February Issue Now Live!

Inspiring Examples

“the Ummah is always in need of such legends to lead the people…”

Assalamu Alaykum and welcome to our latest issue. Control Orders (house-arrest) are a hotly-debated topic in the UK. We are proud to present this exclusive interview with acquitted Ricin suspect Mouloud Sihali. Mouloud has appeared on Channel 4’s documentary ‘At Home with the Terror Suspects’ and also features in ‘Taking Liberties’. Most people cannot comprehend how ex-detainees find life under a control order even more unbearable than incarceration in a high-security jail. Mouloud’s candid and personal account reveals the psychological effects suffered as a result of these draconian conditions.

Our September 2007 issue carried an exclusive first-hand account of Daniel Joseph Maldonado’s journey to Somalia which resulted in his arrest and imprisonment in Kenya and thereafter in the US. Daniel has submitted a series of intense poems to us dedicated to his late wife Tamekia (RH), whose recent passing is still very much a raw wound. We hope that his poetry serves as an inspiring example to us all to have tawakkal (reliance of Allah), sabr (patience) and istiqaamah (steadfastness) in the face of severe trials.

A legendary figure from our history is Umar al-Mukhtar (RH), whose story was portrayed in the movie ‘The Lion of the Desert’. Whilst reading Ahmad Jibril’s tribute, one line reverberated in my mind: “the Ummah is always in need of such legends to lead the people…” When at times it may seem that the crusading forces are attacking the ummah (community) on every front, the struggle of Shahid Umar al-Mukhtar against all odds should fill the heart of every Muslim with immense inspiration and pride.

Finally, as you can see, we now have a blog. If you have a blog too, please do add us to your blogroll.

Was-salam,
Abu Khaalid
Ameer of Al-Istiqamah.

My Control Order: a Living Nightmare

“Being under a control order is worse than being in prison. I used to feel that I was being followed wherever I went. They play with your mind…Sometimes I sit on my bed and in my mind I can see the door being broken down in front of me…”

Mouloud Sihali was one of eight men arrested over the Ricin plot in September 2002. After spending over two years in HMP Belmarsh, a jury acquitted him in April . He was re-arrested a few months later, before being cleared once again. Mouloud spent 16 months under strict control orders before being cleared in May 2007. In this exclusive interview with al-istiqamah.com, Mouloud gives a 1st-hand account of the psychological effects induced by control orders.

Read the full interview here at al-istiqamah.com

Daniel Joseph Maldonado’s Tribute to Martyred Wife

Dedicated to Tamekia: ‘Her Prayer’

She told me then, “I wept and prayed.”
For what? I asked. “A scented grave…”

Al-istiqamah is proud to publish the first in a series of exclusive poems written by brother Daniel Joseph Maldonado on the loss of his wife in war-torn Somalia. Daniel was arrested by the Kenyan military in January 2007 and handed over the US authorities. His wife Tamekia died of malaria near the Kenyan-Somalian border. In April 2007 he pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in June.

Read full poem at al-istiqamah.com here