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Marcus Robertson (Abu Taubah): February 2013 (On The Inside)

15 May

Chapter One

As the prisoners file into the chapel, their eyes are scanning the congregation for possible friends and foes. Then, once deciding whether to go right or left, they rush off in their chosen direction to greet their associates from the other cell blocks Speaking in hushed tones, they pass on messages and news from loved ones in far away places. I’m standing in the heart of the chapel by the podium, greeting everyone as they come in.

“Come in brothers! You can sit anywhere you want. As-Salaamu ‘alaykum. Peace, Peace. Yeah maan, you can sit wherever you want. Don’t worry about it; we won’t get started until everybody finds a spot.”

prison-zikr

In Prison, people come to religious service for different reasons. Sure, some come to pray and some come searching for the truth, but most come to see their people, or to get out of the cell for an hour or two.

It’s almost time. Everybody’s finally sitting down. Some half-facing each other, some leaning back and others on the edge of their seats: all whispering, smiling and enjoying each others company. Looking around I realize that I don’t know these guys from Aadam. I am a stranger here.

Out of the thirty or so men in this room, only about five of us are Muslims. And two of them are New Shahaadas. So where do I start with these men? They are quite aware of the nature of their crimes. But if you were to ask them, “How could you do such things?” They will explain that they have sold drugs to the most respected Preachers. And have seen too many “Church Ladies” turning tricks to pay their bills not to do such things. In their world, they are normal men trying to survive in a system that has little concern for them.

I recognize that they have seen a lot, but what I don’t know is what they understand about Islaam. Which leads me back to the question of: where do I start with these guys. Hmph, I’m getting a queasy feeling rolling about in my stomach. Steady, steady, it’s time to start, take a breath…

“Rabbish-raH-Lee Sadree”
“My Lord give me the right inspiration,” whispers out of my mouth.

“wa Yas-sir-Lee amree“
“and make this easy for me…”

“waH-LuL ‘uQdataM MiL-Lisaanee…”
“and untie the knot in my tongue…”

“Yaf-Qahoo QawLee.”
“so that they can relate to what I’m talking about.”

Then, raising my voice just above the friendly commotion, I say:

“Bis-millahir RaH-maanir Ra-Heem. My name is Wahshee and I’m going to be teaching the class today.”

Nothing. Most are not paying attention, caught up in conversations much more interesting. When a scattered few give me the, “Go ahead, you’re not interrupting us” nod. I feel a smile growing uncontrolled on my face. I can’t help it. Class is in session… and I love it.

I begin, “AL-Hamdulillah, Getting locked up is almost like dying… only better.”

The low rumble ceases. “Every man in this room knows what it feels like to get locked up right?”    Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2013 in Habsiyya, Prose by Marcus Robertson

 

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Marcus Robertson (Abu Taubah): May 01, 2013 (This Simple Action Will Change Our Lives)

01 May

Bismillah walHamdulillah wa salaatu wa salaamu ‘alaa rasulillah.

As salaamu ‘alaa man attabi-ul hudaa. I have been in solitary confinement since November 2012. I am kept in a concrete cell with no mirror and no window. The strong, bright lights that glare from the ceiling never dim or go out. A video camera records me 24 hours a day. I never know what time it is and this has caused me to become a nervous wreck when trying to figure out the times for Fajr and Magrib. WalHamdulillah. All of my mail, legal papers, books – including my Quran have been confiscated. Only a small portion of my legal papers have been returned- a nominal amount to support the claim that they returned something.

What has happened? Towards the end of RamaDaan 2011 I was arrested for constructive possession of a firearm and a conspiracy to submit a fraudulent tax return. Both charges are exaggerations of events in order to enhance me to a terrorist. The government has not officially charged me with terrorism, however they have used a clause to enhance the charges to acts of terrorism.

A young Muslim went about bragging to an undercover FBI agent that he wanted to go overseas and fight Jihad and wanted to die on the battlefield and that he learned these things from me. And it is for this reason that they claim that they are prosecuting me. Claiming that I am a recruiter for al Qaeeda and a terrorist trainer.

In support of their claim they are using as proof that I encouraged the young man to make ‘umrah- they say that this was to cleanse his soul in order for him to become a suicide bomber. They are also using the young man’s statements to the undercover agent- which I had no knowledge of nor was I present for when he stated them – and a video wherein I am telling some students that are memorizing the Quran that they are to be real mujaahideen in preserving and protecting the Quran.

As for my legal standing, I have had 6 attorneys thus far. All of whom have quit except the last one who was removed by the judge when he put forth the motion requesting that the prosecution provide proof of their claim. This is when they placed me in isolation. I have seen my new court appointed attorney very few times.

I believe that I can be cleared by bringing forth witnesses, my writings and my works. But that takes organization. Someone to present the facts in a legal format. And this is what I am not able to get done.

AlHamdulillah I would like to thank all the people who are supporting me, helping my family or just going through this with us. Jazakumallahu khayran it is encouraging. I am, walHamdulillah bi khayr and pleased with Allah as my Lord, Islam as my way of life and Muhammad as my prophet.

Please note that we were moving progressively when we were studying Quran, Arabic and fiQh and that this was such a disturbance to the kuffaar that they have gone so far as to label me a terrorist. I think that my most dangerous statement has been to encourage everyone to recite 10 pages of Quran everyday. And this simple action done consistently will change our lives.

.
This walHamdulillah,
Abu Taubah

 

Marcus Robertson #201100011051
John Polk Correctional Facility
Seminole County
211 Bush Blvd
Sanford, FL 32773
USA
 
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Posted by on May 1, 2013 in Letters from Marcus Robertson, Risala

 

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A Message from Solitary: His Words are Always, “Allah is with me, Allah is with me.”

15 Jan

Abu Hamza al-MasriMy husband, Sheikh Abu Hamza, was extradited from the UK to America on the 5th of October 2012; since then my husband has not been allowed to see anyone face to face, not even his solicitors.

The American government [has] allowed my husband to see his solicitors on a number of occasions. Even then, the visit has been behind a glass window. Not only that, the glass window had a curtain over the glass to prevent my husband from looking at his solicitors face to face…

All this time [3 months and 10 days] , he has remained in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, in a small room with no window and no sunlight. For one hour, he is allowed to stretch his leg just next to his cell where there is not even enough room to even do that.

It has been three months now since his extradition, but he was only allowed to call me once. On the contrary, Alhamdulillah, I have received a few letters from him. Me and my family also write to him on a regular basis.

Since he’s been there, his hair has not being combed due to a comb not being available for him. He doesn’t even know the direction of the Kibla, so he prays to a direction by guessing where the Kibla is.

The American government knows my husband is disabled! But when the guards bring food for him, they bring food which is wrapped with plastic. When my husband tries to open it with his teeth, half of the food is spilled all over the floor. Wallahi, this is an oppression being done to my husband knowing full well that he has no hand.

These people who have detained my husband unlawfully do nothing but aggravate the situation and make things difficult for him intentionally. They have stripped his dignity and violated his honour. His faith and religious practices attacked, but Alhamdulillah, Allah is the Watcher and the Ultimate Protector of those who are weak and Allah (swt) does not let the deeds of anyone to be lost. Allah will hold EVERYONE (ALL human beings, without an exception) accountable for their actions on the Day of Judgement where there is no doubt!

Despite all these, Alhamdulillah, my husband, Sheikh Abu Hamza, is happy and is in a good spirit. He knows that this is the path he has chosen and his words are always, “Allah is with me, Allah is with me.” He has said to let all the brothers and sisters who have written letters to him know that, they are always in his special du’aas. He is happy to know that the Ummah has not forsaken him. He said not to worry, insha’Allah. It would be nice for the brothers and sisters to write letters to him as much as they can so that he knows his brothers and sisters have not forgotten about him and that he knows he is always in their du’aas.

I can’t stress enough the importance of everyone making du’aa for him, as this is the most powerful weapon we have. He needs our support right now and has a right to our support. So please brothers and sisters, make du’aa and remember the only crime he committed is that he says he believes in Allah. The prison is not the place for him. His place is with his family, especially his children.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“One who helps a fellow Muslim in removing his (or her) difficulty in this world, Allah will remove the former’s distress on the Day of Judgement.

He who helps to remove the hardship of another, will have his difficulties removed by Allah in this world and the hereafter.

One who covers the shortcomings of another Muslim will have his faults covered up in this world and the next by Allah.

Allah continues to help a servant, so long as he goes on helping his own brother (or sister).” [Muslim]

We will all be called to account and asked what we did for our brothers and sisters that are suffering around us, the least we can do is make du’aa for them.

Barakallahufikum for all those brothers and sisters who have supported my husband for all these years. Your help, love and concern for him has not gone unnoticed. Your reward is with Allah (swt). I ask Allah, the Almighty, to give you the good of this world and the good of the Hereafter. Ameen.

.
-Umm Hamza (wife of Mustafa Kamal Mustafa, Abu Hamza)

Please Keep Abu Hamza and his family in your du’aa and write to him at:

Mostafa Kamel Mostafa #67495-054
MCC New York
Metropolitan Correctional Center
150 Park Row
New York, NY  10007
USA
 
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Posted by on January 15, 2013 in Collateral Damage

 

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Shaker Aamer Denied Passage Home as Torture Continues

19 Oct

A decade after its vengeful establishment, a post-Bush incarnation of the Guantanamo nightmare persists, continuing to cage 166 Muslim prisoners. One of them is Britisher Shaker Aamer, kept in isolation in Camp 5 Echo. A Decade of Injustice examines possible motivations for keeping Shaker Aamer detained and why his return is urgent.

It is more urgent than ever that we demand his release as Shaker’s recent testimony reveals that abuses at Guantanamo are ongoing:

On July 20, 2011, he reports: ‘The authorities told us, “You’ll have a beautiful Ramadan.” It was in Camp 5, and they said there would be no showers, and no recreation.

‘They tortured another guy using the nose tube, until he cried. They kept him on a stretcher, with a slow drip on the feed. I banged on the door when this was happening, then fainted from my own lack of eating. I was taken to hospital.’

In a brief explanation of the sleep deprivation, he has stated that he was “sleeping in light,” and there was “no darkness to sleep.” The lighting, as is typical, has been on “24/7″ — and he has also been confined to his cell for 22 hours a day, with just two hours allowed in the recreation yard from 6 am to 8 am every day.

He has explained how he cannot sleep because the guards have been “speaking loud through the night with all kind of noises — cleaning, moving things, shaking the locks of the cell, turning the light on and off,” and how they have also regularly shone a flashlight in his face, and liberally spread detergent like pine oil or Clorox. He has explained how the strong smell fills his cell so that he can’t breathe.   Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2012 in Campaigns, Videos

 

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Justice is Essential to Mankind

13 Oct

Former prisoner Sheikh Ahmad Musa Jibril on why Ibn Taymiyyah correlates prosperity to justice, explained in the context of abusive conditions in US prisons. 

Part One

Part Two

 
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Posted by on October 13, 2012 in Maktabah, Videos

 

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Who is Khalid al-Fawwaz?

02 Oct

And what challenges will he and four other men face with an impending extradition to the United States?

Khalid al-Fawwaz is the least known of the five prisoners facing extradition to the US but has served the most time – 14 years without trial.

When I met Khalid Al-Fawwaz at HMP Wood Hill in November 2001, I was struck by his courtesy, gentleness and quiet consideration. He had been imprisoned awaiting extradition to the US for three years, since September 1998, and had been in solitary confinement since September 11, just over two months ago. At that stage he was finding it a pleasant rest from the work he did in prison – mentoring, acting as a listener for suicidal prisoners, helping with translations, forms and negotiating prison life, sitting on prisoner-staff committees.

That was eleven years ago. Khalid Al-Fawwaz is still in prison awaiting extradition – he has spent fourteen years in prison, the sort of sentence someone might serve for murder. He is there on the anonymous evidence of a ‘supergrass’ who links him with the US embassy bombings of 1998, although he had lived in London for four years by then. In our conversation he said he and bin Laden had worked together to overthrow the repressive Saudi regime, but that they split in 1996 when bin Laden chose terrorism over organising for popular revolt. Khalid Al-Fawwaz would have supported the Arab Spring, not Al Qaeda or bombings.

Read more …

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2012 in Campaigns

 

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Très bonne nouvelle!!! | Some Good News!!

23 May

Aujourd`hui, Djamel a été transféré de la maison d`arrêt de Bois d`Arcy à celle de la Santé. La grande nouvelle c`est qu`il est sorti de l`isolement dans lequel il se trouvait depuis 2 ans. Et qu`il reste dans la région parisienne, ce qui nous facilitera les visites, même si nous ne sommes pas souvent la-bas.

Il a pu nous appeler rapidement, et il avait l`air d`aller bien, le transfert s`est bien passé, ses affaires ont bien suivies apparement. Ce petit plus de liberté l`a tellement changé qu`il était fatigué, il était etonné de voir des détenus marcher devant lui alors qu`il était au téléphone, en accés libre dorénavant! Al HamduliLlah…

Il transmet son salam à tous et remercie les gens qui prient pour lui, prières qui ont sans doute été entendues, les choses ont été facilitées.

Nous sommes soulagés pour lui, et nous attendons dans un proche avenir d`autres bonnes nouvelles, jusqu`à la libération complète…

Merci à tous pour vos soutien de la part de notre famille

Today, Djamel was transfered from the Bois d `Arcy holding facility to la Santé.The great news is that he is out of solitary confinement, which he had been in for two years. For the time being he is in the Paris area, which will facilitate visits for us, although we are not often there.
He was able to call us quickly, and he seemed to be doing well, the transfer went well, and his needs were being attended to. That extra bit of ‘freedom’ is such a big change that he became overwhelmed; he was surprised inmates walking in front of him, then surprised that he able to use the phone, free access from now on! Al Hamdulillah …

He sends his salaam to all and thanks the people praying for him; prayers that without a doubt have been heard, as things have become easier.

We are relieved for him, and we expect in the near future more good news, until his complete release …

Thank you all for your support from our family

 
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Posted by on May 23, 2012 in Bushara, Collateral Damage

 

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Abdul-Aziz Omar al-Maqadisi On His Torture & The Abuses of the Zionist State Prisons

14 May

This video, filmed by international activists in Gaza, is an interview with recently-released Palestinian political prisoner Dr. Abdul-Aziz Omar, who also recently traveled to South Africa to inform the world about the conditions, lives and struggles of Palestinian political prisoners. This video is released for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, April 17, 2012.

Palestinian former political prisoner, Dr. Abdul-Aziz Omar, from Jerusalem but deported/banished to Gaza in the recent prisoner exchange in October 2011, shared his thoughts with international activists in Gaza on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day. These videos are suitable for screening, web distribution and more. Dr. Omar discusses his experience with arrest, torture, solitary confinement, interrogation, medical abuse, and calls for action.

 

 
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Posted by on May 14, 2012 in Videos

 

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Ehsanul Sadequee: May 6, 2012 (Sudden Departures)

06 May

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Al hamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin

As Salaamu ‘Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu

Dear Amma, Abba and Family,

I hope and ask Allah that you all are doing good by His Ni’mah. Al-hamdulillah, I’m doing good by the Grace of Allah. How is everybody?

I am currently writing to you from Greenville, Illinois, FCI, where I am in SHU (solitary confinement) waiting transfer. They brought me and another Muslim from the Marion-CMU over here on Friday, May 4, 2012.

At Marion, the warden and her crew became paranoid over some minor issues. They decided to put a Muslim in the SHU, and then the next day another, and then another the next day, and another the next day. And on the fourth day, they “deported” me and three other Muslims. So , they put at least three Muslims in the SHU and “deported” me and four Muslims, including myself. I am the only one in the SHU right now [in the new facility]. This is as far as I know, I don’t know what’s happened after Friday. Wallahul Musta’an.

Al-hamdulillah, everything is okay. I got a mushaf and am reading Quran, in preparation for the month of Ramadan.

Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the Best Wakil, Disposer of Affair.

HasbunAllahu wa Ni’maail-Wakil.

Al-Hamdulillah Rabbil ‘Alamin, the affairs all return to Allah, and He Alone is in charge. He is our Guardian and Friend, and He supports the righteous.

Keep me in your Du’a. Give everyone my salaams.

May Allah, tabaraku wa’ta’ala, deliver us and all the oppressed Muslims from the oppressors, by His own Ni’mah and Fadl. And may He united us with our families and the believers in this world and in the Al-Jannat. May Allah bless you all and rectify all your affairs and grant you success in the duniya and the Hereafter.

Wal-Hamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin
Was Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu

May 6, 2012

Ehsanul Sadequee
#1524-0006
FCI Greenville
Federal Correction Institution
PO BOX 5000
Greenville, IL 62246

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2012 in Letters from Ehsanul Sadequee, Risala

 

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Mohammed Saleh: April 15, 2012 (A Snake in Solitary)

15 Apr

As-Salam Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh, my Dear Beloved Brother, alHamduLillah, I got your email today. I’m glad that you and your family are doing ok. May Allah protect you and protect your family, and provide you with all the help you need always. We always keep you in our Du’a. Your have Salam from all the brothers.

Concerning the article about the solitary confinement. There is a writer in Colorado, she is contacting me about the Solitary Confinement, her name is Susan Greene, she is writing a lot about the confinement, and she found my name and she contacted me, because I had a law suite about Solitary confinement. I was feeding the birds, and they gave me an Incident Report about that, and she was interested to know more details about that and about the life in the Solitary Confinement at ADX.

And since I spent about ten years in Solitary Confinement, half of my time in prison, so she wanted to know more. I wrote to her a couple of articles. One story I’ll tell you which you and brothers/sisters might be interested in and find beneficial, in ADX, that one morning before Fajr, I heard one Arab guy, who was a Communist, screaming in his cell, screaming that there was a snake is his cell, and he was in the middle of the range.

So I thought it was a joke. Then I saw the officers went in, and they came running, and they attacked the snake and killed it, and they were caring it on top of a stick, it was a big snake. And the amazing thing about it, is that the snake specifically picked his cell, there were Believing Muslim brothers in cells to his right and to his left, but it only went into his cell. We told the guy that this is a warning sign from Allah, for you to repent, and to start your relation with Allah. And he was terrified from the incident. And even the prison admistration couldn’t believe how a snake could come inside the building, since the space beneath the doors is very small.

This incident was documented by the Human Rights Watch when they visited the ADX at that time. I think it was in 2007. If she sends me some of the articles she was writing, if you are interested, I will send you a copy, InShAllah. Always when you live in isolation for a while, you get paranoid thoughts. But al-HamduLillah, Allah protected me from it, despite all the years in isolation. All the years I spent, I concentrated on the Words of Allah, and to do good things in the isolation for the Deen.

Unfortunately, I [have] seen a couple of brothers loose their minds, and a lot of non-Muslims lost it completely, because isolation is not easy if Allah does not protect the person. I love you for the sake of Allah, and may Allah grant you the al-Firdaws al-A’la.

Your brother in Islam, Abu Mu’az.

Mohammed Saleh #34853-054
USP Marion
U.S. Penitentiary
PO Box 1000
Marion, IL 62959
USA

 

 
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Posted by on April 15, 2012 in Letters from Mohammed Saleh, Risala

 

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