A Letter From Tareq Mehanna

26th of Dhu al-Qa’dah, 1430 / 14th of November, 2009

In the Name of Allah, I praise Allah and invoke peace and blessings on the Messenger of Allah.

as-Salamu ‘alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh;

First of all, I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your immense support. Each and every person who is praying for my family and I, who has written a letter, and who attended a hearing or raised general awareness of what is going is known to Allah, and I ask that they each be rewarded with the good of this life and the next, and that Allah relieves each of you of trials and calamities just as you have helped to relieve my own.

Literally ,there were times when I would be laying in my cell and would begin to feel some distress coming about, and out of nowhere and without doing anything, it would suddenly be washed away, and I would be overcome by a feeling of relaxation and happiness that I cannot describe. I am 100% certain that this is the direct result of the du’a’ of some of you. What a wonderful gift…

I cannot speak in detail about the charges and accusations against me, but suffice to say that nobody who truly knows me would for a second believe the utter lies and sensationalist garbage that has been peddled around in the media since my arrest. I am not the first person the government has played this game with, and I certainly won’t be the last. regardless, that’s OK because {“Indeed, Allah defends those who believe…”} [Surat al-Hajj; v. 38]. And the Prophets themselves were targets of slander and lies by their opponents. So, who am I to be spared?

First of all, it is clear that the prison system here is inept. they call this place a ‘correctional facility’, but I see very little correction of anyone going on around me. Most of the prisoners I’ve had the chance to speak to are repeat offenders, meaning they were previously jailed here, released, committed more crimes (often the same one), and were brought back. Some have been brought back so many times that they consider this home, and they consider release to be a temporary visit to some strange place. I can’t deny that some are beyond hope, but the point is that people are pulled off the streets and brought in here, and nobody makes a single serious effort to get them to change their ways or give them hope of an alternative lifestyle. For example, I was in the prison van yesterday on my way back from court and struck up a conversation with a guy next to me who was losing it. So, I calmed him down, and told him to stay positive, and use his time here to clean his heart and mind, get stronger, and learn more about himself and his purpose in life, and that way he could gain more from prison than he ever would outside. he just looked at me and said: “That’s the first time anyone has said something like that to me since I got here,” and my words were quite simply and easy…

There are roughly 1,700 prisoners here. The only rehabilitation programs here take 50 prisoners every four months–combined! So, the remaining 1,650 are being “corrected” by people who for the most part are just here to finish an 8-hour shift and go home without a headache, and couldn’t care less about the futures and interests of those they are responsible for. It’s a real shame, because the way I see it, a lot of good can be done by just passing each prisoner’s cell and sitting down for a short chat to let him know that he can make better choices in life, he should keep his head up, etc. Such simple, brief exchanges can go a long way in changing someone’s life, if only this was the purpose of such a facility. Society in general would become much better if this approach were taken by prison staff. If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘American History X’, the turn of events there is a good example of how this can come about.

Another concept that has been reinforced in my mind is tha tno matter how bad things may be going for a given person, there is always someone worse off. There is always that one person you meet who gives you a reality check that reminds you that even though you are in prison going through hardship, etc., there are still things that you can take for granted. Case in point: a fellow prisoner I learned of who was just moved into the isolation unit a few cells down from me, who I had a chance to speak to when he was being moved. He told me his story, and I asked him how often he called his family, to which he replied that his mother literally told him to never contact her again until he was out. He was nearly in tears–a grown man–while questioning how a mother can turn away from her son in such a manner at his greatest time of need. After, I spoke to him, I tried to put myself in his shoes, and I came to realize that despite whatever I’m going through, I never once had to worry about my family forsaking me or abandoning me. In our culture, it’s generally unfathomable. However, it is these reality checks that clarify that what might be guaranteed for some isn’t guaranteed for all, and we should thus realize at all times that no matter how bad you may have it, you have things that grown men will cry for. So, thanks and praise to Allah for giving us what we have.

Another example that just popped into my mind is something I read in the newspaper today. It was about a woman who had been attacked by a chimpanzee weighing 200 lbs coming on TV and showing what the chimp had done to her face: her eyes were so severely attacked that she is now blind. A flap of skin now sits where her nose used to be. Her cheeks are a series of tears, gashes, and scars. She is unrecognizable, and can only eat through a straw. I just read that, shook my head, and realized that something as basic as having an intact face, having a nose, being able to see–these were luxuries I have that this woman is now deprived of.

Another benefit of being here is that you come to realize that the Muslim’s relationship with Allah is one of give and take, and good and desirable things don’t come easy. If you want something valuable, you have to be able to come up with money for it. We sometimes will wish for something, make du’a’ that it comes to be, have high hopes, but our level of faith, worship, and attachment to Allah isn’t changed at all, because we don’t tend to these while making the du’a’ for what we want. As a result, we don’t achieve the desired outcome. In the Hadith Qudsi, Allah says: “Whoever shows hostility to a Wali of Mine, I will declare war on him.” So, we often pay attention to the entire sentence except for the ‘Wali’ part, as well as what comes next. A person reaches this level of closeness to Allah by performing so many nawafil (extra) deeds–praying more, fasting more, giving more charity–that Allah becomes his hearing, seeing, etc. Instead of just praying his normal twelve extra rak’at, he prays twenty. Instead of praying a third of the night, he boosts it up to half the night. He makes his sujud longer. He reads two azja’ a day instead of his regular one juz! he fasts four days a week instead of two. He makes his way through a series of adhkar that is twice as long as what he would normally do–basically, he puts in more of his time and energy to worship Allah, and shows Him that he truly wants to become close to Him, truly wants His wilayah, truly loves Him, truly sees himself as a slave who is broken, humbled, weak, and is simply manifesting the reason he exists. Such a person wants to dig deeper into the treasures of faith, worship, and attachment to Allah. He knows that attachment to Allah is of levels, and he doesn’t rest and is not satisfied with himself until he reaches the highest level that he can of this attachment. Only then can we complete the hadith and say: “if he asks Me, I will give him what he wants, and if he asks for My Protection, I will Protect him.”

Reaching this level isn’t easy. It takes sincerity, persistence, resolve, conviction, true certainty that Allah will give you what you want if you reach the finish line, and it requires consistency. We can’t be like the people Allah describes in verse 12 and verses 22–23 in Surat Yunus, who reach this level of humility and need before Allah, get the relief we want, and then go back to the way we were before we needed relief from Him.

The point is that the deeper you go in these levels of servitude to Allah, the more evident and swift your need will be met. The level of certainty Prophet Musa had standing before the Red Sea splitting, the level of humility and need Yunus felt when he was released form the whale’s grasp, the lengthy du’a’ the Prophet Muhammad made before the Battle of Badr–all of these are examples of a deep level of attachment to Allah that went beyond what would exist on a daily basis while we’re living in comfort, ease, and security, and this is part of the reason the response to their distress was quite literally miraculous. We can achieve the same to some extent if we reach deep enough into those treasures. And we can do that now, whether or not we are in dire need of something from Allah at the moment. And we are all in need of Him…

These are just a few of the thoughts that have occupied my mind lately. I would like to close this letter by mentioning an incident with Babar Ahmad that I have heard shortly before I was arrested. In it, he says that a fellow prisoner was about to be released. So, Babar said: ‘I want to apologize to you before you leave.” The man asked: “For what?” Babar replied: “When I was free, I saw your story on TV. However, it meant nothing to me, because I never thought it could happen to me. So, I did nothing for you. Now that I am in prison and it has happened to me, there are people who heard about my story and will think nothing of it, thinking it will never happen to them. Once it happens to them, others will think nothing of it and do nothing, etc…” So, if you feel that you can just sit back and read about all these cases and do nothing to repel this injustice and that it can never happen to you, think again.

Was-Salamu’alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh.

Your brother,

Tariq Mehanna

Source: Tareq Mehanna Offical Facebook Group

Write to Eesa Barot

Please write to brother Eesa Barot. The following information MUST be included in any correspondence (Eid cards etc), otherwise mail is sent to the prison which Eesa is unable to receive.

1) Name and prisoner number

2) Address of prison

3) A return address and the name of the sender

Eesa Barot A6317AC

HMP Full Sutton
E Wing
Moor Lane
Stamford Bridge
York
YO41 1PS

The Story of the Brown Box

by Dr. Aafia’s brother.

This is the true story of a Brown Box.  An ordinary cardboard box. Not too big, not too small. Nothing special. It was the kind of an everyday box used to package every thing from priceless objects to toilet paper.

A few months ago, I came home one evening to find this box waiting at my front door. It was odd.  I had not ordered anything by mail and was not expecting any other delivery. Unfortunately, these days, finding an unexpected box is more cause for fear than curious excitement.

But then I noticed on the side it had printed in large writing a name and a number in one of the best examples of penmanship I have seen in years.  The name was one I recognized. I was momentarily paralyzed.  How or why would someone send this package to me.

I took the Box inside and did not know what to do with it.  I was both apprehensive and curious.  I checked with lawyers and friends. But for some time I just let it sit there in the entry way in my home and every day when I came home the box stared at me and I knew I wanted to open it.  I mention this dilemma this only to illustrate how the events of the past 6 ½ years have shaped our lives and how routine, simple actions can become a complex ordeal filled with suspicion, apprehension, anxiety and anticipation all rolled into one.

Getting back to the box. Finally, one day I decided to open the box.  Nothing special or auspicious about the day.  Just another day but it seemed that it was time.  With camera and video in witness, the tape sealing the box was cut and the lids carefully opened.

Inside the box the contents were sloppily thrown in – a marked contrast to the neatness of the handwriting that adorned the front of the box.  Surely different people must have handled the contents and the labeling.  No one could be both that rash and sensitive at the same time.

As I slowly removed the contents, one by one, my hands trembled.  There were two folded white scarves, several envelopes, writing pads with half written thoughts as if the pads were snatched in mid sentence.  There were letters from people from as far afield as Australia and Hawaii, from Pakistan and Arkansas.  And there were partially written letters to people who would now never get them even though the stamps were right there. And incomplete poems for which we would not know the ending. There were articles from magazines carefully clipped to highlight what? It would not be known. In the middle of this there was a Quran thrown in the pile.  It had been meticulously tagged by its reader who would no longer be able to use these references.

The rest of the box contained items of food – from tea bags to cookies, sealed fish and snacks. Sustenance no longer destined for the person who stored it.

I went through the items carefully at first, almost scientifically, as if handling a lost treasure, cataloging what I found.  But soon, as the items became personal, the reality of what I had in my hands hit me – and it hit hard.

You see the box had come from Carswell Medical Center in Fort Worth Texas and the name on the side was that of my sister Aafia, # 90279-054
This box contained all that remained of the worldly belongings of Aafia’s life. This is what she accumulated during the 8 months at the institution known as the “House of Horrors”. It hit me that without warning, one day someone took her away.  She had no time to complete tasks, letters, consume a special treat or send a last letter.  All her belongings, both of her scarves and her beloved Quran were all left behind.

She was strip searched naked and taken away with nothing but her body.

And I was reminded of what it must be like to die.  All the things that are left undone.  The things we think we will finish the next moment or the next day.  The favorite clothes, the favorite book, the favorite meal. In the end when they take you, it is you alone they take.

For a while, I could think of nothing else.  And then I realized that for Aafia, this was probably just another case of dé jà vu.

Back in March 2003, Aafia had her whole life snatched away when she and her three young children were summarily disappeared from the streets of Karachi.  How must that have felt?  You lose the “things” most precious to you – even more precious than your own life? – Your children, the youngest only 6 months old.

We don’t know much of what Aafia endured between then and when she suddenly emerged in Ghazni in July last year.  But there again, she was shot and everything in her possession taken from her –  and for a second time she lost her son – a son whom she was not sure was even alive anymore and had been reunited with only a short time earlier – and who did not recognize her as his mother.

So you see, Aafia has experienced the feeling of “death” over and over again. No wonder she says they have “killed” me. Every time they “transfer” her, it is akin to dying. Only she is forced to wake up and the nightmare continues. <Edit> When is it enough? Or is this all a lesson for others to see?

I used to think Aafia meant the phrase “killed me” in a metaphorical sense but now I see it as a much more physical expression. Just imagine how many times this may have happened over the years of her captivity when we have witnessed it at least three times in the “open” non-secret captivity of the past year. And there is the brown box that testifies to it.

Yes, back to the Brown Box.  Because the story does not end here.  That Box stayed in the entry, contents placed back inside. Then one day I saw the box and thought of the Pharaohs and how they built Pyramids to carefully store the contents of the world that they would take with them on the journey beyond death.  How meticulous the exterior architecture but equally haphazard the interior chambers and the storing of the food… clothes… ornaments…

So too the brown box – simple clean exterior with meticulous writing and an interior haphazardly packed with the tools of life.

But there was a difference – a big difference between the pyramids of the pharaohs and the Brown Box of Aafia.  The one was planned. The other reflects reality of how life ends abruptly.  In reality, even the Pharaohs would have had a brown box that collected their daily unfinished business because while they could prepare for death, they could not predict its time.

By now the Brown Box was becoming an eyesore in the entry and the kids were asking too many questions so I took it up to the attic to store it. Here it found company among many other brown boxes that contained pieces of my life, forgotten memories and material possessions that I had not seen in years and probably will not even remember until and if I see them again.  But I hang on to them as if they and I will someday re-live the “good old days.”

And it struck me that I had dozens of brown boxes and they only filled the forgotten pieces of my life and here was Aafia’s one Brown box that was now representative of her entire life. But she is alive so she will accumulate more “stuff”.  But how many more times will these be taken away? How many more deaths? How many more Brown boxes?

I left the Brown Box in the Attic but had trouble sleeping until one morning I woke up and brought it back down and placed it in my study – out of the way but in full view of where I sit every day.  You see, I could not just put away Aafia’s life in the Attic and let it become another forgotten piece of my life.  I have to see it every day because my sister is in my thoughts every day and as long as she is alive the Brown Box will be waiting so she may complete those letters, those poems and drink that tea.

So, for now, the story remains incomplete, waiting for an ending… with a prayer that God will make it a happy one.

Source: Freeaafia.org

The Abandonment of Tarek Mehanna

When Tarek Mehanna was arrested, many muslims online rightly felt that this was a sham arrest, full of inconsistencies and a blatant attempt to “stitch up” a practising muslim brother whose only crime was to speak the word of tawheed and adhere to the sunnah. I say “many muslims” rather than “all” because there was a small minority who did not. It saddens me to say that one of those minorities was “muslim matters”, a blog of American muslims closely aligned to the Maghrib Institute and Yasir Al-Qadhi. In their vile diatribe, there were many falsehoods and accusations present, as well as subtle associations being made between Tarek and terrorism. In particular, the following paragraph :- “While Tarek might have argued for the differentiation between legitimate resistance and terrorism against innocents, it is quite clear that he chose to ignore defining what differentiates the two groups.” This statement could have been written by the district attorney in their affidavit, rather than a professedly muslim organisation. What is far worse is that some on muslimmatters actually know Tareq personally, and to commit such a cowardly attack is surely the lowest of acts. They then state :- “We at MuslimMatters have always refused to let our emotions cloud our objectivity. Many people the world over are skeptical of the foreign policies of the superpowers, but we believe that the best and most effective way to change those policies is through education and dialogue, not violence and terror.” This again implies that Tarek on the contrary believes that terror changes the world! Could anyone possibly make a more damaging statement when the brother is falsely accused of terrorism charges? Is it so hard to remain silent if one does not have anything good to say? What is worse is that Muslimatters will know completely of all his good deeds. They know his work for muslim prisoners, including Aafia Siddiqui, who would undoubtedly still be rotting in a secret detention centre were it not for the hard work that both Tareq and others did in publicising the case so that it was brought into the public domain. They will know of his work translating the great works of the past into English language, for those who do not know Arabic and thus face a dearth of knowledge were it not for brothers like Tareq. They will also know more of his work helping those with fantastic naseehah of Hajj, Ramadan, and general heart-softeners. I could go on, but they know the brothers good deeds far more than I do, as they had befriended him, then they abandoned him in his hour of need. It was all the more disgusting that the author of the article chose to hide behind the name of the organisation, which to me and others indicate that this is nothing more than untrustworthy slander, and reminds one of the Pravda news agency in the USSR, who would release false statements against their dissenting voices in order to discredit their fellow citizens. I would also point to their own praise for journalists in the west from a previous article on muslimmatters:- “In fact, principled journalists are some of the best sources of real information about these issues. They write under their own names, with a sincere commitment to objectivity, with their professional reputation at stake for any missteps.” How sad it is that Muslimmatters whilst praising the journalism of the west in theory, resort to the gutter press in reality, hiding behind a label as if it is a cloak to save one from accusations of slander. In the Quran, it states :- “O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do” ( Chapter 4, Verse 135 ) “And do not incline to those who are unjust, lest the fire touch you, and you have no guardians besides Allah, then you shall not be helped.” (Chapter 11, Verse 113) I now close with words and naseehah with regards abandonment of muslim brothers and sisters from those who truly strived for the deen, the prophet(saw) and the companions (ra), and finally quotes by those who truly deserve to be labelled scholars, rather than those pretenders and charlatans at Muslimmatters :- ‘The Muslim is the brother of Muslim he neither oppresses him, nor does he fail him..” (Muslim) “Whoever protects the honour of his brother, Allah will protect his face from hell on the Day of Judgment. (Ahmad) “If you see my Ummah afraid of addressing the oppressor as an oppressor, then bid farewell to it.” (Ahmad) “He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.” (Muslim) “Allah commands His believing servants to stand up for justice and fairness and not to deviate from it, right or left. They should not fear the blame of anyone or allow anyone to prevent them from doing something for the sake of Allah.” Ibn Kathir “Ibn Jarir said that Ibn `Abbas said, “Do not side with those who do wrong.” This is a good statement. This means, “Do not seek assistance from wrongdoers, because it will be as if you are condoning their actions (of evil).” Ibn Kathir I pray that Muslimmatters recant their false statements, support their muslim brother Tarek Mehanna, and press for his release as any other muslim will be. Umar Abdullah Source: helptheprisoners.org // <![CDATA[// // <![CDATA[//

You Need To Read This

For just a moment, I’d like to ask you to place yourself in my brother’s situation. You have a bright future as a pharmacist earning six figures. You come from a cushy life, no debt, and you have a pretty comfortable future to look forward to. The FBI approaches you and gives you this choice: “help us by informing on people in your community and we’ll reward you very well. Refuse to help us and we will make your life a living hell.”

Think about that for a second. Imagine if you had it made, and all of a sudden your entire future was threatened. My brother is facing life in prison now and his pending conviction means he can never work as a pharmacist in the states again. All he has to do is agree to inform and ALL OF THIS will DISAPPEAR. And yet he CONTINUES to refuse to, because it is flat out wrong. Who knows, maybe if he agreed, it would be YOU that got screwed from it, because as my brother’s case should show you, informants are really good at making stories up. After all, the FBI pays them $60,000 a year + housing and relocation to do it. It really doesn’t matter if you did anything wrong or not anymore. It’s all politics for the FBI, and they’re looking for glory.

My brother’s behavior is the exception in this type of situation. A lot of people end up making deals with the FBI. They figure, who cares, i’ll help them bust somebody I don’t even know, what do I care… it’s my future, gotta look out for #1. I want you to ask yourself if you would have the strength to make the right decision there. My brother did. And it could have been you, one of your close friends, or your family members that was spared this type of experience because my brother made the right decision. But now, he needs you to make the right decision. He needs you to do the responsible thing, and support him for what he is enduring as a result of protecting you. Because if people do not show their support for him after all of this, then the next guy that gets approached by the FBI like this will figure, “Why should I do the right thing? Last guy that did the right thing was thrown to the dogs. I gotta look out for myself.” We simply cannot afford to encourage that kind of behavior in our community. We need to help each other and protect each other. The FBI is not out for justice; they are out for blackmail and their favorite strategy is to turn people against one another. We simply CANNOT afford to be afraid to support each other.

One way or another, Allah will be the final adjudicator in this case, as He is in all cases. I trust in Allah and believe that He will have mercy on us. You just need to decide where YOU stand on things. Tariq has made his choice, and anybody with greater intellect or reasoning capabilities than a 1st grader can see through the RIDICULOUS story that the FBI “alleges.” You need to make your choice now. I urge you to make the right choice, and for the sake of my brother and the good of our communities, whether they be Islamic or non-Islamic, to support us at the upcoming hearing in person. Thanks for reading this.

Source: Tamer Mehanna (Free Tareq Mehanna)

Free Tareq Mehanna Official Facebook Group:

Tariq Mehanna is a 27 year old Muslim Egyptian American born and raised in the United States. Highly educated, Tariq holds a doctorate in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. He is a devout and tolerant Muslim who is not only respected in the local Islamic and interfaith communities, but who also gives back to his Islamic community by fulfilling the roles of brother, educator, mentor, scholar, and friend. Tariq is described by those who know him well as humble, reserved, warm, peaceful, intelligent, knowledgeable, reflective, pragmatic, dedicated, and straightforward. He is a person with strong ethical values who refuses to compromise on them regardless of the circumstances. It is unfortunate then that this customarily admirable trait plays a role in his current situation.

Several years ago, the Boston FBI began to approach Tariq. They recognized that he was a religious Muslim who was active in the local Islamic community, had earned the respect of many, and was beloved to the youth. The FBI recognized in Tariq an individual who is intelligent, charismatic, influential and trusted by many in the local Islamic community. They decided that they wanted Tariq on their side, and began to approach him in an effort to recruit him as an informant. Their objective was to secure Tariq as a tool to corroborate any FBI claims or accusations against members of the community that might arise, at the discretion of the FBI. Of course, Tariq flat out refused to backstab his fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, a decision that did not sit well at all with the FBI.

The FBI then proceeded to repeatedly approach Tariq over the coming months, each time pressuring him more and more to collaborate with them. This pressure most often came in the form of blackmail; Tariq was told that unless he consented to cooperating with the FBI, they would continue finding new ways to disrupt his life and to deprive him of a sense of security. He was told outright by interrogators that they knew he was innocent, but that they would not be satisfied with his refusal to cooperate. Regardless of whether their methods were unethical, coercive, or failed to respect his civil rights, the FBI were quite fortunate in catching an opportunity to arrest Tariq in 2008 based on a weak accusation of issuing “false statements” to a federal officer. After two months of imprisonment, his court-appointed attorney, Jay Carney, jr., was able to negotiate a bail settlement of $1,250,000. Tariq was subsequently released after this absurdly inflated amount was paid by his parents, who were desperate to have him return home safely.

Tariq did return home for nearly a year, living a quiet life, restricted by a court-ordered curfew, and monitored by FBI investigators. In the meantime, the case against him, based on “false testimony” charges, began to stagnate, and court dates were far and in between with no advances made by the FBI. Over time, the Mehanna family began to finally feel a sense of restored normalcy and stability in their lives. This feeling was suddenly and violently shattered during the fajr hours of September 21st, 2009, when FBI agents showed up at the Mehanna home doorstep at 5:00AM in the morning. Despite the lack of ANY new evidence since the prior arrest, the agents came with an arrest warrant. According to Dr. Ahmed Mehanna, Tariq’s father, the agents were visibly excited and enthusiastic about their invasion of the Mehanna private household and the seizure and arrest of Tariq. The situation facing Tariq now is one where his second arrest means that there is no chance for bail. Tariq is currently incarcerated at the Plymouth Correctional Facility, where he is expected to remain for the several year duration of a new trial based on outright FALSE AND LUDICROUSE accusations of aiding and abetting terrorism. He currently faces LIFE IN PRISON if convicted guilty in a trial by grand jury. We must offer our greatest support and most dedicated effort if there is to be hope of Tariq’s release. Thank you for taking the time to read this history, and we are confident that you will share our knowledge of Tariq’s innocence. In addition, it is our sincere hope that the United States justice system remain true to its “innocent until proven guilty” origins, and for Tariq to receive a fair and just trial.

Source: Tamer Mehanna (Free Tareq Mehanna)

Holy Land Foundation defendant’s family unhappy with prison treatment

Noor Elashi, daughter of Ghassan Elashi (pictured at right), who was sentenced to 65 years in prison earlier this year for supporting Hamas through the formerly Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation, says that a guard at the Seagoville federal prison has treated her father unfairly.

According to Noor, the guard has recommended Elashi’s family visits be suspended for a year and that he be placed in what amounts to solitary confinement because of an incident during a family visit last month.

Jeff Butler, a spokesman for the Seagoville prison, declined to comment. “We can’t discuss an inmate’s disciplinary history.”

HOLY LAND POLITICAL PRISONER MISTREATED BY PRISON GUARD

In a blatant display of authority abuse, a prison guard at the Seagoville Detention Center near Dallas, Texas abused his power this weekend by requesting to terminate one of the Holy Land Five’s family visitations for one year. Ghassan Elashi, a Palestinian-American post-9/11 political prisoner who’s serving a 65-year-sentence for giving charity to needy Palestinians, is being punished for hugging his son earlier this month.

As visitation ended on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009, correctional officer T. Thomas told inmates to stand on one side of the room and their families to stand on the other side. As the group began dispersing, Mr. Elashi’s 9-year-old son Omar ran to his father to give him one final hug. Officer Thomas immediately spewed, “That goes for you too Elashi. What, you think you’re an exception?”

Mr. Elashi’s son Omar has Down syndrome, which is a chromosomal disorder characterized by delayed physical development and mental retardation. That said, officer Thomas should be the one penalized for his actions, which were not only highly offensive but outright immoral, says Mr. Elashi’s daughter Noor, a Creative Writing MFA student in New York City.

“Instead, he’s painted himself as the victim, claiming that my dad did not obey him,” Noor said. “We live in a time in this country where a man gets thrown in prison for feeding orphans and then further chastised for giving his son a hug.”

Officer Thomas also requested that Mr. Elashi be allowed to make only two phone calls a month and that he be placed in the SHU, or Special Housing Unit, for an unknown period. The SHU was designed to make inmates physically and physiologically crack by placing them in a cold, dark, tiny cell for 23 hours a day.

Observers familiar with prison conditions and rules have asserted that the treatment meted out to Mr. Elashi is extremely unusual, harsh and inhumane.

Background on the Case

The Holy Land Foundation was the largest Muslim charity in America until the Bush administration shut it down three months after Sept. 11, 2001. They Holy Land Five were tried in 2007 and almost vindicated with a trial that ended in a hang jury. But in November 2008, after being tried a second time, a Texas jury convicted the Holy Land Five of giving material support in the form of humanitarian aid to Palestinian charities that were allegedly controlled by Hamas–these are some of the same charities to which the United Nations and USAID sent money.

William Neal, who served on the first jury, said, “They never proved — they kept trying to show us stuff around the case, not the case. They presented to the jury, you know these committees, these organizations controlled by or on the behalf of Hamas, but they kept showing us blown-up buses and they kept showing us little kids in bomb belts reenacting Hamas leaders,” he said. “It had nothing to do with the actual charges. It had nothing to do with the defendants.” To learn more about Holy Land Foundation case, visit www.freedomtogive.com

TAKE ACTION

Call the South Central Regional Office of the Federal Bureau of Prisons: 214-224-3389. You can also write them: 4211 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, TX 75219 or email them: scro/execassistant@bop.gov. Ask that Mr. Elashi regain his family visitations and daily phone calls and that he be released from the Special Housing Unit. Ask why Mr. Elashi is being punished for hugging his son.

Organize protests to free the Holy Land Five, who were falsely convicted in November of sending humanitarian aid to Palestinian charities allegedly controlled by Hamas. The Holy Land Five are the poster children for post 9/11 injustice. Source: Dallas News

Happy Eid?

“Come to us with fragrance With Glory and Clear Victory” On behalf of us all at al-istiqamah.com we wish you all the best on our celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. The sense of melancholy felt at the departure of Ramadhan mingles with the joy that this day should bring. Yet for many Muslims whose loved ones have departed this world, or who are currently behind bars, Eid is a day that painfully highlights the incompleteness of their family. We have reproduced the following poem derived from an Arabic nasheed (song) to reflect the sentiment that as Muslims, we can never really experience a “Happy Eid” until every part of our Ummah is freed from oppression. was-salam, al-istiqamah.com Click here to view the flash presentation courtesy of emanway.com Happy Eid O Crescent, Depart! They said: The Happy Eid is coming… Happy Eid? While the earth is still wet with the blood of the shaheed (martyr)? And the war has tired itself And loathed those she perishes A Happy Eid in the palaces of the pampered A miserable Eid in the tents of the refugees Oh Crescent, Our footsteps steps have grew old And Happiness is still very far from us Disappear O Crescent! Do not come with your happy Eid With groans I do not want an Eid with a cut aorta Do you think Eid is in sweets? And new clothing? Do you think Eid is a compliment underlined in a newspaper? Depart Oh Crescent, And appear when the time will smile And when the flames of tribulations will die out Come to us When the evening will be covered with our smiles and when the snow on our paths will melt Come to us with fragrance With Glory and Clear Victory Come to us with a full healing for Muslims This is the Happy Eid And other than that for us is not an Eid Depart oh Crescent Till You see this Ummah’s flags Waving high with pride For there is Eid in there What Eid? When the distressed are smiling with the happy?

The Backbone that Never Breaks

{“And from the people is he who worships Allah as if he were on an edge. If good befalls him, he is content with it. And if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face. He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the clear loss.”} [al-Hajj; 11]

Commenting on this verse, Ibn Kathir said in ‘Tafsir al-Qur’an al-’Adhim’ (3/279): “This means that he enters the religion on an edge. So, if he finds what he likes, he sticks with it. Otherwise, he retreats. al-Bukhari reported…that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “A man would come to Madinah. If his wife gave birth to a son and his mare gave birth to foals, he would say: “This is a good religion.” If his wife didn’t give birth and his mare didn’t either, he would say: “This is a terrible religion.”” And Ibn Abi Hatim reported…that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “Some bedouins would come to the Prophet and become Muslims and then they’d return to their homelands. If they returned to a year of rain, produce, and good children being born, they would say: “This religion of ours is good. So, stick to it.” If they came back to a year of hunger, bad children being born, and drought, they would say: “There is no good in this religion of ours.” So, Allah revealed this verse.”

…And ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said: “This is in regards to the hypocrite. If everything is going well for him in his life, he is consistent in his worship. If things change and go bad for him, he goes back and wavers in his worship except when things are going good. So, if a trial, hardship, test, or inconvenience befalls him, he abandons his religion and returns to kufr.””

In ‘Fi Dhilal al-Qur’an’ (4/2412), Sayyid Qutb commented on this verse by saying: “Even if this addresses the Islamic call back then, it is an example that is repeated in every generation – this person who weighs his belief using the scales of profit and loss, thinking that he is engaged in some sort of business deal…

Belief is the firm backbone in the life of the believer. The world crashes around him, and he remains firm on this support column. The events going on and the pressures existing around him push down on him, and he remains holding firmly to this rock that cannot be shaken. The crutches fall from under him, and he leans on this foundation that cannot be moved from its place or swept away.

This is the value of belief in the life of the believer. Therefore, it is a must for him to stand up straight on it, be sure of it, confident in it, not shaky in it, and not waiting for any reward for it, as it in itself is a reward. This is because it is the protective force that he turns to and the supporting column that he leans on. Yes, it is itself a reward for one opening his heart up to the light and going after guidance. As a result, Allah grants him this belief and faith for him to turn to for support and assurance. It is itself a reward whose value the believer realizes when he sees the confused, distraught people around him blown about and thrown around by the wind, engulfed in anxiety – while his belief keeps his heart tranquil, his feet firm, his mood calm, and his connection to Allah. He is confident as a result of this connection.

As for the type of person mentioned in this verse, he turns his belief into a business deal:

{“…If good befalls him, he is content with it.…”} Here, he says that it is good to have faith. He is gaining some benefit, things look good, he is picking his crops, he is profiting from his deal, and he can stand up to the wind. {“… And if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face. He loses both this world and the Hereafter…”} He loses this world through the trial that he was afflicted with and was unable to exercise patience and hold himself together in the face of, and did not turn to Allah during. He loses the Hereafter due to his reversing course and his abandonment of his beliefs and the guidance that was made so easily available for him.

And the Qur’an depicts such a person as worshipping Allah “on an edge,” shaky in his beliefs, shaky in his worship. It depicts this state as the impending physical movement of one who is prone to collapse at the first hint of pressure. This person reverses course when he is simply touched with trouble, and his standing on the edge is simply a prelude to him going back from what he was upon and collapsing.

The measurement of profit and loss is something that belongs in business, not your beliefs. ‘Aqidah is a truth that should be adopted simply on account of what it is – the reaction of the heart that has opened itself up to light and guidance that has no choice but to react with whatever it encounters. So, this belief carries its reward in its nature, due to the confidence, tranquility, and pleasure it contains. So, it doesn’t look for reward from anything other than itself.

The believer worships his Lord out of gratitude for being guided, for the confidence that comes along with being close to Him. If any reward were to come, this would be from the favor of Allah due to this person’s faith and worship!

The believer doesn’t test his Lord. From the start, he accepts whatever He Decrees for him, surrenders from the start to whatever he will experience, is pleased from the start with whatever ease or hardship comes his way. It is not a business deal between a buyer and seller. Rather, it is the submission of the Creation to the Creator – the One who runs his affairs and was the reason for his existence in the first place.

The one who reverses course when he is touched with trouble endures a loss in which there is no doubt: {“…That is the clear loss…”} He loses the tranquility and confidence and calmness and pleasure, in addition to losing his money, family, health, or any of the other material possessions that Allah tests people through – He tests their confidence in Him, their patience in the face of these tests He brings, their own sincerity to Him, and their willingness to accept His Decree. This person also loses the Hereafter and the pleasures and closeness to Allah it contains…what a loss!”

He continues:

“…And Allah presents for the believers something better than whatever this life can give you, even if you lose whatever it gives you during the course of your trials and tribulations:

{“Truly, Allah will admit those who believe and do good deeds to gardens underneath which rivers flow. Indeed, Allah does what He Wills.”}

So, whoever is touched by any type of trouble or test, he should stay strong and not become shaky. He should manifest his confidence in the Mercy and help of Allah and His ability to remove all hardships and compensate and reward for them…”

Source: iskandrani.wordpress.com

Paralysed Girl’s Story Reflects Gaza’s Plight

Four-year-old Samar Abed Rabbu lost her two sisters during Israel’s offensive in Gaza last December and January.

The BBC’s Christian Fraser has been following the plight of Samar and her family – now divided across two continents, as Samar receives treatment in Belgium with her mother.

Throughout these months of gruelling therapy Belgian doctors say Samar Abed Rabbu has demonstrated remarkable courage.

Samar Abed Rabbu, a little girl injured during Israel’s offensive in Gaza
Samar has lost the use of her legs but has shown remarkable spirit

She is desperate to walk again – she even simulates it on the bed with her fingers – but there is nothing the Belgian doctors can do to repair Samar’s broken back.

“She has had two operations so far,” said physiotherapist Pierre Van Lierde. “One in Gaza and one here in Brussels. But the bullets are lodged too deeply. It’s too dangerous to remove them and at least one of them is embedded in her spinal cord.”

I first met Samar in January in a hospital in Egypt. She had been evacuated from Gaza for emergency surgery, just one of scores of children who were injured as the Israelis searched out their Hamas targets.

Shocking

But there was something particularly shocking about this story.

The family alleged that Israeli soldiers had opened fire at close range – as they lined up outside the house and while Samar’s grandmother waved a white flag.

When the war ended we travelled to Jabaliya, northern Gaza, to find Samar’s father. He told us that Samar’s two sisters – Soad, 7, and Amel, 2 – had been killed in the assault. We brought him news that his only surviving daughter was now paralysed.

Today, after months of treatment – paid for by the Belgian government – Samar is at least upright and learning to balance.

She must wear a plastic brace to correct the position of her spine.

Every day she undergoes intensive physiotherapy to move her legs and to build the strength in her upper body. On the day we visited her custom-built wheelchair had just been delivered.

Home in ruins

But these are all things that will all need to be replaced as she grows – and the question is how this family will cope when Samar is eventually sent back to Gaza.

I am desperate to see her again. But I don’t want her to come back here – not to this
Khaled, Samar’s father
Jabaliya, Gaza

The neighbourhood of Jabaliya looks exactly as it did when I was last there just over six months ago.

With the Israeli blockade still in place there is no concrete or steel to rebuild it. At the moment there is precious little to come back to.

In Gaza there is still no sign of the aid that was promised by the outside world.

In Jabaliya people are so desperate to salvage some respectability that they spend their days scavenging for broken bricks and metal, which they drag away on donkey-drawn carts.

In place of his home, Samar’s father Khaled has been given a prefabricated hut – which feels like a sauna in Gaza’s summer heat. It is without any running water or electricity.

“I miss my daughter terribly,” he said. “I am desperate to see her again. But I don’t want her to come back here – not to this. What can I offer her? She is much better where she is.”

Khaled spends what little money he has on phone calls to Brussels.

Samar Abed Rabbu’s father Khaled, by the wreckage of their former family home in Jabaliya, Gaza
Samar’s family now live in a hut next to the ruins of their former home

Samar sings to him down the line.

So imagine the emotion as he had the chance to see her face in the pictures we had brought from Brussels.

The entire family gathered around as we showed Khaled the film – including Samar’s young brother.

“It’s been tough for all of us,” said Khaled. “The family has been split for almost seven months – and we are still coping with the trauma and the grief. This little boy needs his mum.”

Israeli denial

The Israeli Defence Force has told the BBC that their inquiry into the family’s allegations had found no evidence of such an incident. They stressed they have never targeted innocent civilians.

The Israeli blockade has meant little rebuilding in Gaza

But the morals and behaviour of the army have been called into question by a number of serving soldiers who took part in the Gaza offensive – although the military has dismissed their testimonies as based on hearsay.

Back in Belgium, Samar’s mother Kawtar says she wants to stay in Europe, even though the family has been split.

“I want Samar to get better,” she says. “I am just hoping that she won’t stay like this.

“The doctors say she is very smart and she performs well. I don’t want to take her to Gaza because I don’t want her to lose her mind like she lost her legs.”

In the orderly surroundings of a Belgian hospital Samar has all the attention she needs. But it is tough enough dealing with a disability like this, never mind coping with it, amid the chaos and destruction of Gaza.