Petition Update
By Nadrat SiddiqueSeptember 19, 2020
Dear sisters, brothers, and friends,
As-salaam alaikom/ Greetings of peace! Conditions at FMC Carswell, where Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is being held, have gone from bad to worse. Since we initiated this petition, another two women, held with Aafia, have died from COVID-19, and more have tested positive. It is heartening than human rights-loving people, some of whom have relatives in the prison, are demonstrating outside the prison's walls.
Here is a media report on the protests from the local paper in the area (you may have to sign up for a free subscription to view the article in its entirety):
Sadly, the current protests are being staged almost entirely by non-Muslims. Where are the Muslims?
According to the Texas State Historical Association, Texas has a Muslim population of 421,972. Granted, Texas is a huge state--as large as some countries--and many of these Muslims live a long distance from FMC Carswell (located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas). Even then, Dallas, according to the same sources, boasts a Muslim population of 30,000. Its sister city, Fort Worth, reports another 4,000. There are 15 Islamic Centers in Dallas. And our faith, the faith of 34,000 Dallas-Fort Worth area Muslims, commands us to engage in "amr bil mauroof" (enjoining the right) and "nahi unal munkari" (forbidding the wrong). In other words, standing for justice. The Sublime Qur'an describes "the freeing of the slave," ie, the prisoner, as the height of Islamic belief.
Here is a media report on the protests from the local paper in the area (you may have to sign up for a free subscription to view the article in its entirety):
Sadly, the current protests are being staged almost entirely by non-Muslims. Where are the Muslims?
According to the Texas State Historical Association, Texas has a Muslim population of 421,972. Granted, Texas is a huge state--as large as some countries--and many of these Muslims live a long distance from FMC Carswell (located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas). Even then, Dallas, according to the same sources, boasts a Muslim population of 30,000. Its sister city, Fort Worth, reports another 4,000. There are 15 Islamic Centers in Dallas. And our faith, the faith of 34,000 Dallas-Fort Worth area Muslims, commands us to engage in "amr bil mauroof" (enjoining the right) and "nahi unal munkari" (forbidding the wrong). In other words, standing for justice. The Sublime Qur'an describes "the freeing of the slave," ie, the prisoner, as the height of Islamic belief.
There is no more clear cut case of injustice than what has been done to our sister Aafia.
So where then, are all of these Texas-based Muslims and Muslim organizations? No doubt there are innumerable Muslims in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and elsewhere who would love to demonstrate outside FMC Carswell for Aafia. But, thanks to U.S. immigration law, they cannot easily do so. So, it is our responsibility, as U.S.-based Muslims, to speak up for our sister. If we are unable or unwilling to protest outside the prison, we should, at a minimum, sign the petition to U.S. authorities calling for her release on humanitarian grounds, and ask others to do the same. It doesn't cost anything, it's still legal to sign a petition, and it's our duty as Muslims/ people of conscience to help the downtrodden. JazaakAllah khair and thank you!
Sign the petition here.
So where then, are all of these Texas-based Muslims and Muslim organizations? No doubt there are innumerable Muslims in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and elsewhere who would love to demonstrate outside FMC Carswell for Aafia. But, thanks to U.S. immigration law, they cannot easily do so. So, it is our responsibility, as U.S.-based Muslims, to speak up for our sister. If we are unable or unwilling to protest outside the prison, we should, at a minimum, sign the petition to U.S. authorities calling for her release on humanitarian grounds, and ask others to do the same. It doesn't cost anything, it's still legal to sign a petition, and it's our duty as Muslims/ people of conscience to help the downtrodden. JazaakAllah khair and thank you!
Sign the petition here.
