
Assalaamou `alaykoum w rahmatoullah.
I hope this email finds you in the best of health and eman insha’Allah.
May Allah swt bless you, and keep you and your families guarded well in this life and the aakhirah insha’Allah.
Five high-profile dawn raids took place locally in Manchester on 16th November 09. 5 brothers were arrested; one of whom is now released, alhamdulillah.
Three of the brothers by the name of, Munir FAROOQI, Israr MALIK, and Hamza/Mathew NEWTON were active on da’wah stalls and the fourth, Harris FAROOQI, the son of Munir FAROOQI had no link to the dawah stalls in any way.
The charges held against the brothers are no doubt linked to terrorism. This is what everyone hears- but ‘how and why’? are the questions usually left unanswered in most cases…This is why I am mailing today, in order to briefly explain:
- what sort of work the brothers initially engaged in,
- the misconceptions and accusations held against the brothers which has lead to them being charged,
- their current situations, and wellbeing
- and most importantly, what we can do as individuals, mosques and a whole community to help the innocent four to be released.
My father, Munir Farooqi, has been accused of intentionally setting up a dawah stall (which he has been holding in Longsight for the past 11 years) to target vulnerable (non Muslim) people, instilling his (Islamic) beliefs into them, befriending them through hospitality and preparing them for jihad. In actual fact all they did was distribute literature, DVD’s and CD’s about Islam, to help people see the true image of Islam. And to stress upon the fact that Islam is NOT associated with terrorism. Many people embraced Islam through the dawah stall, by the guidance of Allah swt and by their own decision, not by force. And this is what the police clearly do not like; hence, they began to investigate and took further action.
This has been a crazy accusation and all those who have met,or know my father know that this is nothing but lies, since nothing of the sort has happened the past 11 years. Yes indeed, he invited people to Islam (but never forced them). Then many people embraced Islam (by their own will). My father invited many people to our house, be they Muslim, or non Muslim (as is the great sunnah of our Beloved Prophet saw). And taught them the salaah and about islam, if new muslims needed help, or then talked about islam, to those who were interested in it. Never did he prepare an army (lol) as these ridiculous people claim. Allah swt is our Greatest Witness & Judge to that.
They are currently held in remand, in prisons across London/Essex. Alhamdulillah,all are doing well and through the help of your sincere dua’s, are in good spirits and firm eman. My father is in Belmarsh and says theres been one shahadah in there and another two interested, because of which they only let my father out of his cell for 20-30 mins a day. Subhanallah, “Their intention is to extinguish Allah’s Light (by blowing)with their mouths: But Allah will complete (the revelation of) His Light, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it).” (Quran 61:8)
We have contact with the brothers, via letters/phonecalls (usually a couple of minutes a day). They send their salaam to all, and request for duaas and thank everybody who have been supporting us.
We have been advised to collect character references explaining what the individuals were like, what you know about their personality, character, what they distributed and if they encouraged/glorified terrorism, or whether they opposed it etc. This would help a lot. The more we have, the merrier.
Please note: There has been a misunderstanding that you have to know the brothers well, personally in order to be able to provide a character reference. This is wrong. The stalls in the City Centre, Longsight and Stockport were all open to the public where anybody and everybody could come. Hence, it can be written by anyone and everyone, from their own perspective- even if they have met just once or merely knew what the brothers distributed at the stall.
If you could please include:
Your name,address,contact number and the character description, then signed at the end. I personally can arrange to collect the character reference once, ready inshallah. However, if you prefer to email me or drop it off by hand, then inshallah that is fine.
There is not a deadline, however, the sooner and the more we can collect the better it would be inshallah. Especially from non Muslims and new Muslims because baring in mind- they are known to be the ‘vulnerable’ people in this case. I request the revert brothers and sisters to please include their initial/previous names first, and then add their new Muslim names (if needed) in brackets, that should leave a good impression inshallah
Please pass on the message to all those you know. You may forward this email onto others if need be inshallah. I also advise everybody to join the Facebook group, FREE MATTHEW NEWTON, to show your support, increase the number of supports by passing the word onto all as well as getting regluar updates, inshallah.
I look forward to hear from you inshallah.
May Allah swt grant you contentment in this life and the aakhirah- Ameen.
Wassalaamou alaikum w rahmatoullah. Do please keep us and the ummah in your du’as. Jazakallah.
Zulaikha bint Munir Farooqi