Terror Arrests: With the damage done, two Muslim teenagers are quietly released

Scream a little scream for me

Back in March of this year, US authorities made a bizarre arrest of two 16-year old girls in New York City (one from Guinea and one from Bangladesh), with accusations that the two were intent on becoming suicide bombers. To the horror of their families, friends, and teachers, the two were promptly locked up indefinitely in a juvenile facility with no evidence cited against them (though reports indicated an essay found on one girl’s computer – seized without a warrant – that argued against suicide bombing helped trigger the arrest).

Neither girl had met each other before the arrest, though they were accused of conspiring (again, without evidence). The New York Times quickly defended the two, and the FBI had to acknowledge that the case held no water and that the two would instead be held on immigration charges, as has happened with many terrorism-related arrests.

“We’re not spun up about this case,” said a Homeland Security Department source. “Nobody here believes they are wanna-be suicide bombers,” an FBI official added. The continued detention was protested on several blogs where similar unreported cases have been highlighted. Eventually, the girls – now identified as Tashnuba Hayder from Bangladesh and Adama Bah from Guinea – were released with all charges dropped on one condition each: a gag order on Bah and a deportation for Hayder, along with her 70+ year old parents (Bah’s father also faces deportation).

News of the dropped charges were almost nowhere to be found (outside of the Times), despite wide (and often sensationalist) reporting on the original detentions. “I feel like I’m on a different planet,” said Hayder, now in Bangladesh where she hasn’t been since she was a toddler. “It just hit me. How everything happened – it’s like, ‘Oh, my God.'”

As for Adama, her schoolmates rallied around her even while in detention to create an art project depicting her experience, currently on display at Columbia University (small figures cry for help while large figures stand silent). “We didn’t know if we would ever see her again,” said Kimberly Lane, an art teacher at Adama’s school in East Harlem, where many supported the girls. “This was a way for the students to use art to speak out at a time when a lot of people, including adults, were afraid to do anything.” Adama concurs. “Even though I’m one person,” she said, “they’re making a difference.”

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.