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24 December 2010 By El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Fear in the hearts and minds of Muslim men and women
in the Boston area for this Firunic system has kept
their voices and better angels in check. True faith,
which embraces a belief in the divine Qadr of
ALLAH (that nothing happens without ALLAH's
permission, and that whatever trial is meant for us
will find us) is something that we read about; are
sometimes taught about in "deen intensive" workshops
throughout the US; philosophize about from the mimbar
and in study groups; but true awareness seems to
rarely travel beyond the majority of our throats! Before I go any further, I should
point out that this spiritual malady is not unique to
Boston – nor is it unique to Muslims; it is a chronic
deficiency found among all "people of faith." Among
the professed believers in Jesus Christ, for example,
it can be seen in the behavior of those who are
sometimes called "Constantinian Christians" – or those
who embrace the philosophy of "Render unto Ceasar
what is Ceasars, and render unto the Lord what is the
Lords." (Or another way of putting it, "When in
Rome, do as the Romans do!") In the 25 years that I've been
involved in human rights advocacy, I cannot begin to
count the times that I've seen people of all hues
sheepishly cave into social and political expediency.
This particular case involving this Muslim woman, and
my own faith community, has been the heaviest on my
heart. Aafia's case has exposed -
sometimes in very graphic detail within the
American Muslim community - the politics FEAR,
the politics of SELF-INTEREST, the politics of
TRIBALISM, and the politics of CAPITULATION
to American imperialism, like no other case or issue
that I've been involved in. This is an oppressed and
brutally persecuted Muslim woman who
Muslims in America, generally speaking (especially the
men), have deliberately failed to come to the
aid of! Examples of this failure which
immediately come to mind, and for which I am aware
from first-hand knowledge, are the following: 1.
The failure of CAIR, ICNA, ISNA, MAS, MPAC,
MSA-National, and an assortment of other Muslim
(and Pakistani) organizations, to raise this sister's
plight at their annual conventions. 2.
The failure of our two Muslim congressmen to
raise the issue on Capitol Hill, or in other
government offices; and the failure of numerous other
Muslim support personnel working on Capitol Hill, in
various offices, to do the same. 3.
My being threatened with arrest at the ISNA
convention in Chicago (IL) for refusing to put down a
large poster board which simply called for support for
Aafia Siddiqui. 4.
Tense moments at the ICNA convention in
Hartford (CT) for pressing the same issue – support
for Aafia Siddqui. (And I should note for the record
that there were attempts made, well before the start
of these conventions, to get the issue of Aafia
Siddiqui, and other wrongfully imprisoned Muslims in
America, on their respective organization agendas –
but without success.) 5.
The decision by CAIR-CT to put a three
minute announcement for Aafia at the tail end of their
annual fundraising conference, after the program
had formally ended and most of the people had
departed. 6.
The decision of CAIR-PA to not allow any
announcement at all. 7.
The decision of the chairman of the board and
the president at the Islamic Society of Central
Jersey to order a campaign table be taken down and
removed from the center's property, simply because of
the prominently displayed poster regarding Aafia
Siddiqui. (And this is a center with whom I had
previously enjoyed a warm relationship going back a
number of years; I had never experienced
anything like this before.) 8.
Being told by the president of the
predominantly Pakistani populated Muslim Center
of New York (on the day that I arrived to
deliver an announcement after ju'muah) that the board
had made a decision to not allow any mention of Dr.
Aafia Siddiqui within the center. 9.
Being told by the imam at the ADAMS Center
to take a display table down concerning Aafia, because
I had not received permission from the center's office
to put it up. (I had received permission to have
the table from the organization that had reserved the
space for their program, the Muslim Alliance in
North America. And the table wasn't even set up
until toward the end of their program.) 10.
The decision of the Islamic Society of
Boston Cultural Center (Boston, MA) to not permit
an announcement to be made concerning Aafia Siddiqui
during the time of ju'muah. While they did end up
allowing us to conduct a small forum in the evening,
the ju'muah was off limits (not even an announcement
about the evening forum could be made) – for fear of a
negative reaction from any non-Muslims who might be
present. 11.
The Muslim member of the Department of Homeland
Security who wanted to challenge me at the Islamic
Society of Washington Area Muslims (ISWA), during
the month of Ramadan, after I made a brief
announcement in defense of Aafia following the salat.
Regrettably, within a half hour of the incident, the
imam of the center – a man who has known me for many
years - asked that I take down the table that we were
using to get petitions signed on the sister's behalf. 12.
The failure of Muslims in New York City to come
out in representative numbers (from the centers
that I visited) for two public initiatives which have
taken place on Aafia's behalf. 13.
The number of other masajid and centers who
don't want anything "political" discussed in the
masjid (that doesn't have something to do with some
public official running for elective office);
not even a word in support of a Muslim sister
who requires our support! These are some of the incidents
(that immediately come to mind) which have occurred
over the past two years concerning this one case. I
point this out not to throw stones, but to provide our
offending brothers with an opportunity to take a long,
hard look at themselves and these counter-productive
tendencies. This also provides those of us with ties
to these various organizations (and leaders), with an
opportunity to pull each other's coat. As the first of the four Rashidun
Caliphs, Abu Bekr as-Sadiq, reportedly said in
his inaugural address to the Muslims gathered before
him (after the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon
him): "Here I have been made a ruler over you, when
I am not the best from among you. If I do well, help
me. If I do wrong, reprove me." (If that standard
was good for one of the best of men, it should be good
for the rest of us as well.) I should also note that while
these cited examples are potentially disheartening,
they have been countered by many other examples of
Muslims (including a number of courageous leaders)
who have stepped up to the challenge, and opened doors
so that this committed Muslim woman could begin to
receive at least some of the support that she
rightfully deserves. And for this I thank you -
sisters and brothers (you know who you are) - from the
bottom of my heart! May ALLAH make us worthy of being
called Muslim (one who submits his/her will to do the
will of The Divine Creator of all life); and, through
this submission, do our part to make America and the
world a better place. In the struggle for peace thru
justice, |
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