National Prayer/ Healing Gathering for Newly Released Political Prisoner

By Nadrat Siddique

December 23 - Tonight I attended a Zoom National Prayer/ Healing Gathering for recently released political prisoner Dr. Mutulu Shakur. Over 100 people attended, including former U.S. political prisoners, prominent activists, journalists, professors, Peoples' attorneys, imams, and others. These included Imam Talib Abdur Rasheed, former political prisoners Sekou Odinga, Bilal Sunni-Ali, and Jalil Muntaqim; Jericho's Anne Lamb, Kamau Sadiki, Imam Jamil Al-Amin Attorney Maha Elkolalli, Attorney Naji Muhahid, Attorney Nkechi Taifa, and SF Bay Chronicle writer Wanda Sabir. 

The meeting was presided over by National Jericho Chairperson Jihad Abdul Mumit, himself a former political prisoner. Introductory remarks were made by Imam Talib Abdur Rasheed, who was recognized for his long-time support for political prisoners. Then, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, sporting his signature dreadlocks and beret, came on. Chants of "Allah-ho-akbar!", "Alhamdulillah!", "Free them all!", and "Free the Land!" broke out as he appeared on screen. Dr. Shakur's voice was slightly weak from chemo, but he was in high spirits. A litany of audience members expressed love for the brother, thanked him for his sacrifice, told him he was looking good, etc. This writer offered him salutations from the Pakistani community and the movement to free Dr. Aafia Siddiqui (via the Zoom's chat).

But, Dr. Shakur did not stay long, saying he had to rest. It was clear that the Warehouse had taken its toll on his body, although they could not break his spirit.

The Zoom was accompanied by an in-person meeting at Masjid Islah in Los Angeles. The masjid's imam, its members, as well as others from the local community participated, giving Dr. Shakur on the ground support. Alhamdulillah for masajid which stand in the true tradition of Islam, and are not afraid to stand with our political prisoners.

The meeting closed out with a beautiful Islamic prayer for healing by Imam Jihad Saafir, who quoted verses from the Qur'an and asked Allah to heal Dr. Mutulu Shakur, as well as to ease the pain of other political prisoners who are not physically free.

BACKGROUND

Dr. Mutulu Shakur was locked up in sordid conditions for 36 years. In 2019, he was diagnosed with bone cancer, but his appeals for compassionate release were denied. On December 16, 2022, he was finally released. He is now 72 and in the throes of Stage 4 bone cancer. 

A visionary with a dream to liberate his people, he co-founded the Republic of New Afrika. In 1979, he founded the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America. In conjuction with this cutting edge organization, he effectively used acupuncture to heal young black men (and others) facing addiction; and went to the UN numerous times to bring the case of human right abuses against the U.S. Black population to that international body. For this, he was targeted by COINTELPRO, the counter intelligence program used to neutralize government opponents, from those in the Black liberation and indigenous rights movements, to environmental activists, socialists, and even Quakers. He was charged in the robbery of a Brinks armoured car, in which two people died. There was no evidence that Dr. Shakur had participated in the killing. Instead, the evidence pointed to an informant, who was involved in the incident, as the likely killer. However, this man took a plea deal, helped to convict Mutulu, and was paid $110,000. The trial was rife with bias, emotion, and illegalities, and Dr. Shakur was sentenced to 60 years. For years, his appeals were denied. In 2022, he was finally accorded compassionate release.

To learn how you can help Dr. Mutulu Shakur as he battles Stage 4 bone cancer, go to,

https://mutulushakur.com/support/

A Day of Amr Bil Mauroof and Nahi Unal Munkari

Muslim Activists and Others Rally at MLK Day Parade, Challenge Mayor, Governor, States Attorney, and Police

By Nadrat Siddique

It was an unusual and thought-provoking day at Baltimore’s MLK Day Parade. As much of the crowd jumped and pranced as if at a football game, an adhoc group of activists, calling themselves the "No More Jim Crow Justice" Contingent, brought attention to critical issues in Baltimore. It was one of the first times that parade-participants and attendees alike were challenged to consider the cynicism of holding a parade in the name of a man who fought for race and class equality--in a city where neither exists. The  activists carried signs bearing messages such as "NO—to Baltimore’s System of Jim Crow Justice” and “King Had a Dream?? Tell That to Baltimore Killer Cops.”

The parade start was announced, and the procession slowly began, led by the Governor, the Mayor, and the States Attorney.  Suddenly, one of the protestors, David Anthony Wiggins, shouted through a megaphone at the smug trio “You have blood on your hands!” He demanded justice for Maurice Johnson, Anthony Anderson, Tyrone West, and other Black men murdered in cold blood by racist police in Baltimore. Wiggins, who is a senior fellow at the Baltimore Black Think Tank and considering a run for Baltimore City Sheriff, told the trio “You have the power to stop police brutality.” His previous run for Sheriff propounded a platform emphasizing accountability for public servants, including police.

Float after feel-good float passed, only to be challenged by the band of committed activists, who were strategically located near the Master of Ceremonies booth.  

Planned Parenthood—known for its racist roots—was challenged for its complicity in population control. More recently, the organization pushed for Norplant, Depo-Provera, and similar birth control devices amongst Baltimore’s Black population on a scale unparalleled in other populations here. White Supremacist organizations, often-times in cahoots with the government have a history of similar practices on Native American reservations, where vast numbers of indigenous women have been sterilized against their will.

The primarily Black drivers of a fleet of corvettes were tossed questions on the infrequently discussed topic of D.W.B. (Driving While Black). The Jerusalem Temple No. 24 Prince Hall masons (Freemasons) were challenged for their grab of world markets.  A Black Motorcycle riders club was asked to "Ride Against Police Brutality."

In a sign that officials are aware that Baltimore—rife with corruption, social inequality, and massive disenfranchisement of the majority Black population—is a pressure cooker, and that failure to allow some dissent might result in a broad scale unrest, a limited number of progressive groups were permitted official participation in the parade. The Workers and Peoples Assembly and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union--both protesting abuses against drivers by Veola;  Healthcare Now;  Veterans for Peace; Community Mediation; and others proudly marched in the parade. The Women in Black, an anti-war group active against the Iraq War since its inception, with its eye-catching props of women in hijab, drew a great deal of attention from the crowd. One of its members carried a sign de-crying the use of drones.

Nearing the end of the parade, a phalanx of police marched down the parade route. Before they could reach the MC’s booth, Wiggins, followed by the growing group of activists, walked up on them. “No more killer cops! Justice for Maurice Johnson! Justice for Anthony Anderson! Justice for Tyrone West,” he shouted via megaphone at the Boys in Blue. Some of the police twittered. Wiggins waxed didactical. “I know you’re not all bad cops,” he said. “If you’re not a bad cop, turn in the bad cops.”

It seemed the phalanx was surprised. With the cushion of a (Zionist) attorney general, Greg Bernstein, ready to exculpate any officer accused of wrongdoing on the wrong side of the railroad tracks, they seemed unaccustomed to any organized challenge.

Activists, whose near and dear ones had been murdered by police, loudly shamed the police contingent, which was now at a standstill. A female activist, whose boyfriend was murdered by police, took the megaphone to chastise them for crimes against the population they ostensibly served. Some of the police appeared embarrassed or chagrined, while others were in denial. A lone Black woman supporter of the police, carrying a placard bearing an American flag, approached the scene, commending the police on their work in the community. Interestingly, as the police phalanx bore down the parade route, the primarily Black crowd thinned, until the few who were left ran off. It was clear they did not view the police as their friend. And—in yet another indication of the deeply compromised state of the local corporate media—Fifth Branch of the Government, some would opine—a major challenge to government officials and police earned scarcely a passing reference, not even for the purpose of selling papers with news of the highly unprecedented action.

In another groundbreaking development, members of Masjid Jamaat al-Muslimeen, a small grassroots mosque in the Govans area of Baltimore’s West Side, attended the parade in force. Clearly identifying themselves as Muslim, and operating on the principles of amr bil mauroof (enjoining the good) and nahi unal munkari (forbidding the evil), mosque members offered strong support to the protestors calling for an end to police brutality. Masjid members held signs saying “Muslims Honor Dr. King” and “Islam Advocated Racial Equality 1400 Years Ago.”