In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Praise be to Allah and all prayer and peace upon the Prophet of Allah, Ameen.

[From Zain al-Abideen ibn Muhammed ibn Hussain Abu Zubaidah al-Zubaidat (Abu Zubaidah al- Filastinee)].

To the respected, and honourable and hospitable brother Moazzam Begg,

[From the American (Bastille) prison which is called Guantanamo prison in Cuba]

I send to you my honourable brother, and to all the brothers around you who I know and those I don’t know and to anyone who says no and refuses the humiliation which America, (the mother of injustices) and its allies who tries to impose on us, a letter rejecting (baraa – freedom from all obligations) them and their allies, as well as those who fail to resist them whether with their tongue, pen, [or] heart and accept their humiliation.

I send you this letter with pride even if I am in their captivity – and the captivity is a humiliation in itself. Obviously my enemy is trying to humiliate me but I stay proud as long as I don’t humiliate myself to my enemy and give in to them.

I didn’t surrender to them, they only managed to capture me after they shot out one of my eyes and they shot out most of the left hand side of my body to the point where that part of my body is paralysed, but Allah (SWT) had Mercy on me and saved my body and I didn’t give in to their terrorism.

Even though they tortured me they only extracted from me that of which I am proud of doing or that of which I was going to do, insha-Allah, or give in to their ideas and [did not] agree[d] to their injustice and oppression and commit hypocrisy with them. Even during the worst time of their torture I was always telling them that killing our brothers is martyrdom for the sake of Allah for them, [and] in fact they have given life to their (brothers) ideas. And its beginning is their resistance and as you know, killing ideas and beliefs (aqeedah) is harder a thousand times than killing people and, [that] we only fight you because of your injustice and oppression, not because you reject the message of Islam. Allah will deal with you appropriately and [even if] among you there are Muslim[s] who don’t truly know [the meaning] of Islam .

If defending my religion, family, honour, land and my money is considered terrorism then let the whole world witness that I am a terrorist, and if I kill you to take your land or money or rape your women, then this is terrorism indeed and this is not what I represent, but it is what you represent worldwide and internationally.

And this American (Bastille) will fall the same way the as the French Bastille fell after the French revolution. The difference is that the French one was a symbol of injustice and control by those who thought they were the elite [the French royalty] over the masses (populace). As for the Americans, they are the symbol of injustice and the attempt of state control (takeover) [by those] who falsely consider themselves elitist over countries with less modernisation, science, or progression or wealth will fall with the revolution [brought about] by Islam insha-Allah.

Translation and editing courtesy of Mr & Mrs F. Hilali