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{
    "id": 543943,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/543943/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 284,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Hassan",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 431,
        "legal_name": "Hassan Omar Hassan Sarai",
        "slug": "hassan-omar-hassan-sarai"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I got very worried when the Mover was speaking. However, my fears were allayed after Sen. Wetangula spoke. I am also one of those who believe that the due process must follow its course and not apportion guilt by association. If I recall, the young man was in Moi University, about two years behind me, at the time that I was in the university around the late 1990s. Pumwani Riyadh Mosque is associated with a young Eng. Ahmed Iman, who is the head of Al Qaeda or Al Shabaab Kenyan cell in Somalia. I think these are matters well within the domain of those who seek this information. Just because the young man is the vice chairperson of that Mosque where Ahmed Iman was once a youth leader, will require investigations into establishing whether he is connected in a tangible way or not. The United Nation (UN) Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia once produced a report that mentioned a number of Cabinet Ministers who were serving then and all that is in the public domain. Hon. Balala and Hon. Amina Abdalla were mentioned in that report, because they had contributed to a fundraiser for the completion of the Pumwani Riyadh Mosque. So, this is guilt by association and the stereotyping of leaders from a certain faith. It is too easy lately to stereotype a Muslim. All you need to do is see somebody with a Muslim garb and raise alarm that you think there is a suspected terrorist taking photographs. We should desist from this stereotypical behavior. I know that this country is facing a very difficult moment, but the United States of America (USA), which has faced similar challenges, has had to ensure that they extent collaboration and partnership with some of the constituencies and stakeholders that are critical in this war against terror. Personally, I do not believe that there can be a Senator seated here who is supporting terror. For anybody to pick up media reports and try to continue with the strategy of profiling other people is beneath any critical mind. I was happy to hear Sen. Wetangula say that this young man has worked here for ten years. If it is true, then we live in very interesting times. Sen. Wetangula, being a lawyer, also said that we hope that it is mistaken identity. However, there can never be any guilt by association. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Ahmed Iman was a member of Pumwani Riyadh Mosque and Muslims pray in all mosques in this country. We know that there are certain young men who mean no good. However, the young man’s colleagues can attest to his credibility. If he has worked for ten years, why would he have waited for that long? There are also so many other begging questions that require us to be more critical with information that we receive. I wish that our intelligence will do their work, rather than continue to arrest Muslims everywhere on all kinds of suspicion. Some people in shopping malls raise alarm whenever they see other people dressed in Muslim garbs. We are in this country by right. I feel pained when some of the most senior citizens of this country who hold the core of reforms, can today stereotype without The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}