Global Voice for Justice

Tariq Mehanna

In Surat al-Baqarah, v.93, Allah described the Children of Israel: {“…and their hearts drank up the veneration of the calf…”}

When Prophet Moses left for Mt. Sinai to converse with Allah, the Children of Israel became restless and sought out a new god to worship besides Allah. So, they ended up worshipping an artificial golden calf (mentioned in pt. 3). Allah described their veneration of this calf using the word ‘ushribu’ (they drank up, or soaked, or absorbed), thus likening their deviance to the act of drinking or soaking up liquid.

Elsewhere, guidance and knowledge is also given this likeness. In a hadith reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (عليه السلام) said: “The likeness of the guidance and knowledge that Allah sent me with is that of a rain that fell on some land… so, Allah benefited the people with it and they drank from it and quenched their thirst…” They also report a hadith where he said: “While I was sleeping, I was given a container of milk. I drank from it until I could see it coming out from beneath my fingernails. I then gave what I had left over to ‘Umar bin al-Khattab.” When he was asked to interpret this dream, he said: “This represents knowledge.” Also, in the hadith of the Isra’ and Mi’raj, the Prophet said: “… I was then presented with two containers, one containing milk and the other containing wine. I was told: “Drink from whichever you want.” So, I took the milk and drank it, and I was told: “You chose the fitrah (the pure, natural choice). If you had chosen the wine, your people would’ve been misguided.”"

Just like the body has its thirst quenched by fluid, the heart has its thirst quenched by knowledge and proper guidance. When seeking to quench the body’s thirst, one will only drink what is pure and wholesome. If presented with a glass of water, however, that has been tainted with even the smallest drop of black ink, he will reject it and not quench his thirst from this polluted source. The thirst of the heart should likewise only be quenched from a pure, untouched source of knowledge and guidance. It was this approach that chiseled out the incredible generation of the Prophet’s Companions. It was this approach that created hearts and minds unmatched in their wisdom and strength. This approach was intentional and planned, and was not the result of desperation or lack of alternative sources of guidance. Sayyid Qutb commented:

For them, the Qur’an was in and of itself a source of outlook on life, and it was in itself a lens through which to be understood. It did not require – and, in fact, rejected – that it be viewed and understood and interpreted through a foreign lens. The Prophet made sure to limit strictly the filters through which the Companions absorbed what the Qur’an had to offer them, and that strict limit was maintained throughout the era of the Companions, keeping the Ummah guided, united, and strong. At the end of their generation, however, and spilling over into the early Tabi’in, their pure source of knowledge became blemished. The Qadariyyah appeared, the Mu’tazilah emerged in Basrah, the Jahmiyyah in Khurasan, and so on. The emergence and proliferation of these foreign, illegally innovated beliefs was the result of that original pure source now being understood through a foreign lens – the lens of the philosophers of Greek civilization, Persian literature, etc. Rather than limiting themselves to the Qur’anic understanding of itself, and the Prophetic understanding of the Qur’an, and the Salafi lens through which that pure early generation understood what the Qur’an came to offer, the Qur’an was now being filtered through and presented by a foreign approach – through the lens of those whose so-called “civilization” came to bedazzle these Arabs who had the true meaning of civilization and knowledge right in the self-sufficient Qur’an and Sunnah. That original glass of pure, clear water was now tainted, making it toxic to the heart. It was heroes like Imam Ahmad bin Hambal who went through periods of imprisonment and torture at the hands of al-Mu’tasim, etc. in an effort to reverse this trend and halt this pollution of source. Back then, this pollution mainly affected details of theology, such as the understanding of Allah’s Attributes.

Today, the pollution of source affects areas that were not affected back then. For example, while al-Mu’tasim would enforce Mu’tazili beliefs to the point of ordering Imam Ahmad whipped, he would also send out expeditions regularly, raze cities to the ground to retrieve a single Muslim oppressed by the kuffar, and so on. Despite his deviance in the area of theology, his worldview was untainted and was still derived purely from the Qur’an. He still retained the concept of ‘izzah, still retained the concept of selflessness and loyalty to the believers, still retained the concept of Islam vs. Kufr, still had ghayrah for the believers, still retained the concept of shielding them from their enemies. He still retained the same worldview that the earlier generations had absorbed and soaked up from the Qur’an’s clear, unambiguous verses in Al ‘Imran, an-Nisa’, al-Anfal, at-Tawbah, and so on. It is these concepts, this Qur’anic worldview, understood so well and clear by even the likes of al-Mu’tasim that today has been distorted for no other reason than that it is viewed through a lens foreign to the self-sufficient Qur’an. It is the filtering of the pure Qur’anic spring through a foreign, alien, Western filter that has nearly abrogated the concepts that al-Mu’tasim understood so well from the Western Muslim mentality. The wala’ and bara’ understood and practiced by the earlier Muslims is replaced with a capitalist mindset of ‘every man for himself.’ It is that tainting that drives even “scholars” – who got right what al-Mu’tasim got wrong – to prefer Western media terminology (‘militants’) to Qur’anic terms (‘mujahid’). So, the Qur’anic worldview is today’s victim of the pollution of a pure source of knowledge and guidance, due to it being viewed through a foreign, colonial lens; a Western lens.

It is therefore imperative to go back and quench the thirst of our hearts through a drink untainted. Math, chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, technology, etc. can be studied safely from any source. But our beliefs, our lifestyle, our worldview – whatever Allah has taken upon Himself to address in the Qur’an – should be absorbed unfiltered from the Qur’an, and viewed through its own lens and not through a distorted foreign one. We need to free our minds!

If the Children of Israel had stuck to the pure spring of Moses’s teachings, they wouldn’t have drank in their hearts the drink tainted with the foreign influence of idolatry that led them to worship the golden calf instead of their Creator.

This letter was received from Mohamed Shnewer, who was part of the Fort Dix Five case , along with the Duka Brothers.He is currently being held in Marion USP, also known as the Little Guantanamo.

We meaning myself and the Duka’s were falsely accused, convicted, and are being held in some of the most terrible confinement conditions in the United States. The Duka’s are currently held in ADX Max which is in itself unconstitutional for the worse of criminals, let alone young men who have been wrongfully convicted by the FBI’s entrapment using false wittnesses. The FBI is using agent provacataurs to entrap young Muslim youth in order to scare the American public from a homegrown terrorism which is being made by the FBI’s own informants and for the most part doesn’t exist. The majority of these entrapment cases if you actually take the time to look into the facts of the case you will find that the main pushers of these cases are the prosecutors, FBI agents (who are the informant handlers), and the informants (usually criminals who are cooperating to get material gains or to be allowed to stay in the country). In these cases had there not been an informant pushing for action or provoking inflammatory statements there would be no case, nor would anyone have to worry about these young men because for the most part they might just need the proper mentoring and channeling of their youth. Most of these young men were entrapped by older informants whom they looked upto one way or another. For example in my case the informant was almost twice my age and because of our culture he would take advantage of me using the age card, because in my culture the younger are supposed to take guidance from the older generations and are supposed to respect and listen to our elders. In other cases some of the youth were being outkasted by their families and friends and only found the informants to take as friends and the FBI took advantage of that to scare the American public on the backs of the Muslim youth.

The biggest problem that we faced as Muslims falsely held is that from day 1 of the arrest till now the confinement conditions for the most part are unbareable, when we were first arrested we were placed in solitary confinement for 23hrs and only 1hr of recreation in a cage which isn’t suitable for a dog; the recreation is only given to us 5 days a week and only when the gaurds felt like pulling us out. It was extremely hard to prepare for trial for the following reasons: 1. The law library is very limited and lacked even the basic books in order to prepare or help prepare for trial. 2. We were only able to request legal materials from the main law library once a week. 3. There were almost daily abuses and violations made against myself and my co-defendants by the staff and administration at the FDC were our legal work and lawyor letters were being taken from us.  We as Muslims that are being kept against our will and were kidnapped by the government from our families for their own gains and political agendas are hopeful in that Allah wont forsake us and that Justice will be served by the Most Honorable. I’m sorry to say but those whom people call by ‘your honor’ are the very same ones who are responsible for the injustice in our cases and are the ones responsible for not stopping this injustice. The judges unfortunately are embarrased or have themselves political agendas and hopes for being moved up in status so they don’t stand for what they are supposed to. For example a judge is there and intrusted to uphold Justice, unfortunately today they are the ones making sure Justice isn’t served especially when it comes to falsely accused Muslims. I ask everyone who has any sense of justice to read and look into these cases and truly look for justice. We are Muslims and yes we have some political views which you may not agree with, you hold political views we don’t agree with, but it’s our right as it is yours to hold any political views which fit your beliefs.

To the families of those who have loved ones behind bars be patient after every hardship comes 2 eases. Be patient and remember that to Allah we belong and to Allah we will return. We will have to answer in front of Allah for every word and action we have commited whether good or bad, so increase from your good deeds lest Allah forgives you.  Salam

Letter from Eljvir Duka Reveals the Truth About the Fort Dix 5 case

FORT DIX CASE

My name is Sulayman,Eljvir Duka.I am one of the defendants in the Fort Dix case. I and my co defendants still firmly proclaim our innocence and still strive to prove our innocence in the face of such stubborn injustice which we are tasting every single moment that we remain imprisoned. We certainly know that we are not alone in this and that we are one of many singing the same song.

I wish to proceed and make some points about what is going on in the hope that some things can become clear to the public. Our case and many others were purely politically motivated. It was not pursued in a moral, ethical code where you have law enforcement seeking to find crimes which were in progress by the criminals themselves and then law enforcement does its duty to prevent the crime. NO. Our case was pursued in a way where the end justifies the means. So whatever gave the F.B.I the end they wanted they were willing achieve it by any means. I just want to give you a brief background of the political situation during the time of our investigation. In the 2006 mid- term elections held in November, the republicans ran the risk of losing the house and the senate. The democrats were rallying with support. The republicans were so desperate to do anything to not lose control. In Arizona there was a tight race between a republican and a democrat. The Bush administration was worried. They contacted the Attorney General of Arizona who was also republican and asked him to open up a criminal investigation against the democrat and ordered him to come up with any criminal charges against him in order to ruin his campaign. But, the Attorney General was quite honest and refused to do so under such unethical, evil motives. When the Bush administration was that he wouldn’t give in he was fired from his Attorney General position. These words and facts have came out from the fired Attorney General himself. Also, in 2006 a few months before the elections, British intelligence services shared information with the United States on an investigation they were conducting on a possible plot to bomb airplanes heading to the United States with liquid bombs. The Britt’s still didn’t receive enough evidence to make any arrests, they just gave the U.S a heads up on their investigation since they believed it possibly involved the U.S. The Bush administration saw this as a great opportunity help their mid-term elections, so at first they asked the British to make arrest on the suspects but the British said they did not have enough evidence to do so. When the Bush administration saw that the British will not make the arrest, they decided to arrest the alleged cell leader who lived in Pakistan, knowing that this arrest will force British to arrest the remaining suspects in Britain got wind of the fact they were being investigated due to the arrest in Pakistan. The plan worked and the British did just that. This happened in August of 2006 shortly before the elections. The American media made their arrest headlines all over the news an as a result the Bush administration banned liquids on airplanes trying to show the American public that the republicans are keeping them safe. This glimpse of the political situation and how desperate the Bush administration was to have republicans win the elections. They used criminal cases which would create media attention as one of their tools to score political points. Now on our case they claim that the investigation started from the famous Circuit City video. The video which I myself went and asked Circuit City to transform from a mini camcorder video recording of our vacation in Pocono’s onto a DVD format, so that I can make and give copies to each participate in the vacation as a memorabilia. The F.B.I got hold of that video and decided to open up a so called terrorism investigation because there were Muslim men shooting guns on the video. That’s besides the fact that if you watch the video entirely, its clearly a vacation in which shooting was just one of the recreational activities during the stay. But instead of investigating to see if there was any type of criminal acting going on by the men in the video themselves. They planted an informant on Mohamed Shnewer who was 21 years old at the time. The informant was nearly twice his age at 39, and a serial fraud artist with criminal charges. It wasn’t Mohamed Shnewer who was pushing for a crime to be commited instead it was the informant who came in a direction of the F.B.I, pushing and inciting Mohamed by telling him that he (the informant) wanted to attack America for all the atrocities it commits against muslims world wide and that he needed ideas and people from Mohamed Shnewer in order to materialize his intentions. At first it was only him and Mohamed talking alone, but as any person of law knows, you cannot have a conspiracy between a defendant and an informant who is a government agent. So seeing that he doesn’t have a conspiracy like that, the informant started begging Mohamed to get other friends saying just them 2 weren’t enough. To the point where he told Mohamed “I’ll kiss your feet for someone like Sulayman”(who happens to be me) and specifically telling him he wants Dritan and Shain also. So the informant was playing the leadership role, calling the shots. He would constantly push Mohamed to talk to the others and get them involved but Mohamed was never able to do so. One very important statement made by the informant reveals why the FBI was having the informant push and incite and do anything it takes to frame innocent people. During the month of August 2006 the informant told Mohamed shnewer that, “I give you till the tenth month (October) to do something and get everybody involved, if not by the tenth month then its over.” Why did the informant demand for the tenth month specifically? Why did he have to demand anything at all? If there was truly a conspiracy amongst the defendants then why not let the conspiracy unfold naturally whether in one year or two years ect………., instead of coming in with an agenda to create a conspiracy and then demand a time line for it. Why the tenth month? Because mid-term elections were right around the corner on the eleventh month, November. Now it becomes clear also why any and all means were being taken to have us arrested by then. The informant told Mohamed in September that he will get guns and give mohammed the money to by them. He just wanted mohammed to get others involved in his plans. That’s how desperate they were. He was pushing mohammed to get others involved so much that mohammed started lying by telling him he spoke to others and that we were involved. But his lies and contridictions about others being involved are in the evidence. One day mohammed would say we were involved and the next day he will say no. During the testimony and the trial the informants stated that he even came to us in person to see if we knew anything of their plots and that he came to realize that even though Mohammed is saying we were involved he saw that we weren’t involved and that we didn’t even give him initiation that we even had any knowledge of their talks. So on the other hand the FBI put an Albanian informant on us Duka brothers who pushed, incited, and promoted just like the first informant with Mohamed Shnewer. In his own words he testified in trial by saying, “I would push them, provoke them, incite them and try to humiliate their manhood and pride by telling them that they are cowards for not taking action in order for me to get them to say things on the recorder which they normally wouldn’t say.” Even with all this push by the informants to create a case they both emitted in trial that “they never had spoken with us or even heard us speak about attacking any military base in the United States.” Yet we still got convicted, even though evidence didn’t prove so. How, is the question? Well the first step was to immediately make our arrest and accusations against us head lines on the media. This way we are convicted by the public before even going to trial. The new republican governor of New Jersey Christopher Chrissie just so happen to be the district attorney general handling out case at the time. It was already known that during the time of our case he lead intentions running for governor. A few hours after our arrest, During a well coordinated pre planned media stunt he got on tv and told all of nj residents and all of America that they are safe! Because he had stopped a heinous crime from taking place. This type of media stunt always serves its purpose well, especially during the post 9/11 period. Besides many factors a second way used to get an unjust conviction was to allow Mohamed Shnewer false, contradictory, incorporated un- substantiated hearsay statements to be used against all defendants under the guides of co- conspirator hearsay and deny us the ability to admit statements which we made on government recording that prove our innocence. The judge would deny our very own statements as admissible hearsay. These abuses dove through the conspiracy law. That’s why you see that the main charge they used against so called terrorism cases is the charge of conspiracy. Because the crime doesn’t even hear to be committed under that law. Under this law all they have to try and prove to an all ready prejudice jury is to believe that a crime would or could have been commited. Then allow all types of prejudicial circumstantial and other wise inadmissible evidence in trial in order to convict. Then when it comes to sentencing instead of, receiving a 11-14 year guide line sentence that non-muslims would receive for the same exact charge as us. We receive a technical 12 point terrorism enhancement which raises our sentence till life time imprisonment with absolutely no crime commited. We got a acquitted by the jury on a attempted murder charge. And if you get found guilty of actual attempted murder the maximum sentence you’ll risk is 20 years. That’s if you actually attempt to murder someone, yet we got found guilty a crime less then attempted murder and we received life time sentence. Then on top of it all we got sent to the hardest prisons under the hardest conditions of imprisonment known as solidarity confinements where you remain in a small cell 23-24 hours everyday. These are the injustices we bare before trial, during trial in sentencing and in prisons. Just for some type of political agenda’s to be achieved by those in power. If anyone needs to be investigative it’s the government its self. It needs to be revealed to the public on how and why these types of cases are created, investigated and prosecuted. The inner working collaborations and decision making between the internal figures and agency’s would reveal the true injustice and how the injustice is carried out, just like investigation reveled the inner working of the torture, memos, ect. I just want you to ponder on the fact that if they were able to get the mass public to agree, and to invade a country like Iraq by getting them to believe carefully put together lies and false evidence then what would make one think that they cant do the same on a much smaller scale?

I thank you all for taking your time to listen what I had to say, I have great respect for you all and as a Muslim, I wish well for you all. To all my Muslim mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. Aunts, uncles, wives, sons, and daughters who have tasted this injustice with us because we know you are as affected by it as us- I love you all for the sake of Allah. Be patient and strong. For nothing can happen in the heavens or the Earth except through Allah’s permission. We have our trust in Allah for Allah has power over all things.

Asalamualakum to you all.

Thank you,Sulayman Duka (Eljvir Duka)

Source: http://www.freefortdixfive.com/eljvirdukasletter.htm

- Some notes on the 2/1/2010 ‘Boston Globe’ article by Shelley Murphy

These are some brief and by no means comprehensive comments on a recent article written about my case.  I am not addressing every claim made therein, only those appropriate to address in this setting.

The article states:  “Prosecutors allege that Mehanna provided support to terrorists, using a laptop as a weapon to try to radicalize others and incite jihad…”

Incidentally, the very government that accuses me of this was itself guilty of this deed not too long ago.  In his book ‘Legacy of Ashes:  The History of the CIA’ (p. 444), Tim Weiner states:  “The CIA’s biggest gunrunning mission was its global pipeline to the mujahideen—the holy warriors of Afghanistan—who were fighting the 110,000 –man Soviet army of occupation.”  In his book ‘Imperial Hubris’ (p. 28), former CIA officer Michael Scheuer elaborates:  “…the CIA…had run in Afghanistan the largest, most expensive, and most well-publicized covert action program in U.S history to support the anti-Soviet mujahideen…the interest of members of both houses of Congress in the Afghan covert program was intense; many senators and congressmen demanded regular, detailed briefings on the war, traveled repeatedly to the region, and voted enthusiastically for the war’s steadily growing covert action budget.”

He continues (p. 30):  “…the size and diverse nature of this 13-year program [included] guns, food, vehicles, money, training, uniforms, orange drink, donkeys, you name it…”  And on p. 50:  “America…sent billions of dollars in cash, weapons, bribes, salaries, and supplies to the Afghan resistance in the course of its ten-year jihad against the Soviets…”

n: justify;\”>This is elementary history, but the above is quoted simply to emphasize the fact that the American government used not just a laptop, but billions upon billions of dollars to directly “radicalize others and incite jihad” for over a decade!  I therefore find it ironic and hypocritical that the same government now uses the same “crime” as a pretext to throw myself and countless others in prison.  IN a fair world, I would’ve had Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Milt Bearden, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and countless others sitting in prison cells right alongside me to face the same allegations.

The article continues:  “…by translating and disseminating messages of violence online.”

Here it should be kept in mind that when the media parrots the term “violence” in reference to Muslims, it is not necessarily referring to blowing up a building or plane.  Rather, the keen observer will notice that the term expands even to acts of self-defense.  So, if one finds that his country has been invaded, his people bombed, and his honor violated, and proceeds to physically struggle against that oppression—much like the Revolutionary Army did under British occupation, and the African National Congress did under apartheid—and happens to be doing so into eh name of Islam, the government and media automatically label such people as “terrorists,” “extremists,” “violent,” etc., as if somehow the invasions and occupations being faced are non-violent in nature.  So, one finds “violence” only is being attributed to the invaded, and not the invaders.  This is implicit racism and dehumanization of Muslims, because it suggests that we are not entitled to the basic human right to not be subjugated by others, let alone not be killed by them.

To give an analogy, imagine that a woman is being raped.  She attempts to fend off her attacker by punching and scratching him.  At this point, an onlooker comments on how “violent” the woman is, striking the man like that!  His bias causes him to view the situation from the perspective that the attacker is entitled to his attack, while the woman is not entitled to defend herself from that attack, and is “violent” if she dares to do so.

This is the pattern of deception found in the media’s use of these terms, so do not allow yourself to fall prey to it.

Bruce Hoffman is then quoted as saying:  “We’re in a different world.  Ten years ago, it was very hard to imagine a case like this.”

Welcome to ten years later, where words spoken over 1400 years ago to Prophet Muhammad by a Christian monk ring true.  This monk said to him:  “Nobody who comes with what you have brought will not be treated with hostility by the people.  And if I were to live to that day, I would support you with all I have.”  For thirteen years in Makkah, the Prophet did nothing but teach a pure concept of Tawhid and wala’ and bara’.  He never lifted a finger against Quraysh or harmed them.  Yet, they beat him, strangled him, plotted to imprison and kill him, and eventually forced his departure from his homeland.  It was what he believed that drove them to persecute him in such a fashion.  It was his unwillingness to compromise with them in regards to his beliefs that drove them mad, despite their earlier tolerance of his call.

So, when Mr. Hoffman notes how far we’ve come in ten years, it is a reflection on history repeating itself.  The various governments here and there are simply picking up where Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab left off.  I can tell you from my own experience that in the U.S. government’s argument to the judge to keep me locked up, they would often quote—literally—verses from the Qur’an and authentic ahadith and agreed upon rulings in Islam in an attempt to prove my so-called extremism. Of course they would not say they were quoting such sources, but that is exactly what was occurring.

So, if we’ve come this far in the past ten years, one can only imagine what things will be like in the next ten years.  History repeats itself…

Marc Sageman is then related as saying:  “…the case raises concerns about infringement on free speech and civil liberties.”

I could not help here but recall the irony in the fact that this is exactly Google’s stated reason for withdrawing from China.

It then states that “FBI affidavits filed in court allege that Mehanna plotted to attack an American shopping mall and assassinate two unidentified U.S government officials,” but notes that I am “not formally charged with those crimes.”

Interesting… So, the most horrific of the allegations leveled against me is the only one I am not being charged with?  Does that make any sense whatsoever?

Does it make an iota of sense that I supposedly “plotted” to do this, and was then left untouched for years after the FBI supposedly “found out” –years during which I visited the mall countless times, worked, graduated from college, repeatedly boarded airplanes, taught children, came into daily contact with hundreds of people, and was then asked by the FBI to work for them? Is this how a “dangerous terrorist” is treated?  No intelligent mind can accept this.

Rather, what the intelligent mind will realize is that this fabrication was intended for two purposes.  The first is shock value—to add flavor to an otherwise dull case.  It is much more heroic at a press conference to have gotten a “mall-shooter” than it is to have to reveal to the public that in the midst of an economic disaster, $50,000 tax-payer dollars a year are going to be spent keeping some guy in solitary confinement because you couldn’t get him to do your bidding.  Sometimes, the truth isn’t sellable to the public. In a sense, this is a microcosm of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.  Americans would never send their sons to die over there if they knew the true reasons behind the war.  Therefore, to make it all palatable, the whole WMD scare was fabricated and utilized.  Thus, people were frightened into believing a lie.

The second intent behind this lie is to serve as a form of character assassination, such that no matter what ends up being the truth, I am always guilty in the eyes of the public simply on account of my name being associated with such an accusation.  This is a classic trick used throughout history, as far back as the conflict between Moses and Pharaoh (see the earlier article ‘Our Right to Moses’).

Those were just a few of many thoughts on Shelley Murphy’s article.

And may peace and blessings be on Allah’s Messenger.

Your brother,

Tariq Mehanna

Plymouth Correctional Facility

Isolation Unit—Cell 108

21^st of Safar 1431/ Feb 6^th 2010

MAY ALLAH MAKE EVERYTHING EASY FOR ALL OF US.

WASALAM

IF SOMEONE LIKE TO WRITE ME DIRECTLY, PLEASE CONVEY MY ADDRESS:

Dear Brother

As-Salam Aleikum wa Rahmtu Allah,

I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful package you have put together for some of us. It is very inspirational to know that our cause is still being remembered, even from people whom we may not know or even met before. This is truly from the mercy of Allah. I don’t know if you know me or my case but if you’d like I would be happy to fill you in on some of the details. Al-hamdulilah, with Allah’s tawfique I am doing fine physically, mentally, and spiritually insha Allah. I wake up every day with a smile on my face thanking Allah for all the blessings he has bestowed upon me and asking His forgiveness for all my short comings. Overall I have benifitted from my time of incarceration, learning many lessons that I may not have learned otherwise. In a relatively short time I have completed reading the 6 books of hadith amongst others and will soon complete memorizing the Quran (make Duaa). Despite the circumstances we try to make this a very decent environment and keep our hopes and Imaan high. I’m sorry if this is brief but I just wanted to let you know your efforts are appreciated as well as all those who wrote something. They were all very touching and some brought tears to my eyes. Al-hamdulilah, Allah is the best of planners and His purpose will be fulfilled. Insha Allah one day I will have the opportunity to meet you if not here than in Jenna insha Allah. Please keep up your efforts and make duaa for me. May Allah bless you.

You Brother In Islam,

Sabri Benkahla

Write to Sabri:

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

Yassin Aref was one of the brothers that received a Eid Packet from GVFJ. Please visit http://www.yassinaref.com to learn more about him and his case and situation. Also try to purchase his book  Son of Mountains and Rounded Up by Shamshad Ahmad to read about the case. I convey his message below:

 In the name of Allah,

Thank you very much. May Allah reward you and all those who wished me happy Eid and praying for me and my family. Please give my salam to everyone and ask them to pray for me.

Please keep him and his family in your du’aas. May Allah keep them patient and steadfast throughout this trial. May Allah hasten his release and open his route to freedom. Baarak’Allaah feekum.

… it is 6 P.M. when I arrive. I am booked, shackled up, and led all the way to the other end of the prison with two guards escorting me on either side. I was arrested this morning right as the night-long calls from court that enforce my curfew had stopped. So, I haven’t properly slept in over 24 hrs. and I am not in the best of moods. I am even less so when I see that I’m taken straight into isolation, but the main thing on my mind is just to get some sleep. Pray ‘Isha’ and sleep.

I am led into a dimly lit double-tiered hall, with roughly ten cells lining each floor. There is an odd, complete silence that contrasts greatly with the noise I just left behind. My first cell in this place is #110, a cute little suite left urine-stenched courtesy of its former tenant who decided he was too good to use the toilet. The guards shrug as they unshackle my arms & legs and tell me I’ll probably be moved to a different cell shortly once he’s back from his psychiatric evaluation. I ask which way east is, make wudu’, pray, and lay down for the first uninterrupted sleep I’ve had in nearly a year.

As I fall asleep, I wonder how the guys I met last year in population are doing . . .

. . . I first was held here in November 2008. Before I continue, let me explain the brief history: I graduated from college in May of ‘08, and subsequently obtained my dream job – I was hired as a clinical pharmacist to establish the first diabetes clinic at the King Fahd Medical City Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The FBI took note and decided this to be the appropriate time to give me an ultimatum: ‘work for us or we’ll arrest you.’ I decided to continue with my original plans, and was about to board my Nov. flight to Riyadh when i was arrested. That is when I first came here, where I spent 42 days awaiting a federal judge to decide on my release. I was released to the custody of my parents (this is why I was at home for the past year), was placed under a court-ordered curfew enforced through automated phone calls that went on until 6 A.M. nightly, my passport was confiscated, I was confined to the state, and was unable to find work in my field due to the federal charge now on my record – all in addition to the $1.2 million ransom (bail) demanded by the government which included my family’s home and life savings. This went on for nearly a year until the government decided to rearrest me and pile on more charges, with the eight-year sentence I was facing under Bush now bumped up to one of life-plus-sixty under Obama. Apparently, this was the “change we can believe in” that was being referred to!

So, that first time I was here in November ‘08, I was brought in to a dormitory – style unit that resemble a summer camp. It was an open space where inmates walk freely between the rows of bunk beds, as opposed to being hunkered down in cells. This is called ‘orientation,’ and population inmates spend three days here before being classified to their respective units. I’d never been to prison before, and had no idea what to expect walking into this unit. But, my instinct told me that i had to put up my flag, now or never. The one thing I did know about prison was that even as a new comer, I wasn’t going to act like one. So, rather than conceal myself and retreat to the shadows, I decided to pretend that I owned the place. I walked to the center of the unit where there was a bit of open space, laid out my bed sheet, put up a sutrah, and prayed Maghrib with about a hundred inmates looking on. Thus, I was able to break the intimidation factor of prison environment from my first hour inside.

This is a method that can be applied at work, school, etc. for Muslims who might be nervous or intimidated into hiding their beliefs or practices. Rather than let the environment control you, be strong and proud and establish your presence from day one. This is the only way your co-workers, classmates, boss, etc. will respect you, and it is the only way other inmates will respect you in prison. People will respect us when they see that we respect ourselves.

A group of tatooed Latinos noticed me praying and walked over once I was done and introduced themselves. They offered to obtain me a Mushaf, they pointed out what food i should avoid, and they even offered to keep the shower area clear of other inmates while i was in there in light of the Islamic rules of modesty they were well aware of. I would come to discover that Muslims are the most respected group in the prison system. Muslims in prison have a reputation for being disciplined, clean, distanced from homosexuality & drugs that are rampant in there, generally minding their own business, and it didn’t hurt that Malcolm X was a Muslim.

So, in here, first impression is everything . . .

. . . That was back in 2008. In my current location it’s a bit harder to interact in such a manner, but there are still ways.

There are three modes of communication down here. One is the use of written notes passed through the unit runner. This is generally reserved for inmates requesting items to borrow or use from other inmates. For example, I’m the only one down here who orders honey from the prison commissary. I always have a bottle of it in my cell. One day, the cell above me sent a note down asking to use some to make his instant coffee. I only had a small amount left, I sent it up to him with the runner. A few hours later, he sent the bottle back along with a coffee pouch filled with some of the coffee he’d made. Allah provides!

Some cells have air ducts connecting them , and prisoners in these cells will sometimes shout through the vents to those next to them or above them. It’s very difficult for them to hear each other due to the distance and the constant whirring of the ventilation system competing with their voices. So, they often have to shout very loudly, and I am sometimes able to make out their words. Here is a sample of a conversation I overheard a few weeks ago:

“… Yo! What Color is Winnie the Pooh?”

“He’s yellow.”

“Nah, he looks gold.”

(silence)

“He’s yellowish-gold, I think.”

(silence)

“That nigga is definitely yellow!”

“Yeah, but what about his shirt?”

Hopefully, this gives you an idea of the topics occupying people’s minds down here. Not very intellectually stimulating.

The third way to get a whiff of social activity is through the small slit at the bottom of our cell doors. Basically, you lay down next to the door and speak into it, and whoever is on the other side can hear you, and they respond in kind. The best time to catch someone and pull them into a conversation is when they are waiting to leave the unit for a court date or such, or when they are first coming in. You just yell out to them as they walk by, and that is the chance to have a five minute conversation. I am always curious about people’s histories and backgrounds, so I take every chance I can get to converse. One of the first guys I spoke to down here was a general in the Croatian military, wanted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. Another one, Vee Cee, is accused of shooting someone in the head to steal his gold necklace (he answers every question by rapping). I also came across a fellow who calls himself D.O.G.:

“They call me D.O.G.”

“Dog?”

“No. It’s D-O-G.”

“Dog …”

“No! D-O-G.”

“That spells ‘dog’, my friend.”

The way I see it, prison is much like Hajj. No matter how rich or poor, everyone is in the same place, wearing the same simple clothing, eating the same food, enduring the same hardships, and awaiting the same outcome (freedom). Nothing on the outside matters – this is their world now. Their fancy cars, guns, girls, cash, drugs, and flashy clothes are all gone. All of the material possessions through which they elevated themselves above others on the street are now out of sight and irrelevant. They all find themselves facing an unpleasant reality; are desperate to escape it, and are humble towards whatever they feel can alleviate its harshness. And not surprisingly, many of them turn to religion. This is one of the best – if not the best – places to tell others about Islam. The one who is serving a 20 year sentence for a crime committed in a moment of intoxication – how do you think he will respond when you tell him that because you are a Muslim, alcohol has never touched your tongue? The one who feels he has wasted his life and ruined it – how do you think he will react internally when you tell him about the Hereafter, Paradise, Hell, etc. and teach him that even if he screwed up this life, he has an eternal life that he still has a chance to set right? The one who has lost all hope in those around him – what would he want to hear more than that he has an All-Hearing, Knowing, Seeing, and Responding Lord who is just a supplication away? Along with hospitals, prisons are one of the few institutions in this society that have designated chaplains & chapels. Why? Because these are the settings where man discovers the truth of his state; these are the settings where we realize our weaknesses & limitations & helplessness, and realize the value of hope in our Creator.

So in a sense, prison sets our heart free from the illusions of everyday life …

… I’m laying in bed sometime before Fajr when I hear something slide under my door. I get up to see what it is, and find a book ( ‘Looking for a Way Out’ by Michael Norwood). I look out to see who it was, and I see Knipps on his way to court. Knipps is one of the few guys in here that I was able to have some intelligent conversations with. We;d been exchanging books through the runner, and he truly enjoyed reading ‘Enemy Combatant’ when I’d lent it to him a while back, and I likewise benefitted from what he had let me borrow. I am therefore not surprised to to see that he had given me this book. I shout out through the slit in the door that I’d get it back to him when I complete it. I open up the book and find a handwritten note inside:

TAREK,

GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING, MY FRIEND. I HOPE THIS BOOK INSPIRES YOU. DON’T EVER GIVE UP!!! THERE’S ALWAYS HOPE ALTHOUGH QUITE OFTEN, YOU HAVE TO WORK TO FIND IT.

I LIED TO YOU ABOUT THE DETAILS OF MY CASE. I DON’T LIKE TO REVEAL THEM, AND I THINK YOU’LL FIND THAT’S FAIRLY CONSISTENT ACROSS THE PRISON SYSTEM. TRUST HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE AND NONE OF WHAT YOU HEAR. I HAVE FOUR (4) VICTIMS IN MY CASE, WITH 26 TOTAL CHARGES. EIGHT OF THOSE CHARGES ARE FOR A (VIOLENT CRIME).

UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE IN MY CASE, I AM ACCEPTING A PLEA DAL FOR 25-30 YARS. IF I TOOK IT TO TRIAL, I WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY BE SENTENCED TO 80+ YEARS, WHICH IS A LIFE SENTENCE CONSIDERING I’M UNDER 40, BARELY. MUCH OF THE CASE STEMMED FROM LIES, BUT ENOUGH LIES COMBINED WITH SOME TRUTHS IS ENOUGH TO GET A CONVICTION, UNFORTUNATELY.

I’M SORRY FOR LYING TO YOU. YOU DESERVE THE TRUTH. I’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU, BUT IF YOU NO LONGER WANT TO WRITE ME, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND.

~ GO WITH GOD ~

YOUR FRIEND,

K.

He’s left his mother’s address for me to contact him through at whichever prison he’s being transferred to (it is illegal for prisoners to communicate directly with each other through the mail). I step back and think about the oddity of it all: this man who did what he did referring to me as a friend, and I am about to write him with sympathy and sadness in my heart for what I’ve just read. What a waste.
I am often asked by family and friends about the worst aspect of being here. My reply is that among all of the other factors of life that prison upsets, the most apparent and deeply affecting is that of one’s social circle. We are used to seeing the people we love, those who we can relate to, those we are familiar with and can trust and trust us; those we reach out to and who reach out to us for companionship define who we are, and constitute an inseparable component of our lives. To have that component torn off and replaced without a choice in the matter is probably the most consistent reminder of imprisonment, as the desire to call a friend, or invite someone for coffee, or seek advice from a wise man – all are met with the return to reality of where I am and who I am surrounded by. It is an inevitable consequence that when one is removed from a particular environment, that environment adapts to the change. Likewise, when he is placed in a new environment, he is shaped by and adapts to that change. My daily task of compensating for this change is fulfilled through two main routes, both of which I will write about in the future (in Sha’ Allah): books and letters, which are my sources of good in here.

I close by saying this: despite these conditions, despite these surroundings, & despite this solitude, I consider myself in the company of the most noble, honorable people on the face of the Earth. They are white, black, brown; they speak dozens of languages, hail from all corners of the Earth, and are likewise unjustly imprisoned by the tawaghit of their locales in all corners of the Earth for their Tawhid. These dear brothers (and sisters, unfortunately) occupy a position in my heart that can be filled by no one else. They are experiencing my ordeal along with me, and I am experiencing their ordeal alongside them, and nobody can change that despite the hundreds and thousands of miles that separate us, and whoever of them happens to read this should know very well that I love them for Allah’s sake and supplicate for them by named in the last third of every night, and by location for those whose names are unknown to me …

… As the night ends, I grab the Mushaf and sit next to my cell door. I lean toward the open slit at the bottom, and I decide tot take advantage of the unit’s good acoustics. I recite Qur’an for a while to the unwitting audience of whoever happens to be walking by & whoever can hear me from their cells across the unit.
When I’m done, there is complete tranquility, و الحمد لله.

(To be continued, in Sha’ Allah)

طارق مهنا
Tariq Mehanna
6th of Safar 1431/ 22nd of January 2010
Plymouth Correctional Facility
Isolation Unit – Cell #108

All upstarts, insolent in place,
Remind us of their vulgar race.
As, in the sunshine of the morn,
A butterfly (but newly born)
Sat proudly perking on a rose;
With pert conceit his bosom glows;
His wings (all-glorious to behold)
Bedropp’d with azure, jet, and gold,
Wide he displays; the spangled dew
Reflects his eyes, and various hue.
His now forgotten friend, a snail,
Beneath his house, with slimy trail
Crawls o’er the grass; whom when he spies,
In wrath he to the gard’ner cries:
‘What means you peasant’s daily toil,
From chocking weeds to rid the soil?
Why wake you to the morning’s care,
Why with new arts correct the year,
Why glows the peach with crimson hue,
And why the plum’s inviting blue;
Were they to feast his taste design’d,
That vermin of voracious kind?
Crush then the slow, the pilf’ring race:
So purge thy garden from disgrace.’
‘What arrogance!’ the snail replied;
‘How insolent in upstart pride!
Hadst thou not thus with insult vain,
Provoked my patience to complain,
I had concealed thy meaner birth,
Nor traced thee to the scum of the earth.
For scarce nine suns have waked the hours,
To swell the fruit and paint the flow’rs,
Since I thy humble life surveyed,
In base, in sordid guise arrayed;
A hideous insect, vile, unclean,
You dragged a slow and noisome train;
And from your spider-bowels drew
Foul film, and spun the dirty clew.
I own my hunble life, good friend;
Snail I was born and Snail i shall end.
And whats a butterfly? at best,
He’s but a catterpillar, dress’d;
And all thy race (a numerous seed)
Shall prove to be of caterpillar breed.’
- John Gay (1688 – 1732)

- I just read this poem from a collection of 18th Century poetry.
I love the end where the snail just rips the human race apart.
whats a butterfly at best, he’s but a catterpillar, dressed.
arent we are all like that…born humble, naked, hungry, and alone…
by the time we die, we are clothed in the most expensive of garments,
fed the most ‘exquisite’ of meals, our life is about impressing everyone but the
one we are returning to, and our ego has gone up to such a degree, everyone of us thinks he’s a king walking the earth with a right to rule given from birth.
no one remembers that we are going back just as we entered, crying, hungry, naked (except for the few hours the white shround will last), and subdued!

Written by Fahim Ahmad – Prisoner in Canada