Arsalan Iftikhar - Islamica Magazine : Why the 'Jena 6' are Important...

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Islamica Magazine is a full-color international contemporary affairs magazine headquartered in Los Angeles, California with editorial offices located in Amman, Jordan, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England. Islamica aims to broaden perspectives on Islam and to provide a voice for Muslims to articulate their concerns while establishing cross-cultural relations between Muslims and their neighbors and co-religionists. Islamica Magazine is circulated to thousands of readers and subscribers in over 20 countries around the world.

About Arsalan Iftikhar

Arsalan Iftikhar serves as Contributing Editor for Islamica Magazine, an international contemporary affairs magazine headquartered in Los Angeles and with editorial offices in London, Amman and Cambridge, Massachusetts. His interviews and commentaries appear regularly in international media outlets such as CNN, BBC World Service, The TODAY Show, FOX News, Associated Press, MSNBC, C-SPAN, Al-Jazeera, NBC Nightly News, Washington Post, ABC World News Tonight, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and Newsweek magazine (among dozens others worldwide).

He is also a contracted freelance opinion writer with over 15 major daily newspapers including The Houston Chronicle, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, Charlotte Observer, St. Louis-Post Dispatch, Kansas City Star, Miami Herald and many more. He was also a contributing author to Taking Back Islam (Rodale Press), winner of the 2003 Wilbur Communications Award for Religion Book of the Year.

He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1999 and received his law degree from Washington University School of Law in 2003. A native Chicagoan, he specializes in international human rights law and is licensed to practice law in Washington DC.

Why the 'Jena 6' are Important...

As a civil rights lawyer, I have been closely following the case of the six African-American teenagers in predominantly white Jena, Louisiana (population: 3,000 [where only 15% of the population is African-American]).

All racial punditry aside, the one question everyone should ask themselves is: If the Jena 6 were 6 white teenagers, would they have faced attempted murder charges for the schoolyard beating of one of their classmates?

As CNN.com commentator Roland Martin so aptly summarized:

-If you heard that six teens had beaten up another teen leaving him unconscious, would you think that those accused deserved to be tried as adults and face upwards of 80 years in jail?

-If a group of teens hung a noose on a tree, and the principal recommended to expel them, and then the school board overruled them, what would you say about that?

-Prior to Justin Barker (the white student) being beaten, another teen (who was black) was beaten, and no charges were filed against the (white) students in that case, would you question the district attorney's action in Barker's case?

Yes, an innocent boy was beaten and the punishment should fit the crime. But how is attempted murder charges warranted when the hospital released the victim the same day and the teenager attended a party that same night.

Remember, that had national media attention not been cast on the Jena 6, there would be six black teenagers who would still be facing attempted murder charges today. Ask yourself again that would 6 white teenagers be charged with attempted murder for the beating of a black student?

The reason that Jena 6 is most relevant to our society today is because it sends a resounding message to small towns across America.

It sends a message that if school boards, district attorneys and high school principals that if your local community is so racially biased in terms of legal justice, you better get your act together; lest you see the CNN camera crews, famous radio hosts and civil rights leaders start to set up camp in your small town.

Published Saturday, September 29, 2007 12:01 AM by Arsalan Iftikhar

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yankeewolf54 said:

This country is more concerned w/ race than justice-and has been from its inception. If so called "open minded" people would be outraged w/ any form of beatings-no matter what the victims'/suspects' ethnicity(ies) are/were, then I'd say we have progress. Mankind(oops-not PC) has struggled w/ this issue from day one. The idiots that put up the noose(s) should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law-oh, oh, there was no law to punish these possible racists. Thus, they should have been expelled, or at a minimum, suspended and then required to do research on the meaning of their actions-additionally they should have had to volunteered at the NAACP or similar group to gain a perspective of what African Americans endure on a daily basis. BUT, the 6 young African Americans who beat the white person, should be held 100% accountable-something that the left rarely wants to do. I see such hypocrisy from both sides of this issue. Justice means being firm, fair, and following the current written law; period.

October 2, 2007 12:11 AM

Substrate said:

I think the issue is that the punishment did not fit the crime in regards to the Jena 6. From my understanding the white kid that got beat up went to a party the same night while the Jena 6 sat in jail, subsequently charged with attempt murder. I see no hypocrisy on the side of the left as it relates to the Jena 6.

October 15, 2007 9:57 PM

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