Just Another Day at the Islamic Center of DHS

As I was in DC today for a protest for political prisoners, I attended the juma'ah prayer inside the Islamic Center of Washington, DC, on Embassy Row. The Islamic Center is heavily attended by diplomats. Sitting in the room allocated to female congregants in its basement, viewing the sermon on a television, I couldn’t definitively identify the evidently Arab imam in red-checkered kaffiyah and white thobe. But at this Center, every imam is typically approved by the Saudi monarchy, if not actually handpicked by them. Evidently the khutbah was the third in a series he was doing on "sharia."



To me, he sounded like the Muslim equivalent of a New Ager. Or maybe a flower child. “Love everybody,” “turn the other cheek,” “fighting is bad, so eschew all fighting” were among the themes of his feel good khutbah which completely ignored the realities of imperialist war and the balance of power it imposed across the Muslim world.



As Dr. Siddique, who was with me, pointed out, “It’s extremely strange that he would be telling an audience of [U.S.] Muslims who aren’t killing anyone, to stop fighting and killing.”



I was particularly puzzled by the following statements the imam made:



"In Islam the emphasis is on the human being. The human must live a comfortable life."



But what of struggle, which is emphasized through a variety of different constructs throughout the Qur’an, I thought.



"The one who kills, as well as the one who is killed, will both be in the Hellfire.” (The imam attributed this to Sahih Muslim.)



I have a feeling this Hadith, which I am not familiar with, is only valid in a limited context, which he did not explain. It seems to equate the oppressed with the oppressor—something wholly contrary to Islamic teachings (or my understanding of them).



"Islam is a religion which is being accused of permitting killing. The only killing permitted in Islam is that done in retribution. If somebody kills, only then can he be put to death, and then only by the government. It is not up to the individual.”



What? But what if the government is run by occupiers or is a U.S. proxy government (running a Muslim country to the tune of the imperialists!), as is the case in Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. How then, would justice ever be attained?



"Even in the Battlefield of Islam, if someone says ‘as-salaam alaikom’ to you, you must stop fighting him. But look at what is happening in the Muslim countries.”



Although he did not spell it out, he seemed to be regurgitating the corporate media line that the Muslims fighting occupation in various countries are all a bunch of crazies bent on killing each other for no particular reason.



“In Islam there are strict rules of war. Allah tells us not to kill non-combatants, not to kill women, children, etc., and not to attack synagogues.”



I was filled with wonderment as to whom the khutbah was written to appease.



Then, finally toward the end, he churned out a statement which made sense: “Allah, in general, has prohibited killing without a purpose, even of animals. You may only kill an animal if you are going to eat it.”



As it seemed the khutbah was being recorded, the only conclusion this writer could reach was that it was meant for a larger audience. Hopefully his masters were pleased, and their budget justified.

Press Release: Toilet Re-Enactment Today

For immediate release

Date: February 6, 2013

Contact: Ms. Nadrat Siddique

Tel: (443) ***-**09

 

Toilet Re-enactment Today

Duane "Shorty" Davis, dubbed the "Towson Toilet Bomber," will lead a re-enactment of the February 2011 incident which led to his arrest and eventual political prosecution.

Background

Leading up to the case against him, Davis, a local anti-racism activist, left toilets outside the offices of public officials as a means of political protest. Only government figures he believed to be corrupt and in violation of the rights of the ordinary citizen received toilets.

Bernstein, Shellenberger, O’Malley, Young, and Welsh were among the recipients.

The toilets--personalized for each government official--were decorated with news clippings, photos and other trim. Davis left dozens of such toilets--donated by friends and supporters--outside the offices of designated officials. Only one--gifted to Assistant States Attorney Shellenberger--earned him such an extreme reaction from security, and then police, that he was arrested.

Davis was ultimately brought to trial on two counts: 1) Leaving an explosive device in front of a courthouse; and 2) Leaving a a phony explosive device in front of a courthouse. He was held for three months without bond. He went to trial in August 2011, and was aquitted of all charges. In the process however, he lost his business, his truck, his computer, and a plethora of electronic equipment. Although he has petitioned for the return of the property, his efforts have fell upon deaf ears.

Details of Re-enactment

Today's re-enactment will be a symbolic walk around the Towson Courthouse perimeter, and a recounting of the February 2011 incident. It will begin at the fountain at 12 noon. The event will highlight the need to protect and preserve essential freedoms in the U.S., in particular: artistic freedom; freedom of speech; freedom from oppression; freedom from judicial corruption and fraud; and freedom from police state terrorism.

Letter from A F James MacArthur

MacArthur

#2335662

300 E. Madison Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

 

28 December 2012

 

Dear Sister Nadrat,

 

I want to thank you for all that you’re doing for the cause of freedom. My adversaries are relentless. They had no idea there would be so many in my corner.

 

A passage from Scripture comes to mind. When Elisha the Prophet and his young servant were literally surrounded by a heavily armed enemy, the servant was afraid. After the servant asked him, “What shall we do?” the Prophet reassured him. “Do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)

 

By the way, my handwriting is not the greatest, so you’ll bear with me as I struggle to communicate via an archaic method I have little practice in.

 

Also, be advised, while your letter is postmarked 17 December, I did not receive it till late last night, the 27^th. Thank you so much for the gift. I will put it to good use. I’m desperately out of basic supplies of paper, stamps and envelopes. I really want to communicate with everyone fighting to keep my case and my cause relevant. Spread my address around.

 

One of the goals of my adversaries is to stretch things out as much as possible in hopes of thinning out and making weary my supporters. They are employing a whole host of dirty tricks, this is not about justice.

 

I saw you on Fox 45, and you are 100% correct! This is about retribution, plain and simple. There’s a vendetta against me. Well orchestrated tyranny.

 

I was also able to catch a snippet of you on TV during the protest rally for my freedom. Nadrat, I just can’t thank you enough. You have clearly articulated the massive injustices I’m currently being subjected to.

 

Tell your Dad I said hello. I think I briefly made eye contact with him at the bail review hearing. Did I?

 

You should know, I’m deeply saddened by the complete lack of justice or fairness given to me by the court today. But truly, I’m not surprised. Not in the least bit. With the kind of investigative work I’ve done, little surprises me anymore.

 

I’m quite pleased you’ve appreciated the work I did with the Baltimore Spectator. There’s been a conspiracy for some time now, and numerous attempts to kill the Baltimore Spectator. In their eyes, I was becoming too popular, too powerful!

 

One day, God willing (inshallah), when this is all over, I hope to be able to sit down and spend time with you and your Dad. There’s so much more I know that I never got the chance to report on.

 

My dear sister Nadrat, I must beg of you to keep praying for me. The protection of the Almighty is all I have. This ordeal could take a while. A great evil has now taken over our city and state officials, and my total destruction, including physical death, is their ultimate intention. We are merely in the preliminary phases. But I am not afraid. Come what may, my soul is prepared.

 

There are good days and there are bad days for me in here. With such little intellectual stimulation available (no library, books, newspapers, etc), it’s a tortured existence for a thinking man. Please send clippings, photocopies, or printouts of articles and news stories.

 

Continued communications with wonderful people like yourself is part of my only link to sanity. A lifeline if you will. So please do write back. Tell the others to write to me, too, even if it’s just a short note to say hi. I respond back to every letter received.

 

As you may imagine, mentally I’m often drained and fatigued by my circumstance, but on the flip side, I can feel my stores of wisdom increasing daily. My mind is becoming stronger stronger. God is so amazing, that for believers, even when man plots to do us evil, God can convert it for our good.

 

For now, I really don’t have that much more to say. I want to thank you and everyone else for such an awesome showing of support in court today. It was amazing! And for the ongoing and continued support you have shown.

 

By the Grace of God and through his strength, I shall endure to the end.

 

Peace and love to you,

 

MacArthur

The Baltimore Spectator

The A F James MacArthur Case

AF James MacArthur is an independent journalist with "The Baltimore Spectator." He was reporting on police brutality in Baltimore when he was arrested on very tenuous charges. It is evident that police, like most perpetrators of violence, don't like the spotlight to be on them. Was MacArthur arrested because of his hard hitting exposes of police abuse in Baltimore? Is he perhaps Baltimore's Mumia Abu Jamal? (Recall that Mumia was arrested following his extensive reporting of police brutality by Philadelphia  cops.)

Why should indy journalists like MacArthur, who serve as a bulwark to abuse of power by all three branches of government, given the yellow journalism spouted by the major (corporate) media outlets, be targets for harassment, abuse, and detention--as if this were a Third World Country? These are some of the questions to be tackled at this event.

On Thursday, December 20, friends of MacArthur will vigil outside the detention center where he is being held during rush hour, to draw attention to his plight. A brief press conference will also be held.

Please bring candles and signs saying "Free MacArthur" (or other relevant signs of your choosing).

MacArthur's Baltimore Spectator may be viewed here:

 http://baltimorespectator.com/

 --------------------

Case details:

MacArthur was reporting from the scene of various police brutality incidents. He used very rudimentary equipment, including a laptop, a microphone, speakers, and maybe one or two other pieces of portable equipment. But his radio program, which can be accessed through his webpage (http://baltimorespectator.com/) had garnered a large audience, partially in response to concerns about and dearth of reporting on police brutality. (MacArthur's past programs are still archived there, and the most recent one, which he recorded just prior to his recent arrest, appears on the main page). In the process, he earned the wrath of the police. As he explains in his last broadcast, he experienced a break-in at his house (around 3:00 AM) one day. He called 9-11 (after getting the situation under control with a firearm he legally owned). The police arrived, did not pursue any suspect, but instead arrested him on gun charges. This occurred despite the fact that he was in his own house for the duration of that incident.

Resultant from this concocted incident, there was an outstanding warrant for MacArthur's arrest. He learned of the warrant as a result of an anonymous tip (he frequently received anonymous tips). As he said in his last broadcast, he had--upon receiving the tip--planned to surrender to the authorities, but given his role as muckraking journalist and the concomitant past gross violations of his rights by police, he wanted to make sure he informed the right people (and enough of them) to look out for him while he was gone--prior to making his surrender.

Before he could surrender, SWAT teams surrounded his house. In fact, they cordoned off the entire block where he lived, creating a situation so volatile that he feared for his life. Somehow, he remained calm, speaking via telephone to them from inside his house, all the while broadcasting the negotiation of his freedom over the Baltimore Spectator. He criticized police mis-use of resources, pointing out that while his house and block were cordoned off as if he were public enemy no. 1, drug running, rapes, robberies, and the like continued unabated in the area. He told them they were blackballing him to his neighbors, that his neighbors would never trust him again, and that they (the police) were ruining his life, as they have done to so many other innocent Baltimore natives.

They asked him why--if he were aware of the outstanding warrant--he didn't voluntarily surrender on his own terms to prevent the current situation. He reminded them it was a Saturday night, that it was next to impossible to reach counsel on the weekend, and that he would rather not spend the weekend locked up. After a few hours of this, he surrendered and was taken to Central Booking.

The police did not have a warrant to enter his house, and he made very clear that he did not want them there, out of fear that evidence would be planted to incriminate him. This may be exactly what happened, because they entered, searched the premises, and claimed to have found a sawed off shotgun there. MacArthur supporters say the weapon was planted there. Some go to the extent of saying it was the same gun which was confiscated from him in the earlier incident, but sawed off and then returned to his property to incriminate him (since a sawed off weapon carries a heavy penalty). He remains in custody at Baltimore's infamous Central Booking, and is being denied bail. Attempts are being made by local corporate media and others to paint this courageous, cutting edge journalist as mentally unstable--although his broadcasts clearly indicate otherwise--and it is likely he will be sent for psychiatric evaluation at Springfield or another detention facility for the mentally afflicted. He is scheduled for a hearing January 4.

The Malalal Yousafzai Shooting Story Reaks of a Pakistani Army Press Release

By Nadrat Siddique

 

Nearly all U.S. corporate media are regurgitating virtually the same set of “facts” on the shooting of Pakistani 14-year old Malalal Yousafzai.

 

Although the event is not far in the past, there are many disparities in the story which shed doubt on its authenticity: One corporate media report mentions the gunmen as being masked. Another says they were bearded. It is unclear how facial hair would be evident on a masked individual.

According to an October 10 BBC report, “One report, citing local sources, says a bearded gunman stopped a car full of schoolgirls, and asked for Malala Yousafzai by name, before opening fire. But a police official also told BBC Urdu that unidentified gunmen opened fire on the schoolgirls as they were about to board a van or bus.”

 

Also worth noting is the vice-like embrace in which Paki government officials have placed this particular girl--or more importantly her story, a story which serves to discredit their opposition. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said: "We have to fight the mindset that is involved in this. We have to condemn it... Malala is like my daughter, and yours too. If that mindset prevails, then whose daughter would be safe?" No Paki official offered similar support to the Jamia Hafsa women when their Islamic university was attacked by Pakistani troops in 2007.

 

Even more oddly, the chief of the Pakistan army, General Ashfaq Kayani, has taken great personal interest in the girl. According to the October 10 Guardian, the “powerful military chief has put himself at the centre of a national outrage over the attempted murder” of Malalal. He went to the extent of visiting her personally in the hospital. One wonders what army chief has time or wherewithal to do that. In a statement viewed as highly cynical by those aware of the Pakistan army’s multifarious human rights abuses, he said, "The cowards who attacked Malala and her fellow students, have shown time and again how little regard they have for human life and how low they can fall in their cruel ambition to impose their twisted ideology." (Reuters, October 10)

 

Over and over, the U.S.-funded Pakistani military has been discredited for their extreme barbarism and complete disregard for human rights and the Geneva Conventions. They are viewed as collaborators with the U.S. and NATO by vast segments of the Pakistani population.

In October 2010, the Pakistan military was reported to have shot 250 Taliban prisoners. To shoot a girl such as Malala Yousafzai would not be beyond such a force.

 

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/new-video-appears-to-show-abuse-of-prisoners-by-pakistani-soldiers/

 

They have also collaborated with the U.S. in the killing of hundreds of civilians. Waziristan native Noor Beharam, who has repeatedly risked his life documenting the deaths of women and children, believes that 670 women have been killed by drone strikes. He has taken photos of more than 100 children, their bodies often unrecognizable as human after the strikes.

 

http://www.alternet.org/world/murder-skies-us-creating-new-enemies-where-there-were-none

 

The Pakistan military showed its prowess in media manipulation and propaganda dissemination in the course of the 2007 Lal Masjid siege, when they banned all independent media from the besieged area.

 

This writer would not put it beyond the Pakistan army to have sent one of their own to shoot Malalal. It would be a perfect red herring against the increasingly organized opposition to its human rights abuses and to the U.S. drone strikes in which it is complicit.

 

Ehsanullah Ehsan, Taliban spokesman, ostensibly claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the group. Anyone could call the Pakistani media, claim to be Ehsan, and assume responsibility on behalf of his organization in order to discredit it.

 

It is also possible that the action is the work of one or two misguided individuals. They may have conducted the action without the advance knowledge of the Taliban leadership. The TPP is a very large organization, with broad public support among the people of the frontier, and particularly of Swat, where the Pak army has terrorized the population over an extended period of time. Once the deed was done, they may have unthinkingly accepted their organization’s role in it. But was the action sanctioned by the top leadership, and approved in advance of the fact? Where are the interviews with the Taliban leadership to ascertain this fact? The corporate media, in keeping with their role as war time propagandists have conducted no such interviews.

Imagine if a shooting was conducted by a Jewish or White Supremacist gunman. It is extremely unlikely that any and the organizations affiliated with him would be immediately condemned. In this case, however, that is exactly what has happened. And the TPP, which seems notoriously lacking in its communication with the media, has allowed itself to be linked with a single heinous act, and therefore discredited.

 

Interestingly, only the VOA report of October 10 does not credit the Taliban with the girl's shooting. The VOA is highly regarded as the overt U.S. government propaganda organ by independent news analysists and thinkers.

 

The contradictions in detail of the attackers; the fact that Hillary Clinton, the U.S. State Department, the President of Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the Pakistan Army Chief all went out of their way to condemn the attack when they have yet to do so in a single one of the killings of women and children by U.S. drones or by their Pak army lackeys; and the absence of any detailed interview with the Taliban are all very suspect to an analytical mind. Regardless of who accepted responsibility afterwards, might the shooting be a Pakistan army/intelligence action? I would not be at all surprised if the "details" picked up by all the major media organs stemmed from a Pakistan army press release. The specter of a young girl being murdered by a force endemic to a country and fighting a foreign occupier is perfect wartime propaganda to deflect the war crimes of the occupier.

Baltimore Shomrein Trial Verdict Sends a Clear Message: Black Children May be Treated with Impunity

No Protest from Black Bourgeoise Organizations

 

By Nadrat Siddique and David Wiggins

 

Baltimore, MD

May 3, 2012

 

New Trend readers might recall that in November 2010, a black boy, surnamed Ausby, was beaten in the Park Heights neighborhood of Baltimore by adult males from the Shomrein Jewish militia while walking between school and home. The Shomrein militia was established with the approval of local authorities. It runs a patrol in the upscale Jewish part of Park Heights, adjacent to the adjoining Black neighborhood of the same name. The Jewish part is said to house many current and former members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), who are duel Israeli and U.S. nationals, and like the Werdesheims, travel back and forth to “Israel.”

 

Initial charges against the Werdesheims were: 1. First Degree Assault; 2. Second Degree Assault; 3. Reckless Endangerment of a Minor; 4. Possession of a Dangerous Weapon Intent to Injure; 5. False imprisonment. This was before Jewish attorney Gregg Bernstein entered the scene.

 

Then, Bernstein came into office as State’s Attorney. His first act was to drop all felony charges against the Werdesheim brothers. His second act was to prosecute two black men, Travers and Tremayne Johnson, for setting a pittbull on fire in Baltimore. That case ultimately resulted in acquittal. Not surprisingly, many of Baltimore’s black residents viewed both decisions as examples of the Zionist attorney’s racial bias.

 

The Werdesheim brothers were permitted six postponements. The elder Werdesheim was permitted to vacation in Israel with his fiancée pending trial—something few (perhaps no) defendants of color on trial are permitted to do—with the express approval of the victim's lawyer. That attorney, a blackman named J. Wyndal Gordon, also represented John Allen Muhammad. On his watch, Muhammad was put to death, an odd contrast from Mumia Abu Jamal and many others who remain on death row for decades.

Today, the remaining three (misdemeanor) charges were dropped against 22-year old Avi Werdesheim. The most serious of the three misdemenor charges against 24-year old former Israeli Defense Special forces member Eliyahu Werdesheim were dismissed by the judge. The decisions were handed down by presiding Judge Pamela J. White, since the Werdesheims had requested a trial by judge, and not by jury. Eliyahu was subsequently convicted only of the two most insignificant misdemeanor charges, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment.

 

All told, 8 out of ten charges were dropped or resulted in acquittal; only two charges resulted in conviction.

The two other alleged defendants--other than Avi and Eliyahu Werdesheim--were never brought to the fore or charged. And—although there was strong evidence that the attack was a hate crime, this fact was never hinted at for the duration of the trial.

 

Most oddly, the $6.5 million civil lawsuit about which the Ausby’s mother was initally adamant, was dropped. Given that Eliyahu Werdesheim has his own security company here in Baltimore, and his IDF Special Forces training, the possibility that the victim’s family were intimidated into dropping the suit cannot be discounted.

 

The case also exposes the collusion between the Black bourgeoisie and the ruling Zionist Jews in Baltimore. The Baltimore chapters of the National Action Network, the SCLC, and the NAACP, while vocifereously protesting the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida, repeatedly failed to make the connection between the two cases, and hence the opportunity to make both more relevant to Baltimore’s disenfranchised Black population.

 

J. Wyndal Gordon, the black attorney representing the Ausby family, said “I was quite pleased with the verdict. In fact, I predicted it,” he said. (Jewish Times, May 3, 2012) Discussing the family’s decision to drop the civil suit, he said, "No amount of money can give someone back their peace of mind. We’re happy about having closure. What’s best for [the victim] now is to put all of this behind him and move on with his life.”

 

And, as reparations activists, and others fighting for the rights of Black people in the U.S., well know, “Moving on with one’s life,” “Letting bygones be bygones,” or characterizing an unaddressed wrong as being“in the past,” is terminology used by the White Supremacist power structure and its representatives in ensuring its design is permitted to continue and for its victims to shut up and put up. Jewish victims of the Holocaust, for example, are never expected to “move on with their lives” or to put things behind them.

 

The verdict is a clear testament to the existence of a two-tiered justice system, and of the collusion between Baltimore Zionists and the Baltimore Black bourgeoisie which allow it to be perpetuated.  The verdict is a slap in the face to all people of color. We might as well go back to the slave docks.

Occupy for Mumia

Washington, DC

April 24, 2012

 

Activists marked political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal's 58th birthday and 29th year behind bars with a protest billed as "Occupy the Justice Department/ Occupy for Mumia." The action also nearly coincided with the April 23 birthday of Marshall "Eddie" Conway, a leader of the Black Panther leader in Baltimore who has been held political prisoner by the state of Maryland for 43 years, drawing some of his supporters to the rally.

 

-----

Background

Mumia was a member of the Black Panther Party until 1970, and a journalist of great integrity, known for reporting police brutality and other government abuses in the Philadelphia area. He was also a well-known supporter of the MOVE organization, a revolutionary naturalist group based in the heart of Philadelphia. MOVE  advocates a holistic existence for all people--a drug-free, alcohol free, environmentalist lifestyle, emphasizing self-sufficiency, self-respect, and discipline--something anathema to Philadelphia's ruling racists. As a consequence, the organization became the target of a very long-ranging campaign of annihilation by the Philadelphia authorities. That campaign culminated in the May 13, 1985 raid and aerial bombardment of the house habited by MOVE members on Philadelphia's Osage Avenue. The firebombings and police shootings resulted in the murders of 11 men, women, and children, and the jailing of Ramona Africa, the sole adult survivor. And it destroyed 61 surrounding homes.

 

Mumia's writings and his ongoing support for MOVE evidently propelled him into the government crosshairs, because in late 1981, he was linked to the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer, William Faulkner. In 1982, Mumia was convicted following very questionable trial proceedings, including the retention of the presiding judge, Sabo, who reportedly stated "Yeah, and I’m going to help them fry the nigger" (a reference to Mumia, reported in an affidavit by a court stenographer), and witnesses who later said they were pressured into testifying in a manner that favored the prosecution. Following three short weeks of jury deliberation, Mumia was sentenced to the death penalty. Undaunted, he continued to criticize U.S. government repression, authoring six books, hundreds of articles, and radio broadcasts from death row. Extremely well-informed and articulate, he spoke and wrote earnestly against U.S. imperialist adventures abroad, including the Iraq war and AFRICOM. He earned the support of Amnesty International, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Toni Morrison, and other notables, who variously called for inquiries into his unjust incarceration, appeals, or freedom for the jailed journalist. In 2012, after years of pressure from his supporters, Mumia's death penalty sentence was dropped, and the sentence commuted to life in prison.

 

----

On the bright sunny morning of April 24, the International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal (ICFFMAJ) and the MOVE organization spearheaded a rally for Mumia at the Department of Justice. Friends of MOVE, Decarcerate PA, Students Against Mass Incarceration, DC Troy Davis, the National Jericho Movement, Occupy DC, Occupy Baltimore, the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective, Workers World Party, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, the All Peoples Congress, the Baltimore Black Think Tank, Jamaat al-Muslimeen, Bradley Manning supporters, and many other groups and individuals came together in one of the most energetic actions for a political prisoner held in Washington, DC, to date. The protestors heard Johanna Fernandez (outspoken Mumia supporter and professor from Baruch-CUNY); King Downing (American Friends Service Committee); Pam Africa (Minister of Confrontation of MOVE, and Chairwoman of ICFFMAJ); Ramona Africa (MOVE); Br. Abdul (MOVE organization; he read Mumia's deeply poignant statement penned for the occasion); Chuck D, Dead Prez, Jasiri X, Rebel Diaz, and Jay Sun--all politically conscious hip-hop artists known for their support of Mumia and other political prisoners; Mauri Saalakhan (Peace and Justice Foundation); Laila Yaghi (Free Ziyad Yaghi Campaign); Imam Khalil Rahman (Imam Al-Jamil supporter); Mumia supporters from France; and others.Around 3:00 pm, protestors left the DOJ for a spirited march through DC's downtown, passing the FBI and CIA buildings, and other landmarks of state repression. The protest culminated in a second rally at the White House, where a police cordon was pulled tighter and tighter around the protestors as some activists, who had pledged to commit civil disobedience, positioned themselves for the action. Twenty-seven activists were arrested and removed to the Anacostia Prison Facility to be booked, protesting for Mumia's freedom.

 

----

AfterwardThis Muslim writer marveled at the sight of the predominantly youthful protestors, particularly those conducting civil disobedience, who had come forth to take a stance for unjustly held captives, a command clearly laid out in Islam's Holy Book. It was in stark contrast to "Islam on Capitol Hill," a mass prayer held not so long ago at the U.S. Capitol a short distance away, by the gigolos of the Muslim community, who endeavoring to ally themselves with the power structure, induced their unwitting constituents to do "sajood" (genuflection) to that grotesque symbol of Babylon. As those with Muslim names clamored for ill-sought White House invitations and Presidential Council appointments, inviting the agents of repression into their Islamic Centers and Mosques, the youth at the White House gates on April 24, most of whom were not Muslim by title, walked the path of Christ (AS) and Muhammad (SAW), fighting for the rights of the most oppressed and downtrodden--the political prisoners. What will it take for the rest of us to follow?

 

©2012 by Nadrat Siddique

My Criteria for a Mate

As my girlfriend Lauren on Facebook was asking friends to make an individualized list "Fifteen Criteria for My Ideal Mate," I decided to be appropriately silly and came up with (well more than 15)...

---------

For starters:

 

Sexuality

1) Must be heterosexual, interested in pursuing an uncompromisingly monogamous relationship, and specifically, must not be open to the idea of polygamy now, or in the future.

 

Creed

 

2) Must be a practicing Muslim or other monotheist.  I try not to hold others to a standard to which I myself don’t adhere. Hence I think it fair to expect he should not be engaging in any of the “major sins,” and at least attempting to practice the five pillars). Ideally such an arrangement would bring me closer to my faith.

 

3) Cannot be an Uncle Tom or sycophant for the existing order (ie, he must, in keeping with the Hadith, at least “hate it [injustice] in his heart”).

 

4) Must have a love and concern for the oppressed communities around him, regardless of their problems.

 

5) Must believe in amr bil mauroof and nahi unal munkari and/or  Ma’at.

 

6) Since silence is complicity, must be actively involved in some aspect of the struggle for social justice, ie, must be concerned and active in something beyond himself.

 

7) Must be willing to go to jail for what he believes in.

 

Career

 

8) Should be a science (preferably bioscience) person.

 

9) Must be willing to allow me to pursue a bioscience career; and preferably encourage and help me to progress in that career. In other words, he will be the leading strand to my lagging strand =).

 

Personality

 

10) Must bring honesty and integrity into the relationship, and in every aspect of his life.

 

11) Must be willing to conduct relationship through shura (major Islamic concept of “mutual consultation”)

 

12) Must practice discipline and value it in others.

 

13) Must have a sense of humor.

 

14) Must speak/listen to me with respect.

 

15) [In keeping with what Garvey and Elijah Muhammad taught about the company one ought to keep], must be smarter than me (with all this entails).

 

Morphology, etc. (desirable but not absolutely necessary)

 

16) Baritone or other masculine voice (voices and accents are very important to me);

 

17) Very dark-skinned (at least at dark as Denzel :));

 

18) Very tall (at least 5’10”);

 

19)  Faster (as a runner) than me (with all this entails);

 

20) Able to communicate effectively in writing;

 

21) Appreciation/knowledge of other languages and cultures.

 

An Open Letter to Russell Means

Dear Brother Russell,

I was deeply saddened to hear of your cancer. To me, you have always been a symbol of resistance. Indeed your unrelenting stance for Native American rights, your proud carriage, and your commitment to the struggle was deeply etched in my mind as an adolescent doing support work for the Native rights struggle. Many years have passed since I invited you to address a gathering on indigenous rights—under the auspices of Jamaat al-Muslimeen—at a church near American University in Washington, DC circa 1983. You shared the dais with Palestinian and Kurdish speakers. Afterwards, you stayed with Damu Smith in his French Street Northwest DC home. I was then about 15-years old, and it was my first independent organizing experience.  Inspired to no end by Wounded Knee ('73) and disgusted by the railroadings of activists which followed, the conference was something I felt compelled to do. Because my background is fundamentally Islamic, I included Palestinian and Kurdish representatives in the hopes that the representatives of these three oppressed groups as well as their audience at the conference might find common ground with each other through the commonality of their respective struggles. And, although you didn't know me and I had yet to establish myself as an activist, you generously accepted my invitation.

After the conference where you spoke, my great admiration for AIM led me to organize a chapter of the Leonard Peltier Support Group in the DC area (I was still a teenager). The LPSG-DC invited Steve Robideau, Chief Billy Tayac, Winona LaDuke, and others to speak at various times (all in the late 1980s). Chief Tayac also introduced me to Titus Smith [medicine man from Rosebud] during his visit to the DC area to raise funds and awareness for Rosebud.

Your words to me during your brief visit—that one must never lose sight of one’s roots— became particularly relevant, and a few years after the American Indians-Palestinians-Kurds conference (where you spoke), I graduated from high school, and left shortly thereafter for South Asia, with the aim of writing about the travails of people in my part of the world. Because of this, I became, for a time, out of touch with the Native American struggle.

In recent years, I admired from afar your bid for Pine Ridge chairperson, your outspoken stance on Thanksgiving, the publication of Where White Men Fear to Tread, and much else.

These days, I am the Vice Chair of the Baltimore-Washington, DC Chapter of the Jericho Movement, which seeks freedom for all political prisoners, including Leonard Peltier. And I still work with Jamaat al-Muslimeen, the Muslim organization founded by my father, Dr. Kaukab Siddique, which stands strong on a variety of peace and justice issues, and lends strong support to the struggle to free all political prisoners (the numbers of Muslim ones have, unfortunately, multiplied these days). I have always held the belief that in the face of grave injustice, “silence is complicity.” The political prisoner issue is one which touches my heart because clearly any one of us who refuses to join the ranks of the silent complicit masses risks becoming a political prisoner.

On the more personal front, I am also a runner (and have been since I was a teen). In recent years, I become more serious about my running, and have done seven marathons (each of 26.2 miles). I heard about the Crazy Horse Marathon held each October in the Paha Sapa, and because of its location as well as my admiration for the warrior after whom it is named, immediately became interested. As you may know, the marathon takes place in the Paha Sapa, and used to be called the Black Hills Marathon. It is organized by Whites, and starts at the Crazy Horse Monument. I doubt very much that the race organizers or most of the participants realize the significance of the Paha to the Lakota. Or the fact that the Crazy Horse Monument itself—carved by a Polish man into the Black Hills—is an eyesore and a grave affront to many Native People.

I am considering running the race in Leonard’s name. I would wear a tee-shirt calling for his freedom, and use my participation in the event to call attention to his case and for a pardon for him (in keeping with the ongoing Jericho campaign). I would start the race with a prayer for him as well as for you, that Wakan Tanka give you strength in your fight against cancer.

But first, I wanted to ask you three questions:

1. Is it even appropriate to run through a sacred land, such as the Paha Sapa? Or should friends of Native people, like me, not participate at all in such an event?

2. IF it is not an affront to the Lakota for a non-Indian to run through the area, can you, as Pine Ridge Chairperson elect (I really think you would have won the election, had the playing field been level) give me permission to run there?

3. Alternatively, can you share this letter with the appropriate Lakota elders for their response? Basically I’m asking for a “visa” from Native People before I enter the area to run, as I believe all visitors to sacred Lakota land should do. Although I’ve trained hard for the marathon, I don't want to run it without the permission of the Lakota, so if it is not forthcoming, I will back out of the race.

I feel ashamed to trouble you with my personal requests in the time of your illness, so if you cannot help me, do not feel badly. I pray for your return to full health.

Thank you for your help.

In struggle and solidarity,
Nadrat Siddique

More Reasons Why Not to Eat Pork

Sublime Qur'an Subsumes Science

As a Muslim and a marathoner, I eschew pork following Islamic guidelines on proscribed foods. This, like other Qur’anic injunctions, has helped me to avoid a plethora of health problems, to stay out of the doctor’s office, and to maintain a rigorous athletic regimen free of injury. Recently, I participated in an exchange with friends (and some of their friends) on a social networking site. A young black (Afrocentric) Towson University student—not a Muslim—was recommending to all of his friends not to eat pork. This is an increasingly common phenomenon among activists of color—even those who do not claim the label of Muslim (or who do not claim it openly). Some of these are directly influenced by Qur’anic teachings, by their Muslim friends, or by the writings of Elijah Muhammad such as How to Eat to Live.

Pork and pork products are a major source of health problems in the Black community. Historically, White slavers fed Black slaves chitterlings (or chitlins, for short) and other pork products. Chitterlings are the worse part of the pig--a reminder to the slave that he was lower than an animal, worthy only of eating the slave master’s rubbish. I was proud of my Towson University friend who had thrown off his mental shackles and encouraged others to do the same. But immediately many of his friends assailed his position. Pork is no more deleterious than beef or chicken; some parts of it are white meat and quite lean—and therefore worthy of consumption—they said. Pork is intrinsic to soul food, said others; how can we possibly do away with it? I knew that the instinctive revulsion I felt for pork mightn’t be shared by others, particularly those who were not Muslim, and so determined to find intellectual support for my feelings. Here are the initial findings of my inquiry, which I shared in the course of the online exchange:

Pork takes longer than most foods to digest (4.5 hr, according to some reports). One of the reasons for this: It is rich in residues of the amino acid Proline.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20356084

I'm guessing that the high incidence of Proline, which contains a hetercyclic ring, may be one reason for the difficulty in metabolizing pork. Unfortunately, lengthy retention of food—in this case pork—in a digestive tract that is relatively short (compared to that of most carnivores) leads to elevated colorectal cancer risk.

Additionally, prevalence of Staphyloccus aureus bacteria in pigs is relatively high (e.g., 25-30% in the Netherlands). In fact, locating swine populations not afflicted to some degree by the Staph species in question is highly unlikely.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=first-pork-invades-washington-then-2009-03-12

As a result, very high dosages of antibiotics are administered to most pig populations. So, consumers of pork are partaking of a product, which has been doused with antibiotics. And— by supporting the administration of antibiotics to this animal population, they are inadvertently contributing to the rise of drug-resistant strains of bacteria.

Staphylococcus aureus is thought to be carried by rats in a pig farm setting:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19523703

Unfortunately, the bacterium may be conveyed between the pig and rat population to humans:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19145257

So, the answer seems to be: Either administer massive dosages of antibiotics to pig populations (and then consume the antibiotic-laden pork products)--a strategy which may work in the short term, but has serious long-term implications for the production of drug-resistant strains of Staphyloccus aureus--or find other alternatives to pork products. While it's true that some cuts of pork contain a relatively low lipid content, comparable to those of beef or other meats, given all of the forgoing, as well as the dynamics of pork between White slavers and Black slave descendants, the choice of whether or not to partake of the pig seems rather obvious.