Tarik Shah Update

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." -- Wendell Phillips

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin

“Those who profess to favor freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." -- Frederick Douglass

For some time now I have been publicizing the plight of bassist Tarik Shah, a fine jazz musician of African-American heritage and Muslim faith who has played and recorded with Betty Carter, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ahmad Jamal, Melba Joyce, Abbey Lincoln, Claudio Roditi, Donald Smith, and many others. And though Tarik has had a life in the music at fairly stellar levels, he has also long been a humble mainstay in small Harlem jazz clubs such as St. Nick's Pub, playing there regularly twice a week and often encouraging and supporting younger musicians. Meanwhile, he's taught martial arts to children, supplemented his musician's income as a baker, selling his delicious pies from the back of a car, and to this day is one of the most beloved members of the Harlem and Bronx communities.

However, last spring Tarik Shah was arrested on “suspicion of conspiracy" for some things he is accused of saying in conversation with fellow Muslims. He is suspected of having thoughts, spoken words, and/ or companions the government doesn't like, and though not actually charged with committing a crime, he has been held in solitary confinement ever since.

(When you get a chance, please listen to Jeanne Lee's magnificent album called “Conspiracy.")

Attempts have been made within the community to rally support for Tarik Shah, though in general people have very little idea what they can do for him and are afraid to get involved lest they draw the government's attention to themselves.

For those in the New York area, Tarik's next court hearing comes up on Friday, February 17th, 'O6 at 9:3O a.m. at the U.S. Courthouse, 5OO Pearl Street at Centre Street (3 blocks north of Chambers St. above the northeast corner of City Hall Park) on the 12th floor, Manhattan, 212-8O5-O5OO or -O3OO. The closest subway stop is the IRT Lexington Ave. line # 4, 5 or 6 to Brooklyn Bridge / City Hall (or by way of music directions, not far from J&R Music World). You can also call the transit information line for more directions: 718-33O-1234.

There is urgent need for us to be there in large numbers to stand with Tarik Shah in solidarity, as well as for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to a speedy trial, all Constitutional rights guaranteed to every citizen. Last I heard, we still had those rights, and everyone is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty of actually having committed a crime. In fact, the concluding sentence of the U.S. District Attorney's May 29th press release on this case states, “The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty." And as reported in “The New York Times" of August 5th, 'O5, “There are no allegations that Mr. Brent or Mr. Shah were actively planning any violent terrorist action."

So what is the justification for six months in solitary confinement, with no end in sight?

At the last hearing, would-be spectators had to go through a metal detector in the courthouse lobby and leave their cell phones with a guard, who had a very large collection of them in bins, but no one was asked to show I.D., no one was questioned in any way, and once past the metal detector, no further interest was shown in the spectators. So while no doubt the whole courthouse is wired for sound and photography, your identity won't be known (unless it already is).

I've seen almost no press coverage of the case since last June, but now we have the following statement from Howard Mandel, president of the Jazz Journalists Association, who is to be applauded for taking his stand. Calling the case “shameful," he wrote:

“Tarik Shah is the jazz bassist and martial arts teacher held since last May in solitary confinement and without bail set on suspicion of terrorist activity. He is a journeyman musician, no star, and may, perhaps, have planned as rumored to train al-Queda enthusiasts to wield machetes while rampaging through New York City. However, Shah is also an American citizen, and our Constitution presumably protects us -- remember innocent 'til proven guilty, and rights to speedy public trial? According to the Times he was snared by a police informer. His lawyer calls the accusations ridiculous. The government's offering no details. The media has ignored the story. Shah's jazz-world friends are mostly stunned and don't know what to think, but believe in the premises of U.S. law. Shah's late November hearing was brief and unproductive; he's scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska on February 17. Did someone say a vigilant press is the watchdog of liberty?"

I'm told that Tarik Shah can receive mail c/o Unit 1O-S, reg. #53145-O54, Metropolitan Correctional Center, 15O Park Row, New York, NY 1OOO7. (Please do not send him anything potentially troublesome for him.) His defense attorney is Anthony Ricco, Esq., 2O Vesey St., room 4OO, New York, NY 1OOO7, 212-791-3919, [email protected]. I am awaiting details on a bank account where donations can be sent, as well as the URL for an incipient Web site for Tarik.

I am deeply disturbed about Tarik Shah's plight, and I also apologize for not speaking out on behalf of the other defendants as strongly as I have for Tarik, a musician and someone I've known and respected for years. Knowing him makes any charges of intended violence impossible to believe. But I also know that in a situation like this, it really shouldn't matter whether we know someone personally or what his profession might be.

Sincerely,
Margaret Davis
[email protected]

P.S. I've compiled a few press articles and a press release from the District Attorney's office from the Web and can Email you this material upon request.