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Muslim chaplain tells of Gitmo duty and ordeal
James "Yusuf" Yee is optimistic about the Muslim community's progress in America, despite what he calls the widespread erosion of civil liberties in the nation.Yee spoke to an audience of about 250 Tuesday night at the University of Florida. He told the story of his service in the U.S. Army as a Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, his 76-day detainment and eventual honorable discharge from the service. "What happened to me was a gross miscarriage of justice," he said. Yee, a third-generation Chinese American and graduate of West Point Military Academy, rejoined the Army in January 2001 as a Muslim chaplain. After the attacks of Sept. 11, he said, Army leaders asked him to field soldiers' questions about the little-understood religion of Islam. "I received an extraordinary amount of recognition," he said. "Perhaps it was this recognition that got me hand-picked, selected, to be the Muslim chaplain in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." When he arrived in 2002, he said there were about 660 prisoners, all of whom were Muslims. He ministered not only to the detainees, but also to American Muslim servicemen, many of whom were translators. Because he had unlimited access to the prisoners, he said he learned the methods of interrogation used against them. "Gitmo's secret weapon was the use of religion against these prisoners," he said. Prisoners reported that naked female interrogators would rub against them, a strong violation of their conservative view toward relations between the sexes. He discusses this "secret weapon" in detail in his book "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire." Yee said prisoners protested the mistreatment of their holy text, the Quran, by mass suicide attempts and hunger strikes. "I will confirm that the Quran was being desecrated, disrespected and abused by American personnel in Guantanamo," he said. He said guards would often shake the book violently and pull back the bindings to see if anything dangerous fell out. "But nothing dangerous ever fell out of the Quran," he said. With two months left in his yearlong tour of duty, Yee was given a two-week leave. When he arrived at the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, he was searched by customs agents, who promptly detained him. He later learned the agents were under the direction of the FBI. He said the agents had no probable cause and therefore violated his Fourth Amendment right to freedom from searches. "I was arrested in secret," he said. His wife, 4-year-old daughter and parents had no idea what happened to him, he said, until they saw a news story on the case almost a week later. For 76 days, he was held in solitary confinement in a consolidated naval brig in Charleston, S.C. While being transported to the naval brig, Yee said, he was subjected to sensory deprivation methods and shackled in a "three-piece suit" of chains. At his pretrial hearing, he learned the charges against him included spying, espionage and aiding terrorists. He also learned the government "had not begun its review of the case" and did not present any evidence to support the charges. The charges were then dropped in favor of a lesser charge of mishandling classified information. Still, no evidence was presented. Finally, in January 2005, Yee was granted an honorable discharge after all charges had been dropped. He denies doing anything illegal. In an interview before the speech, he said, "What happened to me is certainly an indication that our civil liberties are being eroded in this dangerous post-9-11 era." He said he learned from a New York Times article that his bank account had been investigated during the FBI's investigation of him. He also said the government's use of wiretapping and investigating credit records without warrants or notification are examples of this "dangerous" trend. The speech was co-sponsored by Accent Speakers Bureau and Islam on Campus, who paid Yee $3,500, including hotel, travel and food. Yaser Ali, vice president of Islam on Campus, said for the estimated 500 Muslim students on campus, "it is definitely a challenge to practice your faith in this environment." He said airport travel is especially challenging. "I know whenever I fly," he said, "when they look at my name, they check me twice." Despite his ordeal, Yee said he believes some sacrifices are made to further cultural acceptance. "In being an eternal optimist," he said, "I do see the Muslim community advancing in this country." Posted by: ryuge 2007-02-14 |
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