Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Frauds and Fakers

Yesterday I wrote about the pending deportation of Mosab Yousef, author of Son of Hamas, and suggested that unless the Department of Homeland Security knows something about Yousef that they're not disclosing this would be a terrible injustice.

Today I came across an article in Books and Culture about a Muslim immigrant to the U.S. who has a story strikingly similar to that of Yousef and who, it seems, may really be a fraud.

Doug Howard, who teaches at Calvin College, tells us about Kamal Saleem, author of Blood of Lambs, who recounts in his book his years as a terrorist, his coming to America, and his subsequent conversion to Christianity. Howard argues persuasively that much of what Saleem tells us about himself seems too implausible to be true.

I don't know if Howard is right. I don't know if Saleem is what he says he is nor if Yousef is what he says he is, but it would sure be helpful to learn all the facts about why DHS wants to deport him.

RLC