15 March 2013
By Imam Abdullah Faaruuq & Sister Sufia Hassan
If we are going to give support to this woman Dr.
Aafia Siddiqui,
we need to ask ourselves, ‘Who is she and what did she
do?' We know the answer is going to vary depending
upon whom we ask. If we ask those who know her -- her
friends, associates, family, those who lived, studied
or worked with her - they
would attest to her good character, concern for
others, and truthfulness. However, if we ask those who
never knew her, but only heard through the media via
government officials, they would say she is an evil
woman, an attempted murderer bent on destroying
America—a terrorist. We
are told in Islam to ask those who know—I am one who
knew her personally.
By virtue of her behavior and speech, nothing could be
further from the truth than those lies used to turn
public opinion against her. I can tell you how she
spent her time. I witnessed her raising money for
clothing and food for the displaced Bosnians fleeing
from Serbian oppression. I worked with her as she
raised money to purchase and distribute Islamic
literature. Those efforts reached the forgotten
inmates seeking knowledge of the truth about Islam,
while incarcerated in so-called correctional
institutions. Her resources also made their way to
university students in MSAs providing them literature
to promote their spiritual growth, while they
continued to pursue their secular endeavors. But her
efforts did not stop there, she sent much needed
Qurans and other literature to various Mosques to help
promote Islam as a complete way of life.
I listened to her deliver inspiring speeches that
motivated both men and women to get involved with
issues that concerned humanity as a whole and Muslims
in particular. Such speeches were given during the
Bosnian War. After hearing this young dynamic woman
speak, no one could continue to be a by-stander in
good conscience. Reading about our Muslim Brothers
being killed and Muslim Sisters being raped, while the
world looked on was not an option. She encouraged
doctors to go and donate their services, and sisters
to give money to support that effort. Money for food
and clothing was collected to help the Bosnian
refugees. She also gave speeches that encouraged
Muslim women to not be afraid to cover as Allah
commanded, or practice their religion openly in this
land of the free and home of the brave. Dr. Aafia
Siddiqui's speeches always motivated people towards
noble and righteous causes that any sound minded
American would support.
I witnessed her as a mother truly concerned for her
children. They were well groomed and cared for. I ate
delicious food cooked with her own hands and enjoyed
her company and wit. She was a Muslim woman who was
not afraid to champion the cause of oppressed people,
her people who happened to be Muslims. This is the
Aafia Siddiqui that I know.
If we listen to those who never knew her and have
political agendas, we would be lead to believe that
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui must have committed some heinous
crime for authorities to abduct her in her own
homeland, transport her across the border, have her
missing for five years, release and re-arrest her,
shoot and wound her, then charge her with
unsubstantiated accusations of assaulting an FBI agent
with his own weapon in an attempt to kill him. We
would also be lead to believe that while she and her
children were missing for five years, that she ran
away and actively participated in some Al Qaeda
operations which never manifested and for which she
was never charged. If the US government is unable to
charge her with any crimes of terrorism, than why did
they chase her around the world and subject her to all
forms of torture.
We would be lead to
believe that this graduate of MIT and Brandeis
University would be willing to sacrifice her life and
the lives of her children for an impractical cause. We
would have to ignore the fact that there was no
forensic evidence that Dr. Aafia Siddiqui ever touched
an assault weapon (none of her finger prints were on
any of the weapons). We would have to ignore the
evidence presented in court that not one bullet from
the automatic weapon authorities claimed that she
fired was found among the barrage of bullets in the
space in which she was contained. We would also have
to ignore the fact that she was the only one shot and
nearly killed.
For me Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is a political prisoner
being held unjustly in a maximum security prison for
showing concern for Muslims here and abroad. The
question still remains, who is Dr Aafia Siddiqui to
you?
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