta chemistry department, was leading a group of 10 pilgrims in prayer at a religious burial site in Medina when a group of Saudi religious police began to harass the group, said Michael Hayward, who witnessed the incident. Al-Atar was injured and arrested during the incident, which has stunned the Shiite Muslim community in Edmonton where the popular scholar regularly lectures and teaches Sunday school. "We had the morning prayers here around 5:45 a.m. in the grand mosque. We finished our prayer and made our way to the cemetery," said Hayward, a London resident. "We went there, a group of about 10 of us. Many of us don't speak or read Arabic, so we gathered around Usama and he read the prayer for us." From Saudi Arabia, Hayward said the religious police ordered Al-Atar to lower his voice and then eventually asked the group to leave. "We went back outside of the gate (and) the religious police followed us." The police began shouting and accusing Al-Atar of being a thief before restraining him, Hayward said. Eventually one of the religious police officers pushed Al-Atar into a small kiosk area where he struggled to breathe. "They pushed him into a small kiosk area beneath an air conditioning unit and he nearly got asphyxiated. He was turning blue." They held him for several minutes, Hayward said. "He was absolutely passive. He did not give any resistance. We were all saying, 'Let him go, let him go,' but it was falling on deaf ears." Al-Atar was reportedly injured during the arrest and was taken to the Central Police Station in Medina, according to the Islamic Human Rights Commission, a London-based organization which is calling for Al-Atar's release. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada have confirmed the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Medina. "The Canadian Embassy in Riyadh has been notified and stands ready to provide consular assistance as required," spokeswoman Aliya Mawani stated in an email. She would not release further information, citing privacy concerns. The other pilgrims who travelled with Al-Atar have heard few details about the imam's condition. "We don't know how he is. We don't know where he is. We do fear for him," Hayward said. "What's worse is the lack of response by the Canadian authorities. We had a call from them this morning, saying they were aware of the arrest. It's been absolutely silent since." Al-Atar is the imam at the Edmonton Islamic Shiite Ithna-Asheri Association, which scheduled a Sunday afternoon service to pray for his safe release. Hundreds gathered for the prayers and many expressed disbelief at Al-Atar's arrest. He is a humble community leader with a reputation as a peacemaker, numerous people said. In March, Al-Atar was among a group who gathered in Churchill Square to ask Canada to pressure the government of Bahrain to stop attacking protesters seeking greater rights. That was shortly after the Bahrain government called in troops from neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help quell pro-democracy protests. In his speech at Churchill Square, Al-Atar said: "The atrocities committed today against innocents in several countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia among others, are crimes one cannot stand silent about." Several women at Sunday's prayer service, some wiping away tears, said they visited with Al-Atar's wife as she tried to remain calm. The couple has a five-year-old daughter and they are expecting another child in a month. Al-Atar's wife has written to the prime minister, the department of foreign affairs and other federal officials and is anxiously awaiting news of his condition, said Sabira Devjee, who attended the prayers. "I spoke with her today, after this incident. She is being very strong about it," Devjee said. "I'm hoping that he is released quickly, unharmed." The president of the Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Association urged the federal government to bring Al-Atar home. "At the moment, our main focus is to get him released, and we would like the Canadian authorities to get involved and find out what is happening," said Mahmood Mavani. Andy Knight, chair of the political science department at the University of Alberta, met Al-Atar through Ibrahim Abu-Rabi, his colleague and the chair of Islamic studies who passed away in July. Al-Atar and Abu-Rabi had worked together extensively in an attempt to ease tensions between Edmonton's Sunni and Shia Muslims and to bridge Edmonton's Islamic community with the university. Before Abu-Rabi's death, the three had discussed the possibility of Al-Atar doing another PhD in political science, with a specialty in Islamic politics. Knight said he's been canvassing Al-Atar's university contacts to write to their members of Parliament to try to put pressure on the Saudi government. "A letter-writing campaign started today," said Knight. "We're trying to urge the MPs to put pressure on foreign affairs to make a public statement tomorrow." Al-Atar holds a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of British Columbia and later went on to complete a PhD in chemistry at Simon Fraser University. According to an online biography, he has published several articles in the fields of diabetes and cancer research. As the host of two weekly religious satellite shows and a weekly radio broadcast, Al-Atar is also widely regarded as a prominent Islamic scholar. Al-Atar was in Saudi Arabia to take part in the Islamic ritual of hajj, or pilgrimage, which takes place in the last month of the Muslim calendar. During the ritual, pilgrims visit Islamic shrines in the cities of Mecca and Medina, culminating in the three-day religious festival of Eid ul-Adha.
Monday, October 31, 2011
[ALOCHONA] Edmonton Journal: Edmonton imam assaulted, arrested in Saudi Arabia, witness says
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