Something to break your fast on....

By Asim Qureshi
www.cageprisoners.com

This Ramadhan we will be sitting down to eat with our families. Father,
husband, mother, wife and children, all together partaking in the barakah
of the month. Then they will recite the Qur’an and encourage each other to
do good for the sake of taking the most from the month in anticipation of
bettering themselves for the rest of the year, Insha Allah.
How will the detainees and their families be spending this Ramadhan? In
what state will they eat their food? To what extent will the Ummah relate
to their plight and connect these helpless hearts to the body of the
faithful.

The mothers and wives

Ismet Siddiqui currently sits under house arrest in her home in Karachi.
What is her crime? Actually nothing…The authorities are scared that she
will raise awareness about the disappearance of her daughter Aafia
Siddiqui along with her young grandchildren at the hands of the Pakistani
authorities. Ismet was threatened soon after their disappearance that her
grandchildren would permanently disappear if she spoke about the events.
Since 2003 mother and children have all been missing, and none can gain
access to Ismet.

For those mothers who have the ability to do something for their children,
their lives become the campaign to get their children home to safety. Abbi
Nawaz, mother of one of the Egypt 3, after being hit with innumerable
difficulties kept her courage, “They want to crush our spirits but they
are not going to succeed. If I have to go back there again, I will go back
there again and make sure this does not rest.” As Bisher El-Rawi rots away
in Guantanamo Bay, his mother Jahida Sayyadi was similarly writing to
highlight the cause of her son,

“I am not urging you to devise special rules to help my son out of his
torment. I am not seeking sympathy and soothing words. All what I beseech
is that go by your own books and help us implement your rules. Allow him a
fair trial. Deal with him in accordance with the rules which you take lots
of pride before the whole world on setting out and embracing. Go back to
the Geneva Conventions, to human rights declarations, and to hundreds and
hundreds of documents that have been signed and endorsed to secure the
human dignity and rights to a decent living.”

It is however in her capacity as a mother and wife that Farhat Paracha
embodies the difficulties faced by these women. Her husband, Saifullah
Paracha, has been illegally in US custody since July 2005. At the age of
60 with multiple illnesses, the US authorities decided to kidnap him on
his way to attending a business meeting in Bangkok. Their torment however
is amplified by the recent sentencing of their son, Uzair, to 30 years
imprisonment in the US on evidence that has been internationally seen as
being flimsy at best. Despite the ever increasing costs of running
campaigns for her loved ones, she manages to hold together her family and
run the family business.

With Ramadhan upon us, many wives will have to wake for Suhoor (the pre
dawn meal) without their husbands, as explained by the wife of one of the
UK detainees, “Life’s a lot harder now…we used to pray together, eat
together, wake up together…Now it’s like only half the family is waking
up. I wake up alone at sehri time…the girls are too young to fast anyway.
It’s sad…I miss the days he was waking up with me.”

The fathers and husbands

There are many fathers currently locked up all over the world; they all
remember their children and families with a longing that is the one thing
which keeps them going. For those such as Moazzam Begg, there was
particular cause for heartache, as he had never met his youngest child
until released from Guantanamo Bay. In a similar circumstance was the
released Guantanamo detainee Mamdouh Habib, who had never met his 4 year
old daughter. His wife, Maha Habib, said that on his return, the very
first thing she had in store for her husband was an introduction to their
daughter.

However they are not the only fathers who have been forced to suffer such
an injustice. Currently still sitting in the cages of Guantanamo remain
Jamil El Banna, Shaker Abdur Rahman Aamer and Omar Deghayes. All three
have yet to meet their youngest children who were born after they were
forcibly kidnapped and shipped off to Guantanamo Bay.

Here in the UK, the men that exist (for living would be a glorification of
their situation) in Belmarsh and other prisons, are cut off from the ones
they love so dearly. Daily they have to deal with the horror of knowing
that their wives and children are facing some of the harshest treatment
without any hope of help. Mustapha Labsi during his time in UK prisons had
minimal contact with his wife. He said of her situation, “My wife who is
not from this country was shocked mentally and psychologically and she
wanders in the streets without care or protection.”

For those under control orders, the husbands and fathers have the added
worry of having their entire households turned upside down beyond their
control. The family of Mahmoud Abu Rideh are faced with the prospect of
having their home and life raided by a large contingent of the police on
any random night. Already the police have raided their homes over 30 times
and they have major restrictions placed on their lives. For any
self-respecting father or husband, such infringement into their daily
lives is an insulting and degrading situation to be placed in. With
Ramadhan around the corner, the family face the prospect of having their
home raided during their Suhoor every single day.

The children

Johina Aamer, Michel Aamer, Saif Aamer, Faris Aamer, Anas El Banna,
Mohamed El Banna, Abdul Rahman El Banna, Badeeah El Banna, Mariam El
Banna, and the 2 children of Ahmed Errachidi are the children of just 3
British residents still in Guantanamo Bay. Unlike their fathers, these
children actually have British citizenship and thus the legal right to be
represented by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when abroad and
complete rights to consular protection. Their fathers have not been
afforded this same right, for although being longstanding British
residents in the UK, they have not as yet been able to take citizenship.

Another child who has never known his father, is the son of Omar Deghayes,
who is also currently being held in Guantanamo Bay as one of the British
residents who face deportation to their countries of origin. The father of
Omar Deghayes was executed for political reasons by Colonel Qaddafi and
now Omar faces torture and political imprisonment for a crime he never
committed at the hands of the US administration. One thing is certain –
Omar’s son will grow up in a world where dictators like Qaddafi killed his
grandfather, and dictators like George W Bush took away the sight of his
father in one eye.

For many Muslim children, Ramadhan comes with the certainty of the immense
joy that comes with Eid. The children of the detainees have yet to
experience this pleasure, their Eid is spent trying to remember a man they
hardly know and in some cases do not know at all. 9 year old Anas El Banna
describes the hurt which comes with each Eid,

“Eid after Eid has come and gone and my Dad is still in chains. Two weeks
ago was the small Eid and in two months, it will be the big Eid. The best
and most wonderful Eid for me will be the Eid when my dad comes back to us
and brings back our happiness with him.”

These children have the right to grow up knowing their fathers, they have
the right to understand what fair and open trials mean, and yet they will
in all likelihood grow up knowing that these things are merely
philosophical ideals which belong to a bygone era. Meeting these children
only brings recognition that the Ummah has completely failed in its
obligations to its brothers and sisters, for the sadness in their eyes is
something that most of us will never experience.

DONATE TO SUPPORT YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

This Ramadhan these families will not be complete and will have to spend
the month in the saddest of circumstances. For so many families,
Cageprisoners.com serves as their reference point to what is taking place
to their loved ones, wherever they may be in the world.
Cageprisoners have been campaigning for the rights of these brothers and
sisters and will continue to do so. However the priority is to get them
help, regardless of the organisation people wish to contribute to. The
fact will always remain that this work requires the spiritual, physical
and financial support of the Ummah. Please donate generously to help our
work continue inshallah, Jazakamullahkhayr:
Cageprisoners: http://www.cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=378
HHUGS: www.hhugs.org.uk/donate.htm
(Helping Households Under Great Stress)

Comments

[Yahya]

This is the part where we all say how disgusted we are and then talk about how evil the western goverments can be. Hey, we will drink chi whilst we do it, too! I do love a good chat me. But, I do care about my brothers and sisters, though. That is why I am going to give £20 pounds and do my bit, then I can go back to cursing George Bush in peace.

[Yahya]

Hey, this sounds really stupid, but do they tell me what I can do to help on that site? Most of us simply don't know what to do, so even if we do wanna help, we just end up doing something stupid like, oh I don't know, shooting someone who resembles Tony Blair. Allah bless your Ramadan, everyone.

ARG comment:
There is stuff you can do.
1. Make dua
2. Give money
3. Protest.
4. Create awareness at your school, college, work place.
They get away with this because of people's apathy.
Wake them up!

[Yahya]

Wow... I have written about five diff. versions of this comment, but everytime I just keep on shouting at someone... so instead, im just gonna make one point and then go away, before I have time to get wound up again. I express my sympathy to all those effected in the mentiond article, and I will try and help. If im not to busy, or I dont forget. Or unless something good is on T.V. Annnndd, now im gonna go because I have a million and one things I wanna rant about, but thats not really Islamic behaviour, now is it. I have more reasonable stuff I wanna say but I dont trust myself, so bye.

[um yahya]

Thanks for this info. and for helping us remember those in such difficult situations. Unfortunately myself and my family know only too well that some in detention centres such as Belmarsh are there because they deserve to be there. There are some very evil minded Muslims in this world who cause mayhem and chaos for Muslims and non Muslims alike. They commit crimes, abandon their families and bring shame on the Ummah and then cry in despair that their human rights are not being respected. Alhamdullillah this is only a minority but they give a bad reputation for the rest of us. Jazak Allah, ramadan mubarak.

ARGcomment: People who commint crimes deserve punishment, no doubt, but no one should be interned without trial or without them or us knowing why and what evidence there is for them being there.
Injustice is something we should as Muslims be very concerned about, and we should not stand for it ever!

[Fatima Barkatulla]

I definitely agree that the fact that the brothers are being held without charge is wrong and is an injustice...

but the other day I was thinking about that Nasheed: 'Ghurabaa'. I remember how popular it was at one time I even heard it at a wedding! (Not a very appropriate nasheed for that!)

But one of the lines goes like this in translation:

(Laa nubaali bil quyood. Bal sanamdee lil khulood)
'We don't care if we are held as captives (prisoners)
We will pass that time for the sake of living forever (in the next life.)'

That is a huge claim if you think about it. I remember my mum used to say that even saying things like that can be like a du'a. And Allah may test you with your words. Sometimes we make claims and we don't even know the reality or gravity of what we are saying.

ARGcomment: What an excellent, excellent point. I have for years seen brothers and sisters talkin and houting about jihad, displaying pictures on MSN messenger of kalshmikov holding mujahideen etc...I have warned, why do you talk about this so much? Do you have any idea what true jihad is, how hard it is, what a test it is?
Perhaps our culture of instant everying, I want it now, explains somewhat this madness of terrorism in the name of Islam. What a contraction..but hey..I want to be a martyr and I want it now...What will they say when those people who were murdered hang on to them on the day of judgement, their blood trailing, saying "Oh Allah, ask him why he killed me!"
Yes, what your mother taught you is so, so true, may Allah bless her and increase her in goodness. Allah tests us with our words. That is why the sahabah talked little and did much. We talk much and do so little, and when we do something we can't even do it right!
Oh Allah, guide us to take your deen seriously as it deserves!

[Yahya]

Good point. Wow... I have been doing that alot this past couple of posts or so, I will write a big comment then just delete it and say something simple. Ah, I bet you miss the ramblings of a genious :P

ARGcomment:Of course we'd miss the ramblings of a genius, if there was one in the first place!

[Fatima Barkatulla]

Truth is...ranting and raving is easy, getting angry and showing your anger through violence is easy and actually going away and studying Islam deeply to try and understand what the Prophetic solution to our current day predicaments are is difficult, because it takes a long time, energy and patience in order to reach a state of wisdom. Many of our youth do not have that patience. They want to see results now...

ARGcomment: ...and as the shariah principle tells us: The one who seeks to hasten any matter before its time will by punished by Allah by being deprived of seing it happen.

[Yahya]

OF COURSE there was! That is why I spelt genious correctly (you left out the 'o', ARG). OK then, since the genious DOES exist, I shall share with thee some of his wise wisdoms about stuff and things; lets see... *Coughs* Whoever is 'it', must certainly pass the quality of being 'it' on to one of his fellows, or there are sure to be dire consiquences regards his social possition among the playground higherarchy. Erm... the chaos theorum states that the laws of lexical dialasis can be reflacted by ANY word over 4 sylables. Ha, I told you! I am the most cleverist genious in the world!

[Zimarina]

What a sobering thought ArG- Jazakullah khairun.

The warm and cosy Iftar rush with the family all gathered round enjoying the meal laid out looses it's glow pretty damn quickly.

May Allah (swt) never harden our hearts to the responsibility we have to our brothers and sisters in Islam. Ameen.

PS: I really tried holding back with this, but as a shameless pedant I have to say: THERE IS NO 'O' IN GENIUS! It's one of the most common spelling errors in this glorious English language of ours...I mean it doesn't take a, errrr genioUs to figure it out ;)

ARGcomment: I think Yahya was trying to save himself with some self- immolating sarcasm

[Yahya]

Im gonna stay quiet now. But I will again state, I'm really clever. Really.

[Fatima Barkatulla]

Today I imagined Ramadan in prison because I received a postcard/letter from Babar Ahmed from prison. It was the first I received from him. I had written to a Guantanamo Bay detainee too, but a few weeks later, my card came back stamped ‘ENTRY REFUSED’.

In his letter, Babar Ahmad refers to my father-in-law whose name is also Babar (he calls him Babar Uncle) and who was in the same Hajj group as him 5 years ago. Here is what Babar Ahmad said:
__________________________________________________________________
Bismillahir Rahman ar-Raheem (written in Arabic)
06 Oct 2006

Dear Sr. Fatima
Assalamualaikum and jazakillahu-khairan for your letters and cards. Yes I do remember your in-laws and the hajj trip – nearly 5 yrs has gone by so quickly. Allah does not change our situation unless we ourselves make the first step.
I hope your husband is fine – please give him my salaam, and your parents and in-laws. Tell Babar Uncle that his namesake (!) is in dire need of his duas this month.
May Allah bless you, guide and protect you. May He remember you as you remembered me. Wassalam

Babar Ahmad MX5383,
HMP Woodhill,
MK4 4DA
___________________________________________________________________

This letter really brought home to me the luxury in which we are all living. I feel sorry for myself sometimes because my husband is working in another city. Yet, he is earning money, we are in a nice flat, our needs and wants are met, we have transport and all the security that comes with having a husband, Alhamdulillah. And ofcourse, by the end of the week, my husband is home. It is like Eid when he comes home every week. Insha Allah it will be like Eid when Babar Ahmad comes home to his family and the other brothers come home to theirs and it will be like Eid when Guantanamo Bay is finally shut down as it no doubt will be insha Allah.

Please think of writing or sending magazines/books to Babar Ahmad or any of the brothers in prison, or encourage your husbands to do so. The address above is for Babar Ahmad…other addresses can be found on the Cageprisoners website.

And support the families of brothers in prison through Hhugs: (Helping households under great stress)