By Nadrat Siddique
I am incredibly proud of my young Pakistani-American sister-friend Farheen Siddiqui. In December, she and I, along with some of her family members, participated in the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival, a gargantuan athletic event which brings out tens of thousands each year. At that event, Farheen and I wore our respective shirts calling attention to the unjust imprisonment of Pakistai female scientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
This time, Farheen ran/walked the 10k which is part of the Cowtown Running Festival in Fort Worth, TX, completely on her own, to call for Aafia's freedom. A few weeks before the event, she had ordered a hoodie with a graphic calling for Aafia's freedom. Unfortunately, it arrived devoid of the desired logo. Undeterred and determined to run for Aafia's freedom, Farheen made her own graphic and attached it to her sweatshirt. She then ran and walked the 6.2 miles in the chilly 40 degree temps, drawing questions and interested looks from fellow runners.
Farheen did that in what is a very "red state," with an open carry law, and an abundance of anti-Islam bigotry. If you truly follow the Islamic maxim of "Innal hokmo illah lillah" (Authority belongs to Allah alone), then you are unafraid. And there is always something you can do to stand up for justice, and against injustice. Ma'ashallah! Congratulations to Farheen!
(Fort Worth, where Farheen did her most recent race, is very near where Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is serving her 86-year prison term on bogus charges. Dallas, where Farheen and I ran in December, is the much larger, neighboring city.)
#FreeAafiaSiddiqui #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #cowtownmarathon
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