Aafia and Raymond: A Tale of Two Prisoners - New Evidence Confirms the 2003 Kidnapping of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui!

25 February 2011

By El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan

Assalaamu Alaikum (Greetings of Peace): 

To my brothers and sisters in Islam, this message is especially for you. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's sister (Fowzia) has written a thought-provoking piece of commentary that should touch and fortify the hearts of us all. I spoke at a large center in Worcester, Massachusetts yesterday for jumu'ah. The title of my message was The Power of faith (an issue that factors significantly into Fowzia's commentary as well, in my humble opinion). 

As for this brief introduction to Fowzia's commentary, some will choose to interpret my words as an attack on Muslim leaders and organizations in America. I pray that the majority who read this will see the message for what it truly is; a heartfelt appeal for us to collectively STAND UP as God fearing, self-respecting Muslim men and women, and do what we should have done yesterday! As a wise man once said: "The time is always right to do right." 

After five years of secret imprisonment and torture overseas, Aafia Siddiqui arrived in America (in the latter half of 2008) half dead from serious and unwarranted gun shot wounds. Since her arrival in "the land of liberty and justice for all," the man-made hell that began in March 2003 - when she and her three young children became the targets of a rendition operation (i.e. forcibly removed from a taxi in Pakistan and made to disappear for years) - has continued. 

Even sadder than what Pakistani and American agents have done to this woman, is what many influential Muslims in America have done (or to be more precise, have NOT done for this woman)! What our brother Tarek Mehanna said in a 2008 commentary continues to carry a deeply disturbing resonance to this day: 

"What is even sadder than what is happening to Aafia Siddiqui is how few the Muslims were who even bothered to show up to her hearing, in a city of around half a million Muslims (not counting the surrounding areas), and that not a single Muslim organization in the United States has taken up the sister's cause or even spoken a word in her defense; and as Ibn al-Qayyim said: If ghayrah (protective jealousy leaves a person's heart, his faith will follow it." 

While these words were written in the aftermath of Aafia's first hearing in the United States in 2008, they still ring true for "Major Muslim Organizations" in America - organizations with the size, visibility and resource to do something meaningful if they really wanted to. Aafia Siddiqui now sits in maximum security confinement on a military base in Fort Worth Texas, completely cutoff from the rest of the world with an 86 year sentence hanging over her head. 

Aafia never killed (or even injured) anyone; and yet she has NOT even been able to receive a visit from her family! Conversely, the U.S. citizen in Pakistani custody known as Ray Davis has killed two people, indirectly shares responsibility for the death of a third, and yet through the pressure exerted by the U.S. government, the family of Davis was recently accorded full visitation and diplomatic visas by Pakistan.

That a CIA contractor with blood on his hands could be treated with such deference, while a condemned, but innocent, Muslim woman (and Pakistani national) could be held with such savage indifference in America - without the Pakistani government applying the same degree of pressure for her release - reveals the moral bankruptcy of BOTH GOVERNMENTS! (But it also reveals the weakness and contradictions within the Muslim Ummah itself.)

Insha'Allah, in the very near future there is going to be a demonstration in Texas, at or near the facility where Aafia is being held. Shortly thereafter, there will be another larger demonstration in the nation's capitol (Washington, DC) to draw attention to ALL of America's political prisoners - and the blatantly unconstitutional conditions under which Muslim political prisoners are being (under the false flag of national security). 

We hope to have the support of prominent Muslim leaders and organizations in America for both initiatives. This is another opportunity to help make things right. 

In the struggle for peace thru justice, 

"Three classes of men are cut off from the blessings of Paradise:

oppressors; those who aid and abet oppression;

and those who tolerate oppression." - Imam Ali (r)

New Evidence Confirms the 2003 Kidnapping of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui!

I am sending this out to our readers from a hotel in the Dallas (TX) area. Last night I spoke at a large center about the ongoing struggle of our sister, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, and a special initiative that is being planned on her behalf. It was troubling to note that the overwhelming majority of brothers seated in front of me (in a large audience) were not aware of Aafia presence (under unconstitutional punitive conditions) in their own back yard - Fort Worth, Texas.

After the fajr salat this morning, the imam read a very instructive passage from Riyad-us-Saliheen. It read in part:
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (ra) reported: "O you people! You recite this verse: 'O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow the right guidance [enjoin what is right - i.e. Islamic monotheism and all that Islam orders us to do - and forbid what is wrong - i.e. polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden] no harm can come to you from those who are in error." (Al-Qur'an 5:105)

But I have heard the Messenger of ALLAH (pbuh) say: "When people see an oppressor but do not prevent him from doing evil, it is likely that ALLAH will punish them all."

The International Justice Network (IJN) has just released an anxiously anticipated report that provides a wealth of background information (citing well placed sources) on the 2003 rendition of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and her three young children by Pakistani and American agents. Links to the full report titled Aafia Siddiqui: Just the Facts can be accessed below.

The newsletter (below) also contains a thought-provoking "special report" on the special report, by Victoria Brittan ("The Siddiqui Case"); it too is a valuable read. Please read the IJN reports in its entirety and share it with others. For all those who've been fence sitting regarding the case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, it's time to get off the fence and take a stand!

May ALLAH bless, protect, and increase the sustenance of the International Justice Network (and it's executive director, Tina Foster); and may ALLAH remove the fear from "Muslim leaders" in America who have yet to take a stand on the horrific injustice committed against this committed Muslim woman. Ameen.

©  EsinIslam.Com

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