ISNA JOINS IN ASKING PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA TO ISSUE AN EXECUTIVE ORDER BANNING TORTURE

WASHINGTON, DC - January 14, 2009: Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America, joined religious leaders from various Christian and Jewish denominations calling upon President-elect Obama to issue an executive order ending torture once in office.

They reminded the President-elect that during Human Rights Day on December 10, 2008 he said “agreements Americans helped forge – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and treaties against torture and genocide” and declared that this commitment to inalienable human rights “unites us with people from every country and culture.”

The document, which was generated by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, states that while the signatories “represent a wide diversity of America’s faith traditions, we all believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all human life. Respect for the dignity of every person must serve as the foundation for security, justice and peace.” Torture, they said, is “incompatible with the tenets of our faiths and is contrary to international and U.S. law.”

In their letter to the President-elect, whose paternal grandfather was tortured by the British colonial authorities in Kenya, the NRCAT enclosed a Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order banning torture which has been endorsed by religious leaders, foreign affairs specialists, and former military officers. They asked Obama to review this Declaration of Principles and issue an executive order as quickly as possible. NRCAT believes that such an action will help the United States regain moral footing and restore credibility in the international community.

NRCAT also hosted a press conference in Washington, D.C. on January 14. Dr. Mattson stated during the event that ISNA has been a member of NRCAT from its inception and expressed “our ardent support of this cause. Islam prohibits torture and the degrading treatment of prisoners. Such treatment is a violation of human rights and human dignity.”

Dr. Mattson also stated that “It is understandable that rights need to be guarded in a democracy, but who could have imagined that we would have to argue for the restoration of such basic human rights, such as the right of habeus corpus and the right to freedom from torture. Terrible violations of human dignity have been committed in the name of security. But today we are less secure because of these violations. We have lost the support of allied nations for our policies and we have lost the good will of many ordinary people across the world that now sees us as hypocrites. Tragically, while the US previously set a high moral standard for other nations to follow, some nations now see our rationalization of prisoner mistreatment as justification for their abusive policies in the name of security.”

Also on January 14, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances, joined an NRCAT delegation that met with the Obama Transition Team’s directors.  The NRCAT delegation discussed their request to the President-elect for an executive order ending torture and why the religious community is asking for an executive order on Inauguration Day.             

Please click HERE to view NRCAT’s Executive Order Banning Torture
http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=211&Itemid=160

NYtimes article on the NRCAT press conference http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/us/15torture.html?_r=1