At it again
The detention of a US military Muslim chaplain suspected of spying for Al-Qa'eda triggers fear of growing anti-Muslim discrimination, reports Anayat Durrani from Washington
James Yee
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A United States Army Muslim chaplain who counselled detained Al-Qa'eda and Taliban prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba has been taken into custody by US military authorities on suspicion of espionage and treason.
Captain James Yee was arrested on 10 September at the Jacksonville, Florida Naval Air Station upon arrival from Guantanamo. Media reports said investigators discovered Yee had a detailed sketch of the detention facility, a list of the detainees and prison guards, as well as other classified documents. The Washington Times, which first reported the story, quoted a US military official saying Captain Yee had classified documents and said agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation had confiscated several papers he was carrying at the time of his arrest.
Yee, 35, of Chinese-American descent, was raised in New Jersey as a Lutheran. He is a 1990 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York where he pursued Islamic studies. He became a Muslim in 1991 and changed his name from James to Youssef. Yee served as an air defence artillery officer in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War.
Yee left the army after completing airborne school at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the mid-1990s and moved to Damascus, Syria for four years to study Islam and learn Arabic. After returning to the US from Syria, Yee re-entered the army as a Muslim cleric and served as a command chaplain at Fort Lewis Islamic Chapel Centre in Washington. Yee became one of 17 Muslim chaplains in the US armed forces.
Yee was sent to Cuba in November 2002 by the Army to provide counsel to the 660 detained Al-Qa'eda and Taliban prisoners. He was given unlimited access to the prisoners and served as a spiritual adviser. While serving as chaplain, Yee arranged to have calls to prayer broadcast throughout the camp and also ensured that the detainees Muslim dietary needs were being met. Guantanamo has had at least three Muslim chaplains, the first being Navy Lieutenant Abuhena Saif-ul-Islam, who in 1999 became the Marines' first Muslim chaplain. There are between 4,000 and 10,000 Muslims serving in the US armed forces.
Upon his arrest, Yee was interrogated by the FBI and was then handed over to Army and Navy law enforcement officials. An apartment in Miami, Florida said to be used by Yee was also searched by FBI agents, according to CNN. Military officials declined to say why Captain Yee was being investigated. No charges have been filed against him, but CNN quoted a source who said the US military is "investigating whether [Yee] may have [been involved in] espionage or treason". The source said the investigation will look at whether other US military personnel were involved. If convicted of treason, Yee could face a life sentence. In the meantime, Yee has been assigned two military lawyers.
Yee is currently being held at a military brig in Charleston, South Carolina. Others also detained there include Yasser Essam Hamdi, an American-born Saudi accused of fighting with the Taliban; "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla, a former Chicago, Illinois, gang member; and Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, accused of being an Al-Qa'eda sleeper agent. The military has 120 days to file charges or release Yee.
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations told the New York Times that he was concerned Yee's arrest would empower some to question American Muslim loyalties.
"There are those in our society who love to question the patriotism of American Islamics and this unfortunately will give them ammunition to do that, no matter what the facts of the case are," he said.
More than 650 men from 43 countries are being held at the US facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The men are accused of having ties with Al-Qa'eda or to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime.
