Why Have Muslims Who Knew Aafia Been So Silent?

Why Have Muslims Who Knew Aafia Been So Silent?
Wednesday, 22 December 2010 19:57 administrator

El-Hajj Mauri’ Saalakhan
Peace Thru Justice Foundation

Fear in the hearts and minds of Muslim men and women in the Boston area for this Firunic system has kept their voices and better angels in check. True faith, which embraces a belief in the divine Qadr of ALLAH (that nothing happens without ALLAH’s permission, and that whatever trial is meant for us will find us) is something that we read about; are sometimes taught about in “deen intensive” workshops throughout the US; philosophize about from the mimbar and in study groups; but true awareness seems to rarely travel beyond the majority of our throats!

Before I go any further, I should point out that this spiritual malady is not unique to Boston – nor is it unique to Muslims; it is a chronic deficiency found among all “people of faith.” Among the professed believers in Jesus Christ, for example, it can be seen in the behavior of those who are sometimes called “Constantinian Christians” – or those who embrace the philosophy of “Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasars, and render unto the Lord what is the Lords.” (Or another way of putting it, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do!”)

In the 25 years that I’ve been involved in human rights advocacy, I cannot begin to count the times that I’ve seen people of all hues sheepishly cave into social and political expediency. This particular case involving this Muslim woman, and my own faith community, has been the heaviest on my heart.

Aafia’s case has exposed - sometimes in very graphic detail within the American Muslim community - the politics FEAR, the politics of SELF-INTEREST, the politics of TRIBALISM, and the politics of CAPITULATION to American imperialism, like no other case or issue that I’ve been involved in. This is an oppressed and brutally persecuted Muslim woman who Muslims in America, generally speaking (especially the men), have deliberately failed to come to the aid of!

Examples of this failure which immediately come to mind, and for which I am aware from first-hand knowledge, are the following:

1. The failure of CAIR, ICNA, ISNA, MAS, MPAC, MSA-National, and an assortment of other Muslim (and Pakistani) organizations, to raise this sister’s plight at their annual conventions.

2. The failure of our two Muslim congressmen to raise the issue on Capitol Hill, or in other government offices; and the failure of numerous other Muslim support personnel working on Capitol Hill, in various offices, to do the same.

3. My being threatened with arrest at the ISNA convention in Chicago (IL) for refusing to put down a large poster board which simply called for support for Aafia Siddiqui.

4. Tense moments at the ICNA convention in Hartford (CT) for pressing the same issue – support for Aafia Siddqui. (And I should note for the record that there were attempts made, well before the start of these conventions, to get the issue of Aafia Siddiqui, and other wrongfully imprisoned Muslims in America, on their respective organization agendas – but without success.)

5. The decision by CAIR-CT to put a three minute announcement for Aafia at the tail end of their annual fundraising conference, after the program had formally ended and most of the people had departed.

6. The decision of CAIR-PA to not allow any announcement at all.

7. The decision of the chairman of the board and the president at the Islamic Society of Central Jersey to order a campaign table be taken down and removed from the center’s property, simply because of the prominently displayed poster regarding Aafia Siddiqui. (And this is a center with whom I had previously enjoyed a warm relationship going back a number of years; I had never experienced anything like this before.)

8. Being told by the president of the predominantly Pakistani populated Muslim Center of New York (on the day that I arrived to deliver an announcement after ju’muah) that the board had made a decision to not allow any mention of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui within the center.

9. Being told by the imam at the ADAMS Center to take a display table down concerning Aafia, because I had not received permission from the center’s office to put it up. (I had received permission to have the table from the organization that had reserved the space for their program, the Muslim Alliance in North America. And the table wasn’t even set up until toward the end of their program.)

10. The decision of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (Boston, MA) to not permit an announcement to be made concerning Aafia Siddiqui during the time of ju’muah. While they did end up allowing us to conduct a small forum in the evening, the ju’muah was off limits (not even an announcement about the evening forum could be made) – for fear of a negative reaction from any non-Muslims who might be present.

11. The Muslim member of the Department of Homeland Security who wanted to challenge me at the Islamic Society of Washington Area Muslims (ISWA), during the month of Ramadan, after I made a brief announcement in defense of Aafia following the salat. Regrettably, within a half hour of the incident, the imam of the center – a man who has known me for many years - asked that I take down the table that we were using to get petitions signed on the sister’s behalf.

12. The failure of Muslims in New York City to come out in representative numbers (from the centers that I visited) for two public initiatives which have taken place on Aafia’s behalf.

13. The number of other masajid and centers who don’t want anything “political” discussed in the masjid (that doesn’t have something to do with some public official running for elective office); not even a word in support of a Muslim sister who requires our support!

These are some of the incidents (that immediately come to mind) which have occurred over the past two years concerning this one case. I point this out not to throw stones, but to provide our offending brothers with an opportunity to take a long, hard look at themselves and these counter-productive tendencies. This also provides those of us with ties to these various organizations (and leaders), with an opportunity to pull each other’s coat.

As the first of the four Rashidun Caliphs, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, reportedly said in his inaugural address to the Muslims gathered before him (after the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him): “Here I have been made a ruler over you, when I am not the best from among you. If I do well, help me. If I do wrong, reprove me.” (If that standard was good for one of the best of men, it should be good for the rest of us as well.)

I should also note that while these cited examples are potentially disheartening, they have been countered by many other examples of Muslims (including a number of courageous leaders) who have stepped up to the challenge, and opened doors so that this committed Muslim woman could begin to receive at least some of the support that she rightfully deserves. And for this I thank you - sisters and brothers (you know who you are) - from the bottom of my heart!

May ALLAH make us worthy of being called Muslim (one who submits his/her will to do the will of The Divine Creator of all life); and, through this submission, do our part to make America and the world a better place.

Spirit Of Islam: Why Have Muslims Who Knew Aafia Been So Silent? - Spirit Of Islam