Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Supporters Hold Iftar, Pray for Her Release

By Nadrat Siddique

June 1, 2018

Baltimore, MD – Very nearly half way through Ramadan, supporters of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui held an iftar in her honor.  Close to 30 committed Muslim activists from DC, Maryland, and Philadelphia discussed her case, made du’ah for her (and for other Muslim political prisoners), performed maghrib prayers, and shared dates and a Middle Eastern meal.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, a petite Pakistani Muslimah, is a political prisoner of the U.S. government. By all accounts, she has been raped, tortured, and separated from her school age children—who were also detained for years—in the course of her incarceration. Aafia is a neuroscientist with degrees from Brandeis University and MIT. She is being held as if she is a dangerous criminal in Carswell, TX, on trumped up charges which include attacking U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan. But supporters, like the ones gathered at the Baltimore iftar tonight, say the charges are preposterous, and that even the U.S. government knows it erred in its dealings with her, but is too arrogant or stubborn to reverse its actions.

Dr. Kaukab Siddique, an independent Pakistani journalist, who also teaches journalism at Lincoln University, was at the iftar. He had been writing about Aafia’s case almost since its inception. In opening remarks to the iftar, Dr. Siddique referred to the Muslim organization he helped found decades ago: “Jamaat al-Muslimeen has always been in the forefront of fighting for Muslim women’s rights under the rubric of Islam, and women have often been at the helm of the organization.”

He recognized Ashira Na’im, Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen administrator; Sr. Chekisha El-Amin, a long-time Baltimore-based Jamaat al-Muslimeen activist; Nadrat Siddique, a DC-based Jamaat al-Muslimeen activist and political prisoner advocate; and Sr. Fatima Abdullah, a founding member of the organization, who, along with her husband Amin Abdullah, had come to the iftar from Philadelphia, PA.

“And Jamaat al-Muslimeen has always supported political prisoners, those who are imprisoned unjustly or because of their beliefs. So, when we learned of the plight of Dr. Aafia, it was only natural for us to support her case,” he concluded.

Mauri Saalakhan, a long time DC-based human rights activist and head of the Aafia Foundation (formerly known as the Peace and Justice Foundation) was the guest speaker at the iftar gathering. He had travelled to several continents to raise awareness of the Aafia case, and organized rallies for Aafia outside the Carswell, Texas prison where she is being held—on very hostile turf, as well as at the Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, and other key locations.

Saalakhan said that it was the Islamic responsibility of Muslims to speak out against injustice, particularly during Ramadan. The organizer-activist, who is also known as El-Hajj Mauri Saalakhan because he has completed the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, had worked on a litany of political prisoner cases. But—Aafia’s case, he said, was one of the worst cases of injustice he had seen. She was alive, he said, negating the recently circulating rumor that she had passed away. But she was not well. She was held under sordid conditions, a travesty of justice, he said.

Saalakhan said he was very disappointed by the lack of action on the part of most Muslims to come forward. Muslims who could have done something to help Aafia, but didn’t—would be held accountable for their inaction in the Hereafter, he told iftar attendees. He pointed out the Pakistani government’s insidious role in first aiding Aafia’s kidnapping, and then subverting efforts to release her.

Imam Ali Siddiqui, a lifelong peace and justice activist currently based in DC, attended the iftar along with his family. His organization, the Muslim Institute of Interfaith Studies and Understanding, has effectively dialogued with churches and synagogues in the DC area. Addressing the iftar gathering briefly, he mentioned recent work with the DC Poor Peoples Campaign, a rekindling of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement for social justice. Imam Siddiqui has long protested Aafia’s detention as well as that of other political prisoners, and participated in rallies and meetings to free her.

This writer, DC-based blogger, runner, and activist Nadrat Siddique organized the iftar. Siddique, who has run three marathons to call attention to Aafia’s case, said that as Muslims were eating and praying, praying and eating—at many, many iftars throughout Ramadan, they ought also think about the Muslim prisoners and political prisoners, being held under horrendous conditions in American prisons and secret prisons. What were the prisoners eating for iftar? Were they even conscious and able to fast? If they were fasting, did they have access to halal (Islamically permissible) food with which to open their fast?

“Muslims ought to ask the imams of their respective masajid to mention the political prisoners in their khutbas. We should write letters raising concern for the welfare of the political prisoners to corporate media, and on the social media sites of these corporate media. Give zakat to the families of the political prisoners. And make du'ah for them. There is added barakat in doing this during Ramadan,” she concluded.

Dr. Kaukab Siddique closed out the evening with a du’ah asking for the acceptance of the fasts of the iftar attendees, and remembering all the political prisoners, including Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.

© 2018 Nadrat Siddique

Jamaat al-Muslimeen Decries Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman’s Political Imprisonment and Death in Captivity

Press Statement

Nadrat Siddique

Jamaat al-Muslimeen National Majlis-e-Shura member

February 18, 2017

February 18, 2017, is a dismal day in the history of the United States, even by its own genocidal standards. On this day, Islamic scholar Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as “the Blind Sheikh,” died a political prisoner of the U.S. government.  To multitudes of Muslims the world over, he will be viewed as a martyr of Islam. The American mainstream might better understand Muslim sentiment if they considered how they might feel if Pope Francis—or another beloved religious figure— was imprisoned in a Muslim country, allowed virtually no contact with constituents, followers, and family, and then left to die a slow painful death from untreated (but treatable) medical conditions.

A visionary, Dr. Abdel Rahman articulately and consistently spoke out against the U.S.-backed Egyptian dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak decades prior to the Arab Spring, insisting that the resources of Muslim countries, including Egypt, be used for the betterment of those countries--and not be pilfered by Western Powers or multinational corporations. These basic and seemingly logical demands were rewarded with imprisonment and torture by the Egyptian regime.

Fleeing the Egyptian regime’s torture, Dr. Abdel Rahman sought political asylum in the U.S., which he viewed as a land of freedom of expression, and whose laws he repeatedly emphasized must, in accordance with Islamic rules on guest-host relations, be respected by all Muslims who sought asylum therein, including himself.

Far from being accorded freedom of expression, he was brought up on trumped up charges, tried in a climate of utter fear and emotion, and, in 1995, convicted of conspiracy to bomb New York landmarks, almost entirely on the word of an informant who was paid over a million dollars.

Although he undoubtedly knew he was facing decades of jail time, he stood before the Court, unafraid of all but the Creator. His final words before being marched off into the American Gulag were a telling: “Fuzto Be Rab-e-Ka’aba” (“By the Lord of the Ka’aba, I have succeeded”).

The blind, elderly, diabetic scholar of Islam was detained and held for over 20 years under what can only be described as conditions of “Cruel and Unusual” punishment. Since he could neither see nor speak to his captors (he was blind and spoke no English); was barely allowed a monthly phone call to his family in Egypt; and was held in solitary confinement, he no doubt suffered all of the psychological trauma associated with long-term solitary captivity. On top of that, his advanced stage diabetes went untreated for months on end, until its effects, including gangrene, were irreversible, and he was finally relocated to the Butner Medical Center in North Carolina, where he would ultimately die. His family’s hunger strikes and appeals to the (post-Arab Spring Egyptian) regime of Muhammad Morsi for his repatriation to Egypt were fruitless, and Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman—loved throughout much of Egypt and the Islamic world—died alone, a slow painful death from diabetes.

The long-term political imprisonment and death in captivity of Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman seems part of a trend by the U.S. and its proxies to silence all independent, vocal, and effective Muslim leadership, and in particularly those who hold the title of imam, a position of high honor and respect in the Muslim community. It seems that the only imams of major mosques permitted to operate freely are those who kowtow to the government; bandy American flags on Muslim religious institutions; welcome video monitoring of their mosques; and encourage or allow censorship of their own words and those of their constituents by the authorities—clearly compromising their faith, as well as American principles of: "Separation of Church and State.”

The death of a renowned and respected Islamic scholar under such circumstances is an abomination. Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman’s treatment in captivity clearly violated both American laws on the treatment of prisoners (set out in the Bureau of Prison regulations), as well as numerous international laws. Jamaat al-Muslimeen decries Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman’s political imprisonment on trumped up charges, and laments his tragic death under clearly dehumanizing conditions.

END

Thoughts on a Beloved Departed Teacher

By Nadrat Siddique

 

Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz brought together many of the positive ideals for which we in the Jamaat al-Muslimeen strive in the slender, dignified frame of one man. He was deeply Islamic; spoke little of what should be done, but rather did what needed to be done; and was hard on himself, but did not judge or denigrate others for their weaknesses.

 

Although he inspired me on many levels, the aspect of his character which captivated me the most was his dedication to building the love of math in his students. He was determined to reach each and every student, and not just with rote learning, but with the aim of  inculcating true understanding of this integral subject.

 

As a bioscience person, I know that math is the language in which chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and especially physics is written. If you cannot easily write algebraic expressions, you will have difficulty expressing biological phenomenon, such as the flow of blood through a blood vessel; the rate of growth of a bacterial population; the amount of heat released as a steak ingested by a human is metabolized and much else.

 

Looking at the dearth of black and brown people in bioscience, I felt strongly that math was the major stumbling block for these students, which precluded them from entry into the life sciences. So, a strong understanding of math was vital to a science or engineering major in college. And weakness in math precluded many black students from these fields.

 

By uplifting the marginalized, those whom society wished to write off—and perhaps relegate to janitorial work, flipping burgers, or prison—Dr. Shabazz challenged the world order. And he was so effective that he turned out the largest number of Black math Ph.ds in the country.

 

I once asked him about his teaching method. He said simply. “If my students aren’t grasping what I’m teaching, then I have failed. If students don’t understand something one way, it is up to the teacher to find other ways to explain it until they understand.”

 

Still he seemed to sense that math, which is not intuitive, or something which one can see, would be difficult to grasp for many of his students---unless they were given a reason to own it.

 

Again, he challenged the existing order, teaching his students something all high school--and certainly most college—curricula ignore. He impressed on his students about the origins of mathematical knowledge. Their ancestors, black people of Ancient KMT—not Newton or Euclid—were the first to elucidate geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and physics, and that they ought strive for the same high standard. He taught them to think, and not to memorize.

 

Later on, despite his gargantuan achievements, he was, bizarrely, demoted from the position of Math Department Chair at Lincoln University, to an ordinary teaching position. Even more bizarrely, he was replaced by a white Jewish, woman who did not hold even a math degree. My sense of fairness made me incensed at the development, but he did not seem fazed, instead using the opportunity to accept the prestigious position of professor emeritus at Gramlin University where he had a lighter work load.

 

Of his many appointments at math instruction, one of the most interesting was in Saudi Arabia.  Since his students included Saudi women, the class was sexually segregated. As occurs in most classrooms in that nation, the men were in the same room as him, while the women were in the adjoining room. Incredibly, despite having to teach the women via a video screen, he was able to reach them, and they succeeded in his class.

 

He lived a full and beautiful life, travelled frequently to Africa and other parts of the world; and spoke and lectured broadly on math and Islam. He seemed to have a particular love for Ethiopia, and adopted, raised, and mentored Ethiopian children. He was also honored by the Kikuyu (Kenyan) tribe, which conferred on him the status of honorary Kikuyu.

 

Dr. Shabazz’s life was also a commentary on the state of racial affairs in the U.S. He never referred to himself as an American, and rarely wore American clothing, usually sporting an African suit in the tradition of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Like many Black men, he served in the U.S. military—only to return to the U.S. to experience numerous traumatic racial incidents. He did not dwell on the past, but selectively shared some such incidents with us at the Jamaat al-Muslimeen shura which he attended quarterly for the last very many years of his life.

 

For instance, while a young Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University, he was walking around searching for housing. Repeatedly, he had the door slammed in his face, and was told that they did not rent rooms to “n---.”

 

The incident with Dr. Shabazz occurred in New York. My husband, when he was a small child of about seven, went to a park not far from his house. An old white man who happened to be there, and thought he had more of a right to be in the park than a small black boy from Baltimore, called him the n— word, and then took away a toy of considerable import to my husband. Just a few weeks ago, after my husband, spoke at a “Baltimore for Ferguson” rally, decrying the murder of Michael Brown in the American state of Missouri, as well as police murders of many other Black men in Baltimore city, tens of Whites responded with death threats and ephithets of n----- and “ape” to him.

 

Talking to Dr. Shabazz, my husband, and others opened my eyes to American racism, which I as an Asian and a member of a privileged group, was unlikely to ever encounter in my lifetime. For a Black man in America, it didn’t matter if one was young or old, in New York, Baltimore, or down South, but one could be called the n- word and treated accordingly on a whim by White Supremacist America. Through it all, Dr. Shabazz neither bowed nor bent to anyone but his Creator, leaving us with a bright shining example of humility, brilliance, and taqwa.

 

 

This piece originally appeared in the New Trend Magazine, October 12, 2014:

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1571.htm