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)

Press TV Report on Belmarsh Hunger Strike

Muslim prisoners in one of Britain’s most notorious jails have said that they’ve gone on hunger strike in protest against what they call the authorities’ mistreatment of them. The prisoners say the authorities are turning a blind eye to attacks on them, as well as depriving them of sleep and ignoring requests for medical treatment. Roshan Muhammed Salih in London reports.

Watch the video on YouTube

Source: Press Tv

Court Hearing for Aafia Siddiqui and Fahad Hashmi

Source: muslimsforjustice.org

Update on Tareq Mehanna

From an email written by Tariq’s brother Tamer

as-Salaam 3laikum wa Rahmatullah

I hope this message finds you all in the best health, inshaAllah.  I would again like to thank everybody who came to Tariq’s hearing, and would like to share with everybody that he is being patient and is still very strong, alhamdulillah. We are still awaiting the decision of the judge on whether he will be allowed to come home on bail or not, and we expect the verdict any day now, inshaAllah.  While he is still being held by the state, here is the mailing address that he can be reached at:

——————–

ID# 50660

Room E327 Unit E3

Plymouth Country Correctional Facility

26 Long Pond Road

Plymouth, MA 02360

———————

If you can spare the time, please feel free to send him a letter, as he would very much love to hear from all of you, and he appreciates your support a great deal.  He cannot receive anything other than a letter, and cannot see visitors still at this time, but your words will mean a great deal to him.  Please also feel free to distribute the address on any additional forums, and Tariq and myself and our parents thank you sincerely for your attention and loyalty as friends.  Thank you again!

wa Salaam,

-Tamer A. Mehanna

Al-Istiqamah Vol 4 Issue 1 Now Live

Assalamu Alaykum and welcome to the latest issue of al-istiqamah.

The press has recently been awash with reports of British Muslims – from prisoners to police officers – purportedly demanding preferential treatment whilst complaining of discrimination. Our exclusive interview with Jamil Ahmed, a former Senior Immigration Officer exposes the climate of institutional racism that exists in the UK yet is vehemently (and conveniently) downplayed by the mainstream media.

Dhul Hijjah is fast approaching. The Blessed Days of Dhul Hijjah details the significance of these 10 days and the recommended deeds to be during them. One of the most beautiful aspects of Hajj is how race and social barriers are removed. Dressed in two unstitched cloths, a millionaire might make tawaf (circumbulation) alongside a beggar. It was through witnessing the unity and brotherhood shared by Muslims of every colour at Hajj that ash-shaheed Malcolm X (RH) renounced his former racist belief that the white man is a devil. We have reproduced the letter that Malcolm X wrote to his assistants in Harlem about his change of heart.

The rites of Hajj are a re-enactment of various events in the life of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). The sacrifice is performed on the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah. This is the day of Eid ul Adha. The Story of Ibrahim’s Sacrifice asks the reader to reflect upon what would be the hardest thing for them to give up for the sake of Allah.

Finally, Abu Eesa Niamatullah’s article ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?‘ explores the various pitfalls to avoid before and after marriage. Written with his characteristic wit and eye-catching title, it is a must read for single and married Muslims alike.

We hope that you all get the most out of the ten blessed days of Dhul Hijjah.

Was-salam

al-istiqamah.com.

Poetry from Prison: Truth

Forcefully suppressed, long and hard

Burned and charred with total disregard

Buried so deep, you would think it extinct

A legend, a fable, once distinct

Under the surface it boils away

Never revealing night or day

Rumbling and grumbling it grows in intensity

Roaring and thundering with maximum ferocity

Erupting forth with might and power

Vanquishing falsehood within the hour

Over time its fury will relent

Showering with mercy those who repent

Buds of piety, again will grow

As truth and justice begin to flow

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The poem is evidently about truth; it can never be totally eliminated. The more it is hidden, the more it is sought after. The more it is suppressed, the greater the pressure for it to burst open.

The idea is portrayed via the metaphor of a volcano. Under the surface it boils away unknown. Then it erupts and causes chaos, but after the initial chaos it nourishes the land around it, making the soil rich in minerals. Due to this the land is fertile and green – thriving with life.

The poem is written such that it reads like a volcano. It begins gradually, then the pressure builds, thereafter it erupts and finally it is pleasant.

Written by an imprisoned Muslim; from one slave of Allah to another….

Source: alistiqaamah.wordpress.com

The Story of Ghazi Ilm Din

“As Iqbal placed the body of Ilm Din into the grave, he tearfully declared: “This uneducated young man has surpassed us, the educated ones.”

In the 1920’s a young man was hanged in India for killing the publisher of an inflammatory book defaming Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The following account is based upon an Urdu article by Abu Rizwan Javaid al-Multaani

Read the full story here

A reader, may Allah reward them,  has kindly translated our article on Ghazi ilm Din into French.
It can be viewed here:
Le récit de Ghazî `ilm Dîn