While we’re certainly not trying to claim that every case brought against a Muslim in this country has no merit, there is such a thing as disproportionate punishment and/or sentencing. Everybody
deserves and has the right to equal treatment under the law. Sadly, this isn’t always the case.
Take Noor Salman, for example...
In 2016, Noor was suffering at the hands of an abusive husband. But her abuse ended on June 12th, 2016, when her husband, Omar Mateen, drove to the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, killing 49 people and wounding another 53 before he himself was shot and killed by police.
Though Noor’s suffering at the hands of her husband had ended, she was now a target of the state by virtue of her relationship with the suspect. The FBI arrested Noor, questioning her for hours and threatening to take her son. Eventually she relented, agreeing to sign statements prepared by the FBI so that she could return home. The FBI used this "confession" to charge her as an accomplice, imprisoning her while she awaited trial, keeping her separated from her young son for over a year. Joint
charges of providing material support to a terror group and obstruction of justice meant that Ms. Salman was facing a possible lifelong prison sentence.
Charlie Swift, the Executive Director of the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (CLCMA), funded by the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), along with his team, immediately dug into the case, and they found a number of discrepancies in the government’s evidence.
At trial, the FBI’s evidence rapidly unraveled, drawing a rebuke from the judge and ultimately culminating in Ms. Salman’s being acquitted of all charges. This historic win not only allowed a mother to return to her child and begin to rebuild her life, but also established a vital precedent that protects others caught in the same fallacy of "guilt by association."
