Interview With Mahboob Khawaja

{ March 9, 2008 @ 1:14 am } · { General }
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Born in Ottawa on April 14th 1979, Mohammad Momin Khawaja graduated from Algonquin College in computer software development. He was an active member of his community, teaching Qur’anic recitation, Mathematics, and Islamic history to the youth at his local Mosque in Cumberland, Ontario. Following a three-month trip to Pakistan, Khawaja began working for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Summer 2002 as a software programmer. On March 29th 2004, he was detained, along with four family members, in an armed raid on their Canadian home. Since his arrest four years ago, and despite having been charged, Khawaja has not been tried or been shown the allegedly incriminating evidence held against him. Having been denied bail on two occasions, he is currently incarcerated in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. In this exclusive interview, Cageprisoners spoke to his father, Mahboob Khawaja, about the case.

 CAGEPRISONERS: Mahboob, could you elaborate on the charges against Momin?


MAHBOOB KHAWAJA: Momin is charged in Canada with undefined role in conspiracy to participate in planning to make a bomb with other people based in UK. Originally, there were two charges which have been expanded by the prosecution into seven. CP: What evidence has been brought in support of these charges? How would you respond to the allegations?

 MK: For the last four years, no tangible evidence has ever been brought to the public notice. However, we heard from the media, that the prosecution claims to have e-mails messages and a record of interviews with other unknown people talking about these issues. From the beginning, we believe, all the police raids and other official actions were taken to show to the public that Canadian Government has discovered a major plot and it was widely propagated throughout the world that Momin and his whole family were involved and were portrayed by the media as ‘terrorists’. It was done with the official sponsorship of the Canadian and US Governments. If the accusations and charges were true, why did the Government take four years and still have not brought the case to trial? Even the Canadian Chief Justice of Superior Court was outraged at this time-killing exercise by the Justice Dept. We were labelled as Muslim terrorists. We believe that all this was politically and religiously geared against us.  

CP: Did Momin ever have any encounters with the authorities before this incident?

MK: Momin has been a law abididng citizen of Canada with no criminal record and he was never involved in such activities.

CP: Could you talk about the circumstances of Momin’s arrest? 


 MK: He was detained on March 29, 2004, while in his office. The police raid was a replica of the US military attacks on civilian homes in Baghdad and other locations in Iraq, fully equipped with heavy loaded guns, army of 60 plus men and pointing loaded guns at the ordinary citizens. My wife and children were arrested without warrant, and my residence was raided without presenting any search warrant to my family.

CP: You have mentioned that your family suffered damage to their property as a result of the raid?

MK: Yes, our residence was attacked. The doors and windows were broken and the police men were shouting at the family members. To our neighbours witnessing it, the operation appeared like a Hollywood movie stunt carried out in the morning hours and continued for almost 24 hours. Understandably, the police action followed or perhaps simultaneously happened when Momin was arrested.

CP: And you yourself were detained and questioned, by the Saudi authorities?

  MK: Because of the time difference (9 hours or so), my wife whilst in custody, was allowed to call me in Saudi Arabia to inform that our house was under attack, and all of them were under arrest. I asked the lady police officer as to why. She claimed that they had a search warrant and that some senior official will call me later to provide the information. That never happened as at the same time, I was detained while on campus in the early hours of the morning. The Saudi Intelligence official showed the written formal request from the Canadian Government with four different accusations against me. They laughed and told me they believed all these were false accusations, but that they had to do that because of the formal request from a friendly government.


 CP: Was Momin subject to any humiliating or degrading treatment after his arrest or during his incarceration?

MK: It is obvious that after Momin’s arrest, he must have been subjected to interrogations and other unthinkable treatment as perhaps, you can analyse from the nature of the police raid at our residence in Canada. It meant that force was used as a means of harming ordinary citizens, merely based on suspicion, and not on any actual facts of law.

CP: How long was it before the media got involved in Momin’s story? What has been their response to his case?

MK: Prior to Momin’s arrest, we believe the international media had all the information and accusations available. While in Saudi Arabia, I hardly finished talking with my wife, within a few seconds, a journalist from a local Canadian newspaper called me about the incident and raid at my home. We believe it was all a pre-planned and well executed stunt to destroy us.

CP: What are the current conditions under which Momin is being held? How is his morale? 

MK: Momin remains at the same detention centre but his actual location often changes within the centre. His health and morale has suffered a great deal, and we try our best to lift his spirits in thoughts and prayers. There have been times when Momin would not talk much or would be unable to speak. We suspect that it is all due to his prolonged detention and its impact on him.
 

CP: How are you able to communicate with Momin?

MK: We are allowed to visit him twice weekly, and write to him. He is allowed to make one daily phone call.

CP: Is Momin an isolated case in Canada?

MK: There are six or seven other detainees in Canada, all of Arabian or Muslim origin held on suspicion of terrorism. Some of these cases have been heard in various courts.

CP: Could you tell us about some of your son’s most endearing qualities?

MK: Momin had excellent academic and moral discipline and had a very successful start to his professional career. Despite being under duress for a long time, he continues to pursue his academic goals and taking university courses through distance learning programs. He is honest, and very committed to human values of civic responsibility, law abiding and always eager to help others. He was an active volunteer at the local community serving the youngsters in teaching them religious studies, the Qur’an and Mathematics. He is a very family oriented person. We hope and pray to Allah that he will be free soon and resume his normal life.
 

CP: You have mentioned that your family is still subject to harassment and restrictions from the Canadian authorities. What has been the impact on your family?

MK: Our ordeal does not have any apparent wounds, burning fire or smoke coming out, but we have been mistreated by the authorities as second class citizens and destabilised in all social and economic domains of human life by the government.

CP: What has been the response of the Canadian public to the case?


MK: From another perspective, Canada is a beautiful country and people are soft-hearted, very nice and supportive of human values that we all share in common. Most of the public are with us and have extended their moral support to our cause and our call for Momin’s freedom.
 

CP: What do you think of the media reaction to the detention of you son?

MK: Most leading media outlets are aligned with the governments in North America, paid, bought and bribed; they would not tell the real story to public or the side of the accused. Most journalists would reflect on official versions of accusations. You are welcome to see the writers of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

CP: Do you have any comments on Cageprisoners’ work?
 

MK: Cageprisoners is a real humanitarian project: you deserve all of our sympathy and support for your goals to help those who have been forced into difficult situations and to extend hope to those who appear hopeless under the impact of official cruelty and injustice, and to offer practical help enabling all of us to build a better world and a more respectable future for all, regardless of ethnic origin and racial identity. As Muslims, we see the humanity as one, and believe in standing together in unity for human rights, peace, justice and happiness for all.

CP: Mahboob, thank you for speaking to us.

Take action for Momin Khawaja

Source: cageprisoners.com

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Dedication To The Muslim Detainees

{ February 16, 2008 @ 4:05 pm } · { Poems }
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It’s another day
No different to yesterday
Locked up for twenty three hours
On my own
Alone

Away from humanity
Trying to drive me to insanity
All by myself
Like a Quran on a forgotten shelf

I refuse to be beaten
Mentally or psychologically
The games they play
While I’m in solitary
Messing with my head
And hope that I would go mad

They fear me
Even though I am locked up
Am I cannibal?
Like Hannibal?
Who needs to be kept away from others

It’s my mind and ideas that they fear
As they stay clear
Refuse to talk
But watch and stalk
Every move I make

Recording and making notes
Of every discussion and debate
I have with inmates
I can feel their eyes and hate
Watching over me
And wishing that I was dead

They believe the media
And swallow the lies
See me as an animal
That should be put down
And not locked away in a jail

Do I feel disheartened?
Despondent
And lonely
Quite the contrary
Actually
I feel Allah close by
Protecting me

I remember Yunus in the belly of the whale
And Yusuf in another prison
Different times and places
But the similarity is striking
And I keep on making
Dua to my one and only lord
This they cannot censor or record

I smile and pass my days counting
Until I meet my lord smiling
No regrets or shame
For what brought me to this place
And if I had another chance
I would gladly do it all over again
For Allah and my akhirah only
 
Written by Showkat Talukdar

Omar Khyam Has Finally Been Moved From HMP Frankland

{ February 12, 2008 @ 4:46 pm } · { Prisoner Incidents }
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Assalaamu alaikum

 Omar Khyam was finally moved from HMP Frankland to HMP Full Sutton in York on the 30th of January 2008. He is no longer in solitary confinement. Omar was held in solitary confinement from 17th October until 30th January under very difficult conditions. Alhamdulillah he has finally been moved and is no longer living in such restrictions. Jazaak Allah khair to all those who campaigned for him and made du’aa for him.

We must not forget that Eesa Barot and Hussain Osman are still in Frankland and that we must still try to get them moved as well. So please keep them in your du’aas and continue your support towards them inshallah.

Wassalaam

Umm Ibrahim

Farid Hilali Wrongfully Extradited

{ February 11, 2008 @ 3:19 pm } · { Prisoner Incidents }
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Farid Hilali was extradited to Spain on February 8th 2008, after the House of Lords ruled that he may be sent under the terms of the European Arrest Warrant. This was in spite of a number of irregularities with the warrant, not least that it was reliant upon phone evidence that had previously been deemed inadmissible within the Spanish judicial system.
 
The British courts held that he may be extradited, but only on the basis of the charges against him. When Arani Solicitors contested that there was no case to answer, the House of Lords unfortunately ruled that it was a matter of ‘trust’ with the Spanish Government that he would only be tried on the charges to which he was extradited, and that it was not for the British Government to question the evidence before extradition.
   
Hours after arriving in Spain via military transport, the Spanish Government reneged on this promise and issue of trust. They have indicated that they will try him for being a member of a proscribed organisation, of which no mention was made in the European Arrest Warrant.
Indeed, the House of Lords explicitly stated in Paragraph 29 of their judgement that this would not be an extraditable offence under the specialty rule:-
     
“the Spanish prosecutor, Mr Rubira, states in several places in his witness statement that the respondent remains accused of participation in a terrorist organisation. It was important to make it plain in the extradition order that this was not an offence for which the respondent can be prosecuted as he is entitled to the protection of the specialty rule with regard to it”
      
The Spanish Government have therefore deliberately misled the British Courts in giving assurances that he would not be charged in relation to membership offences, then within hours of his extradition reneging on this assurance.
     
Farid Hilali is now at severe risk of torture and illegal detention in Madrid , Spain , and as of yet Arani Solicitors have not even been informed of his location. Torture is widespread within Spain , and it has been criticised by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and many other human rights organisations. Just last month, the following by a prisoner was recorded:-
     
“..They said that there, in Madrid , I would really find out what was what…That Guardia Civil told me that nobody knew I had been arrested and that he could easily shoot me. He said that their only remit was to torture and interrogate… In one day and a half they had made me do thousands of stand-ups. At the same time they would hit me on the sides and top of my head, with an object that could be a phone directory or a truncheon made out of rubber. When they hit me with that “phone directory”, I saw sort of lights. They put a bag over my head and stuck something like tobacco smoke into it. They would close the bag to cause me to suffocate…”
      
The above would appear to be from the most violent of third-world dictatorships, and certainly not from an EU member State which is a signatory to numerous human rights obligations yet continues to breach them. It is inconceivable that Britain could accept the extradition based upon ‘trust’ from a country which operates institutionalised torture, wrongful arrest and even its own prosecutor, Pedro Rubira commits perjury. 
   
ACTIONS NEEDED
  
Farid Hilali needs your help more than ever now, as this case has serious implications not only for Farid but for all persons whom are less fortunate and oppressed. There has been a media blackout regarding this case in the United Kingdom , and it is essential that protests, letters and complaints are made to the addresses attached, of which a sample letter of complaint is also provided.
     
Please take action as soon as possible to stop this travesty of justice going further than it already has, and demand that Farid be freed forthwith.
    
KEY CONTACTS
     
Please send letters of complaint to the addresses listed here. Please also personalise the letter template provided below, or compose your own.
Sir Ken Macdonald QC
Director of Public Prosecution
50 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7EX
FAX: 0207 710 3447
Tribunal Supremo De Espana
Pza. de la Villa de Paris s/n
Madrid 28071
Tel :  0091 397 1200
Spanish Embassy
39 Chesham Place
London
SW1X 8SB
Tel  : 0207 235 5555
Fax : 0207 259 5392
Crown Prosecution Service
50 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7EX
Tel  : 0207 796 8500
Fax : 0207 796 8680
    
LETTER TEMPLATE:-
     
Dear <NAME>
     
I write to you in relation to the case of Farid Hilali who was extradited to Spain on a false premise based upon the European Arrest warrant filed in the United Kingdom by the Spanish Prosecutors office.
    
Mr Hilali was extradited on the basis of ‘trust’ between the United Kingdom and Spain , and that this extradition was in relation to conspiracy to Murder. It was deemed in British Courts that membership of an illegal organisation would not be an extraditable offence under the specialty rules.
     
Despite this, the Spanish Prosecutor has now detained him on the basis of illegal membership, even though this was explicitly prohibited by the United Kingdom . This is therefore a breach of the ‘trust’ that the United Kingdom accorded the Spanish Government, and a breach of Mr Hilali’s fundamental human rights.
     
Farid Hilali is also at risk of torture whilst detained from Spain . Indeed Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Cageprisoners and many internal Spanish human rights organisations have condemned Spain for their treatment of political suspects and internees.
     
I therefore urge that you demand that the Spanish Prosecutor end the illegal detention of Farid Hilali and release him immediately. I would also urge that the Spanish Government free Farid, and  exonerate him of all false charges and allow him to resume his life with his family.
     
I thank you for taking the time to read this letter; I trust you will now investigate the issues raised within it.
    
I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
     
Regards,
   
   
<NAME>
     
   
===== END =========

Action Alert: Protest Farid Hilali’s Extradition

{ February 9, 2008 @ 2:53 am } · { Prisoner Incidents }
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Farid Hilali is a Moroccan national who has lived in Britain at various times for over 15 years. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates in 1999 where he was asked to be an informant by the British security services. He believes that he was detained and tortured for precisely this reason. The UAE authorities forcibly repatriated him to Morocco, where his and his families lives were made “hell”, in the words of his solicitors in Morocco. This involved being arrested, tortured and interrogated day and night without notice, his family being threatened, and many other abuses. He returned to the United Kingdom in 2001, and a few years later on the 3rd September 2003 was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000, at which point he made an application for asylum, fearing a return to Morocco.

He was then subjected to a European arrest warrant on the part of Spain, alleging that he was in part responsible for conspiracy to Murder in relation to the attacks upon the United States on the 11th September 2001. The basis of this allegation was based upon vague interpretations of intercepted telephone communication.

The Spanish Prosecutor Mr Pedro Rubira has made false statements to British Courts to substantiate these allegations. He stated that he was involved in the ‘Hamburg Cell’ and wanted in Germany. In documents provided to Farids’ solicitors, the German Prosecutors office, it is stated that “There is no investigation, with respect to the terror attacks of 11th September 2001 against Farid Hilali (or ‘Shakur’ / ‘Shukri’). The investigations carried out in this connection did not give any indication that Hilali was a member of the terrorist organisation of Mohammed Atta in Hamburg or had supported this organisation.”

Mr Rubira also stated that he has been identified as a member of a terrorist cell in Spanish courts, however no such transcripts of court statements exist to substantiate this. The Madrid Bar Association has compiled a report against Mr Rubira to this effect.

Despite all the incidents mentioned, Farid has now been authorised to be extradited to Spain under the terms of the European Arrest Warrant. In Spain, he risks being deported to Morocco or suffering torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the Spanish Prison system. Both of these occurrences are likely, and documented by Amnesty International and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

It is a matter of urgency that protests from the Muslim community are made to prevent this through the seeking of an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights. I urge all readers to phone, fax, email and write to all the persons detailed in “key contacts” in order to facilitate this, as it is quite literally a matter of life and death for Farid Hilali.

There are many ways in order to help Farid Hilali and prevent his extradition. It is imperative that you carry out as many actions as possible, as his health and indeed his life is in grave danger. All of these actions do have an effect. If the situation is highlighted in the correct manner with as much exposure as possible, there is every chance that the European and British Courts are obliged to review the evidence in more detail as a matter of public interest.

Actions Required :-

· Write letters and make phone calls to the European Court of Human Rights, asking

them to prevent the deportation

· Write and phone the Spanish Embassy, asking them to halt the extradition

proceedings

· Write to Farid, and send him messages of support. Details can be provided upon

request.

· At the very least, make Dua’ to Allah (Swt) to ease his suffering

KEY CONTACTS

European Court of Human Rights

President

European Court of Human Rights

Council of Europe

67075 Strasbourg-Cedex

France

FAX: 00330 388 4102018

Spanish Embassy

39 Chesham Pl

London, SW1X 8SB

TEL : 020 72355555

LETTER TEMPLATE :-

Dear <NAME>

I write to you in relation to the above case of Farid Hilali who is subject to a European Arrest

warrant filed in the United Kingdom by the Spanish Prosecutors office.

There are a number of irregularities and concerns that I have that I believe would make the

extradition unsafe.

· Mr Hilali is being sought on the basis of telephone intercept evidence, which was

found in the Spanish Supreme Court to be inadmissible within Court.

· The alleged co-conspirator in the European Warrant, Mr Yarkas, has been

exonerated of all charges in relation to this recording

· Mr Hilali is alleged by the Spanish Prosecutors Office to be a member of the

‘Hamburg Cell’, even though German Prosecutors have stated that there is no record

of Mr Hilali ever having been involved.

· Mr Hilali is at severe risk of torture by both the Spanish Government and by the

Moroccan Government if Spain were to subsequently deport him.

Mr Farid Hilali has numerous positive character references and has never been convicted of

any terrorist offence. There are serious discrepancies in the credibility of the statement

provided to British Courts by the Spanish Prosecutors office, as contested by the Madrid Bar

Association.

I urge you to protect the human rights of Mr Hilali by preventing this extradition, and appeal to

you to enforce the obligations of member states in relation to Article 3 on the UN Convention

on Torture, which states that “No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a

person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he will be in

danger of being subjected to torture”.

I thank you for taking the time to read this letter, trust you will now investigate the issues

raised within it and prevent the extradition of Farid Hilali.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Regards,

<NAME>

A Poem Dedicated To Eesa Barot

{ January 9, 2008 @ 6:07 pm } · { Poems }
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This is a poem dedicated to Eesa Barot:

With Hardship Comes Ease
 
 

Ya Ummati!

May I ask for a few moments from your busy, hectic lifestyle

For you to tear away from worldly pursuits just for a while:

Have you ever wondered what it must feel like being all alone

Trapped in a tiny cell for years on end, mentally torn and worn

Hatred manifesting from fellow inmates, vulnerable to attack

Slandered constantly on the outside, neglected for being black

Our brothers endure this treatment on an all-too regular basis

Why are they no more to you than nameless criminal faces?

You would readily snatch your own blood from a lion’s jaws

Leaping to their rescue without a second thought or pause

It becomes so very easy to enter a house that’s burning down

When your family’s trapped inside who you hear scream & shout

What if compassion was non-existant with no Rahma on this earth

Having loved ones we come to learn what relationships are worth

 

Would you not also save someone witnessed drowning out at sea

Be he Muslim or non-Muslim, whatever race, creed or nationality

No doubt exhausting all effort in this courageous act of humanity

You would do all it takes to save this person from such calamity

Why then do you show negligence in helping your Muslim brother
Who is imprisoned simply for testifying to ALLAAH and no other

Answer his cry for he questions where the Ummah has gone

Help your brother before you too need help and find no-one..

Ya Akhi!

That Day when mankind shall stand in straightened rows

And the worldly Muslim bites his fingers in regret and woe

When questioned what steps he took for innocents detained

If only he had remembered them, if only he’d felt their pain

When the Body ached with oppression he was nowhere in sight

Yet he claims of belonging to the Ummah.. But with what right?

Sweet scent emanating from your wounds insha’allaah that Day

Bearing proof of a true believer’s steadfastness in Allaah’s Way

My beloved brother, you are not the first nor are you the last

Marking history forever like incarcerated Muslims of the past

In every language of the world is your story being narrated

Du’a made collectively for an end to this mighty fitna created

When you ask for what crime were you abandoned in this way

What answers will we give and what excuses can we make

Why is honour violated today when our numbers are so vast

Huge armies once marched forth, cities flattened in the past

Your blood and honour too is sacred like the Day of ‘Arafat

How can we remove this wahn settled in the Muslim’s heart

A day is surely near bringing relief from this vicious violence

All shall become aware of your lengthy suffering in silence

My brother, don’t ever despair for Allaah is Witnessing all

He has given you ‘eemaan the greatest Blessing after all

With this in your heart and dhikr constant on your tongue

Eternal happiness awaits you…

For it is never the oppressed but oppressor in the wrong.

Written by UR (Nelson, UK)

Miscarriage Of Justice

{ December 30, 2007 @ 10:53 pm } · { Poems }
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 How many Muslims have they Captured,
Miscarriages of Justice Manufactured.
 
Depriving them of the freedom they Deserve,
Separating them from the ones they Love.
 
Injustice in the name of Democracy,
In truth it’s nothing but Hypocrisy.
 
Illegally tortured in their secret Prisons,
The price we pay for being Muslim Citizens.
 
From your dependant children you’re taken Away,
For the agenda of oppressors they must Pay.
 
You only ever live life Once,
Now imagine it in a cell without a Chance.
 
An issue we choose to ignore Today,
Whilst people still suffer in Guantanamo Bay.
 
What will it take for you to Realise?
Their racist plots have begun to Materialise.
 
Restrained and confined by control Orders,
A developing police state over shadows Us.
 
Invasion of privacy at their Discretion,
Call it a security measure; yet another Deception.
 
God is on the side of the Oppressed,
So never let this issue get you Depressed.
 
Now is the time that we are being Tested,
Or will we truly realise when we’re also Arrested?

Written by Silent Wind

{ December 19, 2007 @ 9:50 am } · { General }
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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 have grown 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?

Cry Of The Imprisoned

{ December 14, 2007 @ 2:39 pm } · { General }
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الحمد لله العلي المتعال ذي القدرة و الجلال و الصلاة و السلام علي النبي الضحوك القتال

From the humble slave of Allâh, to my beloved brothers and sisters, Assalaamu alaikum 

I praise Allâh for he is worthy of praise for all the bounties He has bestowed upon this sinful slave. He who has chosen me with guidance amongst the ways of the misguided, in which, I was drowning. He who bestowed upon me knowledge with His Mercy alone and not due to any of my actions and guided me to the blessed path of Jihad. So for Him, Allâh, my Rabb be all the praise. Having now being tested with what already you all are aware of, I have to say as my salaf said, from them Ibn Taimiyah (RH),

“What can my enemies do to me?
If they imprison me,
then it is my place of worship,
If they send me to another land,
It is my place to call to Allâh
If they kill me,
Then I shall be a martyr”

I add,

If they beat me,
then it is either an evaluation of status or forgiveness of sins
If they curse me,
Angels will reply as long as I am patient
If they hold me,
then I shall get the reward of a Mujâhid and a Muhâjir,
as their clutches are only what holds me from it (InshaAllâh) “

O lights in the darkness of ignorance, I am now being tested for the words I have uttered and said, thus jail is more beloved to me than to leave what I know from the knowledge, may Allâh give me patience upon the truth and firmness. And by Allâh the words of truth lay lifeless until its companion gives life to it, with his blood tears and life…

The solitude and darkness of these cells teaches many things, gives us time to think over the dark days in which I was drowned in many sins, teaches us to ponder about many things in which we were neglectful. And all these are from Allâh alone.

If you ask me about my status, then I shall say Alhamdulillah , I am in so much bounties of Allâh that, were you to become aware of it, it might raise jealousy. But from us are those who are tested more than me, thus beaten severely till they fainted, or their hairs plucked until they bled, and their heads beaten on walls. All this are done by the dogs of taghût while his scholars are giving him (taghût) full support “to fight extremism.” But as I write this, none is facing any torture and all the tortures have stopped Alhamdulillah !

Fear occurs when one thinks he might loose his beloved to him, from his freedom to his wives and kids and wealth and health and life, so the one who has already sacrificed it for His Rabb has nothing to fear, as he has nothing to loose, as he is certain that what he sacrificed for Allâh will surely be returned to him in much great quantity and a higher quality. As for his life?, to live for eternity. As for his wealth? to what which neither grieves him nor perishes, with a quality which cannot even be dreamed of… As for his wife? Then likes of husband the hûr-ul-‘ains, of their beauty one cannot match, – as for their children? Then with them forever in paradise. As for his health? then to where neither they get sick no face any pain. So in short, he does not sacrifice anything accept he is given better. But all the loss and sadness is upon the wretched who holds to what grieves him and what shall perish or grow old forgetting and leaving what is for eternity and what I described above. So if this certainty takes root in his heart, then they shall not fear and shall endure patience upon what they face.

What has the one who is certain that Allâh is with fear? For Allâh made a hot burning great fire to be something cool and harmless, He saved Yunus (AS) from the belly of a whale, He opened the sea and cut it into half and paved the way for Musa (AS). So if one is tested, he must get close to Allâh, thus when the time comes he will surely be saved.

Of the greatest examples I saw in the Qur’an, the magicians of pharaoh, Subhanallah, what faith! The biggest tyrant, the one with many lands and armies, the one with the support of the public, warning to torture them, to cut their limbs to crucify them… But what was their answer? So firm, so straight with so much certainty, so certain that this tyrant is weaker than a fly in front of Allâh, so they said “Judge, what you are to judge!” Subhanallah ! Its true meaning and its sensitivity is only truly understood when one is in the cross lines of losing his beloved ones and freedom, between bowing to a taghût… And Allâh only saves.

I have to say, dear beloved brothers and sisters, though I want to name the closest of you to my heart, I leave as to include you all, know that you are not forgotten in my prayers. I never met, yet closer to me than my kin, you are my family. Although short a time I may have spent with you, you are not forgotten and I hope Allâh will gather us in a place much better.

Though I am under trial, I am upon the beliefs which I left you, and although I am disliked by many for my harshness towards the governmental scholars or scholars of the taghût I have only increased in certainty about graveness of their mistakes. I seek Allâh’s pleasure in only what I believe, for were it for another cause, there are much easier ways. I believe what I believe based on proofs and interpretation of the salaf of those proofs. So if I am wrong I hope Allâh will forgive me. Sometime I despair and my heart gets uncomfortable due to the fewness of those who are upon what I am, and I fear I might be seized in the Day of Judgment, and then I remember the proofs and I hope to say to Allâh “O Allâh! This is why this slave of your believed what he believed” and show why I did believe (though Allâh knows everything). So yes again and again I repeat beware of the scholars of the taghût, make people aware of them, none has damaged the religion as they did. Even here all the trials and torture we face are justified by them and they (police) are made to think that they are upon a good Jihad upon which they will be rewarded; they are made to think they will enter paradise, while they are fighting against Islam! I ask you, fear Allâh! Are we to praise and respect those who the direct ones responsible for this result? They are nothing but from the army of the taghût. Lots of confusion will depart were you to judge them with your religion and were you to know “not everyone we judge upon to be kufr is necessarily a kafir in the hereafter, but rather might be excused of an excuse we are unaware of. But that does not prevent us from ruling upon him what he shows apparently, this after the necessary measures which are available in the fundamentals of takfir.

Everyone imprisoned or put to trial must understand that only what is “written” upon him will reach him. After every difficulty there is an ease. There are but few days in this world. And Allâh is with righteous, pious and patient slave. So do not despair upon the trials of the world as there is eternity to it Hope for the Mercy of Allâh while being patient and pious, Allâh will not waste the reward of those who do good.

Beloved brethren, fear Allâh and know that this religion will not rise but after sacrifices, the earth will not get better until it is given the blood of the martyrs, do not be deceived by the increase of those who run towards destruction and do not be sad due to the fewness of those upon truth, as the religion will become strange as it started, but hold fast upon the clear proofs which will testify your innocence on the Day of Judgment. I am but to you a sincere advisor.

Shed no tears for us, but strive to save the likes of us. Having read the letter of Fatima, my trials are nothing compared to her. By Allâh her letter never left my pocket since I read it except for once and her cry yet haunts me… Brothers! Run to help the likes of her! And let not the false hopes and false plans prevent you. By Allâh, we cannot be saved but after giving our blood for it.

We have read and learnt and heard a lot, and it is already late; we need action, to stand with what Allâh commands without fear or any compromise. For “were we to stand as the Sahaba did, we would indeed be victorious as they were.” The road is paved with what the body dislikes. So be firm and patient.

At the end we say “If you ask us, then we care not about the tyrants and now do we bow to them. Jail us! Chain us! Torture us and kill us! Our limbs that you cut, our bones that you crush, our flesh in which you thrusts, our blood that you shed are already given to its Creator. But you can never reach our souls InshaAllâh and how much you crush the material body and bury it, the spirit will stand high and cannot be crushed. Inshallah.

O Allâh! Pour patience upon us, keep us firm, and forgive our sins and give us victory upon the kuffar and be sufficient f or us against them with what you wish!

حسبنا الله و نعم الوكيل

Wa alaykum assalaam


Any mistake in it is from me, please forgive me and correct it….
Jazakumullah khayran

Written by a mujahid brother from behind bars who wishes to remain anonymous

“Which is better for a person…”

{ December 13, 2007 @ 9:54 am } · { General }
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A man asked ash-Shafi’ee and said: O Abu ‘Abdullah! Which is better for a person, to gain power or to be afflicted?
So ash-Shafi’ee said: One will not gain power until he is afflicted. For indeed Allah afflicted Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Esa and Muhammad, may the Salawat of Allah and Salam be upon them all. So when they were patient, they gained power, so let not anyone think at all that he is free from pain.

(Madarij as-Salikeen by Ibn-ul-Qayyim 2/283).

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