alghayb
16th June 2008, 08:24 PM
Discuss... However, please note the original post on the MPACUK forum as the poster says: "Our Mosque Leaders let us suffer - UNEDITED VERSION!!"
The version below is the one on the MPACUK frontpage and the one below that is full post...
Why I despise so many 'practicing' Muslims (http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/4716/103/)
Sunday, 15 June 2008
http://www.mpacuk.org/images/stories/islamic/256937_holy_quran_1.jpg
I was just reading a post put on our forum by a brother calling himself ‘Omar 247’, the article caught my eye because it blamed the mosque leaders for something, it was entitled ‘How our mosque Leaders let us down' and can be viewed here (http://forum.mpacuk.org/showthread.php?p=516558#post516558) and I don’t think there is a man alive who hates the inactive Muslim leaders of Britain more then me.
Instantly I clicked on the link. It was written by a brother who was narrating both his and other prisoners experience while being held in detention under the ‘terrorism bill’. It heartbreaking for me and at the same time made me realise why I despise so many practicing Muslims.
The frauds with their Arabic style clothes and long flowing beards or sisters who knew every minor argument from the permissibility of nail varnish to pathetic over-pious segregation laws between man and woman (until they wanted to find a man at which point they dropped it all).
I say they are frauds for a good reason; a fraud is a man who claims to be something he is not. Says something that he or she doesn’t do themselves.
These so called self proclaimed ‘practicing Muslims’ call themselves this glorified name because they want to tell people they practice Islam. All very well if it was true, any practicing Muslim reading this will be well versed in telling people that they should follow ‘the sunnah’ of the Prophet PBUH, and that’s why so many of them dress the way they do, shorten their trousers, grow beards, put on hijabs and go the extra mile even going so far as not using a tooth brush and preferring Miswak.
Yet how strange any good that the Prophet PBUH ever told them for society is dumped like a hot coal. The sunnah of the Prophet PBUH that was the greatest blessing to mankind, the greatest benefit to man, and the reason why Islam was greater then any other faith – the part where a Muslim would not allow society to be harmed by an evil, that part these practicing Muslims never mention nor follow.
The Sunnah of the Prophet PBUH that attracted the Sahabah, made them love Islam – the very reason why Islam spread around the world these pacified frauds simply refuse to do. And there are two reasons for it, first because its hard, their isn’t any glory stopping injustice, stopping your fellow man from being beaten in a cold cell or tortured or starved to death or shot like an animal. You can act holy if your doing that – no, you actually have to be holy to do that.
The second is their pathetic scholars and Imams and student ISOC emirs don’t teach them that part of Islam. How can a scholar tell Muslims to stop injustice when all he himself ever does is sit on backside and talk a good talk.
So the oppressed remain oppressed. The Africans starve under crippling third world debt while white non-Muslims fight for them; The Dalits (india’s untouchables) remain slaves while a hundred million Muslims walk past them with their trousers shortened so their ankles don’t burn in hell. Little girls are raped and shot from Kashmir to Palestine while Muslim men debate about the whether it was permissible to kiss your fingers after the Prophets PBUH name or not and the perfect length of the Beard.
Im sure many so called practicing Muslims will be upset by this post, and I reply – why are you upset with the bringer of Truth, rather be upset with those who look like you, call thrmselves what you call yourself but betray their God, their Prophet , their people and the world.
I leave you with the words of the Prophet PBUH
Abu Umamah Bin Sahl narrated from his father that the Prophet (SAW) said, “He in whose presence a Muslim is humiliated and who does not help him, being able to help him, God will humiliate him before all creatures on the Day of Judgment”.(Ahmed)
“And who is better in speech than he who says “my lord is Allah(swt)” and invites men to Allahs (Islamic monotheism) and does righteous deeds and says “I am one of the Muslims”
Translated Meaning of The Holy Qu’ran, Surah 41, Verse 33
“The faithful believers are as a brick structure, each supporting one another”
(Muslim)
At-Tirmidhi narrated from Jabir (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the people who were in comfort (in the world), will wish that their skin was cut up with scissors, due to what they see of the reward of those who were tested and suffered (in this world). “
(Tirmidhi)
UNEDITED VERSION:
There are currently over 150 muslims imprisoned within the United Kingdom whom have been arrested for alleged terrorism and related offences. Often their rights are violated, their families humiliated, and in some cases they have been seriously assaulted. There cannot be one Muslim prisoner in the United Kingdom who has not suffered physical, verbal abuse or harassment. To give some examples, from the words of the prisoners themselves :-
“I have spent over seven - seven precious years of my life, in a prison. These years will never come back. I have been treated in prison in ways that even Algerian authorities would be ashamed to consider. In Algeria, they kill you physically [along] with verbal insults. In Britain, they kill you psychologically, with a smile.”
“I am only seeking the same rights as [afforded to] the worst rapists, **********s and offenders in British prisons: and that is the right to a fair, open trial. If I have done something wrong, I should be put on trial and punished. If not, then I should be released and allowed to get on with my life. Is this too much to ask?”
“They have written time and again The next day I was brought to prison pending deportation. I did not touch my first baby daughter for one year because that is how long the Home Office purposely took to clear my family for prison visits. Maybe they thought my newborn daughter was also a threat to UK national security?”
“He put me there and Belmarsh very dark and he put me in prison, in unit. And officers there very racist officer, very, he give me torture myself. I witnessed for myself and witness for other people torture. For myself, he give me bad, he attacked me. He everything. He swear at me, he tell me “**** you…**** Arafat, go back to your country.” “You asylum seeker.” He laughed at me, “you asylum seeker. Go back to your country. You’re eating my tax. You’re eating my tax, this is my money. Your food, my money. And your wife she takes social security, that’s my money. **** you, go back to your country.”
“I was sent to Belmarsh, locked up for 23 hours a day. Whenever we left the cells, there were fights. One Tunisian inmate dressed like a devout Muslim. Prisoners would often pull his beard or take his religious hat off and play "catch" with it.”
“Concerning our situation, you know what happened. We lost our bail hearing and are waiting on what will happen next month. As far as I am concerned, maybe little. This Government are determined to keep people behind bars for a political purpose. Our situation is degrading day by day. We have not seen the sky for more than 3 months. The cells are very cold.”
“I was in the middle of prayers that an officer walked in. She showed no respect, and walked over my prayermat. Then she made a remark, how stupid I did look, that my God was not helping me, otherwise I would have been out.”
“Many are put in segregation units for converting to Islam, many are knocked back from congregational prayers.”
The above is but a small sample of what is going on in these prisons. For those who read the above and think that it is out of date, they are wrong. I receive mail in which the above is echoed at least every month, across the country.
The muslims are asking for the support of the believers, and it saddens me to see kind-hearted non-muslim people whom help the muslims out of love try to fill a void that should be filled already by the muslim community. The ‘community’ in the eyes of the inmates is often a myth. It is not the community leaders or the imams who are writing to them, it is mainly women, both muslim and non-muslim. Where are the brothers whom spend many an evening talking of the oppression that muslims face over a shisha or a coffee? Where are those brothers who are in the gyms night after night? Where are those believers who in Ramadan can be seen in row upon row in the Masjid, moving the sisters away from the prayer hall so the brothers can have more room? It seems as though the brothers are leaders in that which is easy, but that which requires time, sacrifice and strength is apparently a sisters job for the community today.
And what of the Imaams and the community leaders? Where are they? If there is a government initiative to speak at a Police event, a meeting with an MP about a new mosque, or a councillor wanting endorsement there is no shortage of Imams, Maulanas and Sheikhs to come to their aid. When the muslim prisoners are literally begging for help, asking for them to raise their issues with the same police, MPs and councillors, they are silent. Worse, some actually support the oppression by giving Fatawa permitting Strip-searches, calling on muslims to be deported, and other such nonsense.
It broke my heart last week to tell a detainee last week, after he thought that muslims were not helping him because they weren’t aware of him. I had to tell the brother that they do know, but they are frightened : their imams don’t show them that belief is helping the oppressed and is one of the greatest obligations in the religion. This is has been proven many times in many different Hadith and quotes by the classical scholars :-
“it is narrated from Abu Huraira (RA) that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not wrong him, forsake him or despise him.”
(Bukhari)
Ibn Rajab made commentary upon this Hadith as follows :_
“by this, a believer forsaking his brother, it means that the believer is commanded to help his brother as the Prophet (SAW) said, “help your brother, whether he is the oppressed or the oppressor”. He was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, help the oppressed but how do I help the oppressor?” He said, “by preventing him from oppressing. This is how you help him”. Narrated by Anas.
In another Hadith, narrated by Abu Talha Al-Ansari and Jabir Bin Abdullah, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “No man forsakes a Muslim when his rights are being violated or his honour is being belittled except that Allah will forsake him at a place in which he would love to have His help. And no man helps a Muslim at a time when his honour is being belittled or his rights violated except that Allah will help him at a place in which he loves to have His help”.
(Abu Daud)
Abu Umamah Bin Sahl narrated from his father that the Prophet (SAW) said, “He in whose presence a Muslim is humiliated and who does not help him, being able to help him, God will humiliate him before all creatures on the Day of Judgment”.
(Ahmed)
It is clear the responsibility is there, and it is somewhat ironic that I learned of these hadith from the very same detainee who enquired why no one was helping the muslim prisoners. If the Sahaba(ra) were here today, would they approve of this abandonment? What of the great scholars, what would they say of these imams of the ‘community’ who praise the British Army as “our boys who deserve our support” in an illegal war whilst they stay silent about the brothers wrongfully held, tortured physically and mentally for political gain?
Sufyaan at-Thawree said, Don't go (to the ruler), even if they ask you to visit them just to recite qul huwallaahu ahad. (collected by Baihaqi)
Ahmed ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Imam Shafi and others are not famous just for the knowledge they have. They are famous because of what they did for the deen. Ahmed bin Hanbal, the whole of the ulema’ were against him, forced by the ruler to say that the qu’ran is created, and yet him and only him spoke the word of truth and refused to recant. Ibn Taymiyyah called against the Tartars who were oppressing the muslims, yet many of the ulema were supporting the Tartars in their oppression and their rule by Al-Yasiq, content with the favours the Kings were giving them in this world. As history repeats itself, indeed the majority of those with knowledge in this country are not using it, content with the awards and knighthoods they receive rather than the praises of the oppressed.
These Imams are asking you to follow them to inaction and inertia. If you wait for these people to tell you to help the muslim prisoners, you may be waiting until the day of judgement or until you are imprisoned yourselves, innocent and alone. History is full of examples when the community was persecuted because of the inaction of its leaders. Look at the Jews in Nazi Germany, they stayed silent apart from a few, until there was no-one to defend them against the Fascist Oppression, picked up one by one with the 2nd person every time saying “its because he’s too Jewish..he needs to integrate with the Nazi Society more”. Look at the Native Americans of the USA and Canada : Gone, confined to reservations because most of their leaders did not speak out against the oppression they were seeing day in, day out. Andalus : The muslims’ leaders abandoned them, content to remain in the Al-Hambra whilst their muslim brothers and sisters were hung, drawn and quartered in the neighbouring provinces.
Human rights were never achieved by staying silent, blaming others and looking towards silent leaders who have no voice. History will never remember the leaders that were followers of injustice and oppression. Of those rationalists and theologians, the so-called ‘islamic’ political groups, they are of the same breed as those leaders and government ulema’ they claim to oppose. Both seek abstract debate and theory whilst muslims are being oppressed within the prisons of this country and of other ‘civilised’ nations. They seek as much inaction as the government scholars, telling you protesting gets you nowhere, writing gets you nowhere and petitioning gets you nowhere. Doing nothing gets you nowhere, but supporting your muslim brothers and sisters and justice will always bring results.
If the government does not listen, then you will be judged as doing a good action by Allah(swt) as long as it is within the guidelines of Islam. If the government or authorities do listen then you cannot overestimate the difference it makes to someones life. Imagine being able to see your daughter again, whom you have not seen for 6 years? Or being moved to somewhere where your family can visit you? Or even receiving a letter of support when you have not had one letter for 2 years? These groups cannot offer you what one prisoners letter of thanks can offer you. That brother or sister that you helped will be a witness for you on the day of judgement inshallah, and who can offer you more than that on the day where no-one will speak for you except by your good deeds?
Take action now. Make a commitment to write 5 protest letters, write to 5 muslim prisoners, or sign 5 petitions for those behind bars. Contact either myself, Muslim Prisoner Support, Cageprisoners and others, asking them for details of those who need help. I’ve written appeals before, and I am starting to see why the prisoners feel so let down by the community.
Please see some of their quotes below :-
“This might be my last letter to you, I need your help and support after my relying on Allah the Almighty. I blame all the British who kept silent, in particular the Muslim community in this country.”
“I feel that the Muslims of Britain let me down and did not do enough to help me. I really hope that they do not let you down in the same way that they let me down…”
“I wish that you could do something for us. I want you to raise our voices. We are living in stress and subject to cruelty beyond imagination. There are so many lies, hypocrisy, misleadings and confusion but the people outside seem to know nothing about our ordeal and mal treatment. Our message to the Muslim community is “Where are you?”
“We often ponder what we may have done to our great men of knowledge, the magnanimous learned, those who enjoy a great deal of respect within the Muslim Community, that we have not heard of them unless through media interviews and scholars whom are conversant with the Holy Quran and book of traditions and well versed; the enlightened intellects and intellectuals and those whom are rightly known as leaders of Muslims in UK and Europe. Have we misunderstood their duties or are their duties other than what the Holy Book commands? Have we become invisible in their eyes or insignificant in their attention? Does not rank impose obligation? “
Make today the day you help the muslim prisoners. Your heart is telling you it is an obligation and would offer you a feeling of doing good such as you have probably never felt before. Your head is clear that the sunnah, the shariah and the fiqh of the learned say that one of the biggest obligations that we can do in the religion is to support the oppressed and forsaken. It is the shaitan that stops you, telling you to block the cries of the oppressed and providing you with excuses. Time is a precious thing, and none know this more than those who see their lives tick by day by day as the community they wait for fails to materialise. Everyone, young, old, rich, poor, man, woman : you all have your part to play.
“And who is better in speech than he who says “my lord is Allah(swt)” and invites men to Allahs (Islamic monotheism) and does righteous deeds and says “I am one of the Muslims”
Translated Meaning of The Holy Qu’ran, Surah 41, Verse 33
“The faithful believers are as a brick structure, each supporting one another”
(Muslim)
At-Tirmidhi narrated from Jabir (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the people who were in comfort (in the world), will wish that their skin was cut up with scissors, due to what they see of the reward of those who were tested and suffered (in this world). “
(Tirmidhi)
Walaykum Salam and hope to hear from you soon.
Umar Abdullah, Helptheprisoners.org
The version below is the one on the MPACUK frontpage and the one below that is full post...
Why I despise so many 'practicing' Muslims (http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/4716/103/)
Sunday, 15 June 2008
http://www.mpacuk.org/images/stories/islamic/256937_holy_quran_1.jpg
I was just reading a post put on our forum by a brother calling himself ‘Omar 247’, the article caught my eye because it blamed the mosque leaders for something, it was entitled ‘How our mosque Leaders let us down' and can be viewed here (http://forum.mpacuk.org/showthread.php?p=516558#post516558) and I don’t think there is a man alive who hates the inactive Muslim leaders of Britain more then me.
Instantly I clicked on the link. It was written by a brother who was narrating both his and other prisoners experience while being held in detention under the ‘terrorism bill’. It heartbreaking for me and at the same time made me realise why I despise so many practicing Muslims.
The frauds with their Arabic style clothes and long flowing beards or sisters who knew every minor argument from the permissibility of nail varnish to pathetic over-pious segregation laws between man and woman (until they wanted to find a man at which point they dropped it all).
I say they are frauds for a good reason; a fraud is a man who claims to be something he is not. Says something that he or she doesn’t do themselves.
These so called self proclaimed ‘practicing Muslims’ call themselves this glorified name because they want to tell people they practice Islam. All very well if it was true, any practicing Muslim reading this will be well versed in telling people that they should follow ‘the sunnah’ of the Prophet PBUH, and that’s why so many of them dress the way they do, shorten their trousers, grow beards, put on hijabs and go the extra mile even going so far as not using a tooth brush and preferring Miswak.
Yet how strange any good that the Prophet PBUH ever told them for society is dumped like a hot coal. The sunnah of the Prophet PBUH that was the greatest blessing to mankind, the greatest benefit to man, and the reason why Islam was greater then any other faith – the part where a Muslim would not allow society to be harmed by an evil, that part these practicing Muslims never mention nor follow.
The Sunnah of the Prophet PBUH that attracted the Sahabah, made them love Islam – the very reason why Islam spread around the world these pacified frauds simply refuse to do. And there are two reasons for it, first because its hard, their isn’t any glory stopping injustice, stopping your fellow man from being beaten in a cold cell or tortured or starved to death or shot like an animal. You can act holy if your doing that – no, you actually have to be holy to do that.
The second is their pathetic scholars and Imams and student ISOC emirs don’t teach them that part of Islam. How can a scholar tell Muslims to stop injustice when all he himself ever does is sit on backside and talk a good talk.
So the oppressed remain oppressed. The Africans starve under crippling third world debt while white non-Muslims fight for them; The Dalits (india’s untouchables) remain slaves while a hundred million Muslims walk past them with their trousers shortened so their ankles don’t burn in hell. Little girls are raped and shot from Kashmir to Palestine while Muslim men debate about the whether it was permissible to kiss your fingers after the Prophets PBUH name or not and the perfect length of the Beard.
Im sure many so called practicing Muslims will be upset by this post, and I reply – why are you upset with the bringer of Truth, rather be upset with those who look like you, call thrmselves what you call yourself but betray their God, their Prophet , their people and the world.
I leave you with the words of the Prophet PBUH
Abu Umamah Bin Sahl narrated from his father that the Prophet (SAW) said, “He in whose presence a Muslim is humiliated and who does not help him, being able to help him, God will humiliate him before all creatures on the Day of Judgment”.(Ahmed)
“And who is better in speech than he who says “my lord is Allah(swt)” and invites men to Allahs (Islamic monotheism) and does righteous deeds and says “I am one of the Muslims”
Translated Meaning of The Holy Qu’ran, Surah 41, Verse 33
“The faithful believers are as a brick structure, each supporting one another”
(Muslim)
At-Tirmidhi narrated from Jabir (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the people who were in comfort (in the world), will wish that their skin was cut up with scissors, due to what they see of the reward of those who were tested and suffered (in this world). “
(Tirmidhi)
UNEDITED VERSION:
There are currently over 150 muslims imprisoned within the United Kingdom whom have been arrested for alleged terrorism and related offences. Often their rights are violated, their families humiliated, and in some cases they have been seriously assaulted. There cannot be one Muslim prisoner in the United Kingdom who has not suffered physical, verbal abuse or harassment. To give some examples, from the words of the prisoners themselves :-
“I have spent over seven - seven precious years of my life, in a prison. These years will never come back. I have been treated in prison in ways that even Algerian authorities would be ashamed to consider. In Algeria, they kill you physically [along] with verbal insults. In Britain, they kill you psychologically, with a smile.”
“I am only seeking the same rights as [afforded to] the worst rapists, **********s and offenders in British prisons: and that is the right to a fair, open trial. If I have done something wrong, I should be put on trial and punished. If not, then I should be released and allowed to get on with my life. Is this too much to ask?”
“They have written time and again The next day I was brought to prison pending deportation. I did not touch my first baby daughter for one year because that is how long the Home Office purposely took to clear my family for prison visits. Maybe they thought my newborn daughter was also a threat to UK national security?”
“He put me there and Belmarsh very dark and he put me in prison, in unit. And officers there very racist officer, very, he give me torture myself. I witnessed for myself and witness for other people torture. For myself, he give me bad, he attacked me. He everything. He swear at me, he tell me “**** you…**** Arafat, go back to your country.” “You asylum seeker.” He laughed at me, “you asylum seeker. Go back to your country. You’re eating my tax. You’re eating my tax, this is my money. Your food, my money. And your wife she takes social security, that’s my money. **** you, go back to your country.”
“I was sent to Belmarsh, locked up for 23 hours a day. Whenever we left the cells, there were fights. One Tunisian inmate dressed like a devout Muslim. Prisoners would often pull his beard or take his religious hat off and play "catch" with it.”
“Concerning our situation, you know what happened. We lost our bail hearing and are waiting on what will happen next month. As far as I am concerned, maybe little. This Government are determined to keep people behind bars for a political purpose. Our situation is degrading day by day. We have not seen the sky for more than 3 months. The cells are very cold.”
“I was in the middle of prayers that an officer walked in. She showed no respect, and walked over my prayermat. Then she made a remark, how stupid I did look, that my God was not helping me, otherwise I would have been out.”
“Many are put in segregation units for converting to Islam, many are knocked back from congregational prayers.”
The above is but a small sample of what is going on in these prisons. For those who read the above and think that it is out of date, they are wrong. I receive mail in which the above is echoed at least every month, across the country.
The muslims are asking for the support of the believers, and it saddens me to see kind-hearted non-muslim people whom help the muslims out of love try to fill a void that should be filled already by the muslim community. The ‘community’ in the eyes of the inmates is often a myth. It is not the community leaders or the imams who are writing to them, it is mainly women, both muslim and non-muslim. Where are the brothers whom spend many an evening talking of the oppression that muslims face over a shisha or a coffee? Where are those brothers who are in the gyms night after night? Where are those believers who in Ramadan can be seen in row upon row in the Masjid, moving the sisters away from the prayer hall so the brothers can have more room? It seems as though the brothers are leaders in that which is easy, but that which requires time, sacrifice and strength is apparently a sisters job for the community today.
And what of the Imaams and the community leaders? Where are they? If there is a government initiative to speak at a Police event, a meeting with an MP about a new mosque, or a councillor wanting endorsement there is no shortage of Imams, Maulanas and Sheikhs to come to their aid. When the muslim prisoners are literally begging for help, asking for them to raise their issues with the same police, MPs and councillors, they are silent. Worse, some actually support the oppression by giving Fatawa permitting Strip-searches, calling on muslims to be deported, and other such nonsense.
It broke my heart last week to tell a detainee last week, after he thought that muslims were not helping him because they weren’t aware of him. I had to tell the brother that they do know, but they are frightened : their imams don’t show them that belief is helping the oppressed and is one of the greatest obligations in the religion. This is has been proven many times in many different Hadith and quotes by the classical scholars :-
“it is narrated from Abu Huraira (RA) that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not wrong him, forsake him or despise him.”
(Bukhari)
Ibn Rajab made commentary upon this Hadith as follows :_
“by this, a believer forsaking his brother, it means that the believer is commanded to help his brother as the Prophet (SAW) said, “help your brother, whether he is the oppressed or the oppressor”. He was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, help the oppressed but how do I help the oppressor?” He said, “by preventing him from oppressing. This is how you help him”. Narrated by Anas.
In another Hadith, narrated by Abu Talha Al-Ansari and Jabir Bin Abdullah, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “No man forsakes a Muslim when his rights are being violated or his honour is being belittled except that Allah will forsake him at a place in which he would love to have His help. And no man helps a Muslim at a time when his honour is being belittled or his rights violated except that Allah will help him at a place in which he loves to have His help”.
(Abu Daud)
Abu Umamah Bin Sahl narrated from his father that the Prophet (SAW) said, “He in whose presence a Muslim is humiliated and who does not help him, being able to help him, God will humiliate him before all creatures on the Day of Judgment”.
(Ahmed)
It is clear the responsibility is there, and it is somewhat ironic that I learned of these hadith from the very same detainee who enquired why no one was helping the muslim prisoners. If the Sahaba(ra) were here today, would they approve of this abandonment? What of the great scholars, what would they say of these imams of the ‘community’ who praise the British Army as “our boys who deserve our support” in an illegal war whilst they stay silent about the brothers wrongfully held, tortured physically and mentally for political gain?
Sufyaan at-Thawree said, Don't go (to the ruler), even if they ask you to visit them just to recite qul huwallaahu ahad. (collected by Baihaqi)
Ahmed ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Imam Shafi and others are not famous just for the knowledge they have. They are famous because of what they did for the deen. Ahmed bin Hanbal, the whole of the ulema’ were against him, forced by the ruler to say that the qu’ran is created, and yet him and only him spoke the word of truth and refused to recant. Ibn Taymiyyah called against the Tartars who were oppressing the muslims, yet many of the ulema were supporting the Tartars in their oppression and their rule by Al-Yasiq, content with the favours the Kings were giving them in this world. As history repeats itself, indeed the majority of those with knowledge in this country are not using it, content with the awards and knighthoods they receive rather than the praises of the oppressed.
These Imams are asking you to follow them to inaction and inertia. If you wait for these people to tell you to help the muslim prisoners, you may be waiting until the day of judgement or until you are imprisoned yourselves, innocent and alone. History is full of examples when the community was persecuted because of the inaction of its leaders. Look at the Jews in Nazi Germany, they stayed silent apart from a few, until there was no-one to defend them against the Fascist Oppression, picked up one by one with the 2nd person every time saying “its because he’s too Jewish..he needs to integrate with the Nazi Society more”. Look at the Native Americans of the USA and Canada : Gone, confined to reservations because most of their leaders did not speak out against the oppression they were seeing day in, day out. Andalus : The muslims’ leaders abandoned them, content to remain in the Al-Hambra whilst their muslim brothers and sisters were hung, drawn and quartered in the neighbouring provinces.
Human rights were never achieved by staying silent, blaming others and looking towards silent leaders who have no voice. History will never remember the leaders that were followers of injustice and oppression. Of those rationalists and theologians, the so-called ‘islamic’ political groups, they are of the same breed as those leaders and government ulema’ they claim to oppose. Both seek abstract debate and theory whilst muslims are being oppressed within the prisons of this country and of other ‘civilised’ nations. They seek as much inaction as the government scholars, telling you protesting gets you nowhere, writing gets you nowhere and petitioning gets you nowhere. Doing nothing gets you nowhere, but supporting your muslim brothers and sisters and justice will always bring results.
If the government does not listen, then you will be judged as doing a good action by Allah(swt) as long as it is within the guidelines of Islam. If the government or authorities do listen then you cannot overestimate the difference it makes to someones life. Imagine being able to see your daughter again, whom you have not seen for 6 years? Or being moved to somewhere where your family can visit you? Or even receiving a letter of support when you have not had one letter for 2 years? These groups cannot offer you what one prisoners letter of thanks can offer you. That brother or sister that you helped will be a witness for you on the day of judgement inshallah, and who can offer you more than that on the day where no-one will speak for you except by your good deeds?
Take action now. Make a commitment to write 5 protest letters, write to 5 muslim prisoners, or sign 5 petitions for those behind bars. Contact either myself, Muslim Prisoner Support, Cageprisoners and others, asking them for details of those who need help. I’ve written appeals before, and I am starting to see why the prisoners feel so let down by the community.
Please see some of their quotes below :-
“This might be my last letter to you, I need your help and support after my relying on Allah the Almighty. I blame all the British who kept silent, in particular the Muslim community in this country.”
“I feel that the Muslims of Britain let me down and did not do enough to help me. I really hope that they do not let you down in the same way that they let me down…”
“I wish that you could do something for us. I want you to raise our voices. We are living in stress and subject to cruelty beyond imagination. There are so many lies, hypocrisy, misleadings and confusion but the people outside seem to know nothing about our ordeal and mal treatment. Our message to the Muslim community is “Where are you?”
“We often ponder what we may have done to our great men of knowledge, the magnanimous learned, those who enjoy a great deal of respect within the Muslim Community, that we have not heard of them unless through media interviews and scholars whom are conversant with the Holy Quran and book of traditions and well versed; the enlightened intellects and intellectuals and those whom are rightly known as leaders of Muslims in UK and Europe. Have we misunderstood their duties or are their duties other than what the Holy Book commands? Have we become invisible in their eyes or insignificant in their attention? Does not rank impose obligation? “
Make today the day you help the muslim prisoners. Your heart is telling you it is an obligation and would offer you a feeling of doing good such as you have probably never felt before. Your head is clear that the sunnah, the shariah and the fiqh of the learned say that one of the biggest obligations that we can do in the religion is to support the oppressed and forsaken. It is the shaitan that stops you, telling you to block the cries of the oppressed and providing you with excuses. Time is a precious thing, and none know this more than those who see their lives tick by day by day as the community they wait for fails to materialise. Everyone, young, old, rich, poor, man, woman : you all have your part to play.
“And who is better in speech than he who says “my lord is Allah(swt)” and invites men to Allahs (Islamic monotheism) and does righteous deeds and says “I am one of the Muslims”
Translated Meaning of The Holy Qu’ran, Surah 41, Verse 33
“The faithful believers are as a brick structure, each supporting one another”
(Muslim)
At-Tirmidhi narrated from Jabir (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the people who were in comfort (in the world), will wish that their skin was cut up with scissors, due to what they see of the reward of those who were tested and suffered (in this world). “
(Tirmidhi)
Walaykum Salam and hope to hear from you soon.
Umar Abdullah, Helptheprisoners.org