Palestinian Activist Abdel-Muhti Dies
2004Marty Goodman 2004-08The page as the paper published it (Wayback Machine) →
From the paper's own web edition, recovered from the Internet Archive: the text as the paper put it online, not machine-read. The printed issue of August 2004 is not held.
by Marty Goodman
Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a New York-based Palestinian activist and former political prisoner, died suddenly of a heart attack in Philadelphia on July 21. After participating in a panel on “Detention and Torture: Building Resistance,” Abdel-Muhti put his head down and never regained consciousness. Farouk’s death shocked the New York activist community who knew and loved him. He was just 57 and is survived by his son Tariq.
Farouk was just released on April 12 after two hellish years in several U.S. prisons (see Socialist Action, June 2004). An intensive campaign, waged by the Committee for the Release of Farouk Abdel-Muhti, made his a case a high-profile civil-liberties issue.
Farouk was a stateless Palestinian who first arrived in the U.S. in the 1970s. In the ’90s, he overstayed his visa, which was largely ignored until he became a regular guest on New York’s non-profit Pacifica station, WBAI radio. His telephone hook-ups with Palestinians exposed the brutality of apartheid rule there.
On April 26, 2004, about one month after beginning his radio appearances, Farouk was detained and imprisoned on a deportation charge. In prison he was an outspoken socialist and organizer of hunger strikes for prisoners rights, particularly that of Muslims, Palestinians and South Asians.
Racist prison guards beat Farouk many times and subjected him to verbal abuse, such as calling him “Osama.” Farouk was placed in solitary confinement for eight months.
During his imprisonment Farouk discovered several medical conditions—including high blood pressure, thyroid problems, gastritis, arthritis, and other ailments. He received inadequate medical treatment even after beatings. Farouk called U.S. prisons “fascist, fascist, fascist.”
Farouk struggled literally until his last breath for a democratic, secular Palestine—free of Zionist rule—for an end to war, and for world socialism. A public memorial to honor Farouk’s life will be held in New York City in September.
The article above first appeared in the August 2004 issue of Socialist Action newspaper.