Letter: Columnist perpetuates lies and deceit on campus

Only days after long-time Chronicle columnist Abdullah Al-Arian published a guest column, his father Sami Al-Arian was indicted as the North American leader of one of the world's most dangerous terrorist organizations, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The case against Sami is damning: Intercepted telephone calls, faxes and seized documents show him managing finances, dispersing funds, relaying messages and hailing successful attacks.

Last year, when Duke alumnus Jeff Greene exposed Al-Arian's alleged ties to terrorism, the Duke community denounced Greene for launching a personal attack and praised Abdullah for his offbeat perspective on the Middle East. Although Greene was wrong to accuse Abdullah of being a future terrorist leader - Abdullah needn't follow his father's path - it's clear that the Duke community has shown Abdullah far more respect than Abdullah to the Duke community.

Abdullah lied to us all during his years as a columnist, disseminating exaggerations, distortions and half-truths. In "Summer storm: Experiencing racial profiling," Abdullah claimed to have been escorted out of the White House by security solely because of his ethnicity. But Abdullah came to the White House with a delegation of Muslims. Out of all the Arab Muslims present, only Abdullah was red-flagged because only his father and uncle were suspected terrorists. When the entire Muslim delegation threatened to walk out, President George W. Bush apologized for the "mistake" out of political expediency. This is a black mark against Bush, not a vindication of Abdullah.

What did The Chronicle - a publication dedicated to exposing the truth - do to protect the Duke community from Al-Arian's deceit? Absolutely nothing. The Chronicle published 26 of his columns, mostly invective against the United States and Israel. Former Chronicle editor Ambika Kumar actively defended the Al-Arians and apologized for publishing Greene's letter, noting that "there is no evidence that Sami Al-Arian heads, a 'known Hamas front' as the letter asserted; Abdullah Al-Arian clarified this and other errors in his Feb. 11 column." Although Kumar was technically correct (Greene confused Hamas with Islamic Jihad), from her misleading column you would think Al-Arian's connection to terrorism was one of Greene's "other errors."

The 100 innocent people Sami Al-Arian allegedly helped murder aren't the only ones the Al-Arians have hurt. Abdullah damaged the reputation of his most ardent defenders: The members of the Duke community whom he bamboozled and betrayed; The Chronicle whose journalistic integrity he besmirched; and the Muslims whose legitimate complaints about bigotry will be viewed skeptically as a result of his bogus racial profiling story. If Abdullah Al-Arian ever publishes in The Chronicle again, I hope it will be a letter of apology.