12/4/06 (US):
The 'Cultural Misunderstanding' Defence
An expert on Pakistani society gave testimony Tuesday supporting the defence's contention that two Lodi men accused of terrorist ties are victims of a cultural misunderstanding. Anita Weiss, a University of Oregon professor whose advice has been sought by the CIA and the U.S. State Department, was the final witness in the two-month federal trial of Umer Hayat, a 48-year-old ice cream vendor, and his son, Hamid Hayat, 23.
Weiss testified that books and a scrapbook found at the Hayats' home that the government offered as proof of their interest in violent jihad, or an armed holy war against Islam's enemies, would be insignificant in Pakistan. She said one of the newspapers in the scrapbook has a Web page that Weiss' computer automatically downloads each time she logs onto the Internet.
Weiss, who has studied Pakistani culture for more than 25 years and is married to a native of Pakistan, did not testify about the Hayats, who are U.S. citizens. But she painted an image of Pakistani culture into which the Hayats neatly fit.
For example, she said grandparents often help rear their grandchildren. Hamid Hayat lived with his grandparents in Pakistan from 1990 to 2000, and then returned from 2003 to 2005.
She said many Pakistani-Americans still participate in arranged marriages, as Hamid Hayat did in late 2004, and that firing shotguns at wedding celebrations is common. Prosecutors showed jurors pictures of Hamid Hayat with people carrying weapons.
And she said Pakistani immigrants to the United States often build homes in Pakistan, that many Pakistanis espouse anti-American rhetoric, that shooting guns is a form of recreation in Pakistan, and that attending a religious school is often the only way many Pakistanis receive any formal education.
Prosecutor David Deitch attacked Weiss' credentials, saying the titles of much of her research in Pakistan deal with the role of women in an Islamic society.
Weiss strongly defended her background, saying the titles do not fully explain her research into Pakistani culture and society. Deitch managed to get Weiss to acknowledge a 2005 government report that Pakistan remains a sanctuary and training ground for terrorists, and that President Bush recently stated the need for Pakistan to dismantle terrorist training camps in Pakistan.
© X-Pro 2006
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