The following letter was just received from a prominent American
judge, after word of the illegal arrest of Dr. Muhamad Mugraby
reached him.
August 10, 2003
Gentlemen,
I have read with surprise and dismay the news reports regarding
the arrest and detention of Dr. Muhamad Mugraby for an alleged
offense of which he has not been adjudicated guilty.
Dr. Mugraby authored a recent article published in the Fordham
International Law Review (March 2003) which is among the finest
expositions on the concept of the rule of law that I have
ever had the privilege to read. I have circulated this article
to the presiding judge of my circuit and recommended it widely
to those who profess that the solution to many problems of
governance is to infuse that process with a healthy dose of
religion.
Religion and politics do not mix. Each corrupts and disfigures
the other so that neither religion nor politics are able to
serve their assigned functions in creating and maintaining
order within a society.
In fact there is nothing more destructive of human rights
than to combine the coercive power of the state with the ideology
of religion. It was from this repressive combination, pervasive
in western Europe, that the Founding Fathers of the United
States of America sought to insulate the people of the United
States through the Bill of Rights.
It is this same combination that Dr. Mugraby has identified
as the major stumbling block to the emergence of self government
and the rule of law in the states which comprise the Middle
East Region.
For his courage in bringing this fact to light, his country,
Lebanon, should honor him as South Africa has honored Nelson
Mandella. For Lebanon to imprison Dr. Mugraby is more an indictment
of the Lebanese authorities than an indictment of Dr. Mugraby.
Everyone from all corners of the globe who seek the vindication
of human rights through the implementation of the rule of
law should join their voice with mine and demand Freedom for
Dr. Mugraby.
Judge Joseph L. Boohaker
10th Judicial Circuit
State of Alabama, USA
