Justice...

Finally, a hint of it. Former Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian was acquitted today on most terrorism-related charges after a grueling case launched by the feds. Two of his co-defendants were acquitted on all charges, and one more remains with some other charges which the jury is deadlocked on. Among the more than 200 charges between the four men, the jury has yet to find them guilty on any charge. The prosecution handed down countless pages of indictments, and frivolous charges, but the jury dismissed most of them due to "lack of evidence." This is a heavy blow to the prosecution which used the PATRIOT Act as the main tool for their witch hunt. Unfortunately, I did not think that the media picked up on it as it would've had it been a conviction. CNN.com has been following the case since the arrest and beginning of the hearing, but when the acquittal came, it did not even put it on the homepage, US page, or even the front of the Law page. After 3 hours, they put it on the Law page. Washington Post, and NY Times put it on the front page, and even the BBC and Guardian picked up on it quickly. *Thank God* I don't have Fox News because I would just die to see what they are saying about this. They ripped him up when he was arrested, and now I bet their silence is deafening or they're probably in denial...
When I see a jury like this take these charges seriously and deliberate for 13 days, rather than 3 (like in the Abu Ali case), I begin to have more faith in the system...but that is not always the case. There are some people out there who have a conscience, who are not blinded by the rhetoric of Bush and Ashcroft, who are not blinded by their political and religious convictions like those who attack New York, Madrid, and Amman. And as long as they exist, and as long as people like Dr. Al-Arian continue to speak out against oppression, there is hope for this world.
My hope is grounded in my faith, not in a human judicial system, but my faith in a divine judicial system that will never go wrong. And this is just another sign.

Injustice will continue in many forms, throughout the world, but in the end, there will be justice. for all.