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Tariq Mehanna: One Year Later

21 Dec

December 20th was the one year anniversary since Tariq Mehanna’s unjust conviction.

My CellIt’s a good time to think about Tariq; think about the outrageous government conduct during his 8 week trial; think about the inspiring and challenging words he spoke during his sentencing; think about the conditions in the Communications Management Unit he is being held in; and think about how much it means for him to hear from you.
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Tariq took a stand against the most powerful government in the world, and they couldn’t break him. They couldn’t make him become an informant, though they tried hard. They couldn’t make him take a plea deal, though it would reduce his sentence down to under a decade. They couldn’t make him express regret during his sentencing. Facing a potential life in prison, Tariq instead unflinchingly indicted the US government for its rampant colonialism, imperialism, and war crimes. Nothing the government offered Tariq could make him turn his back on his convictions or his community.

As the buzz of the trial fades and we move into the long haul, it’s important to show Tariq that he isn’t fading from our minds. Please take a few moments every month to show Tariq he continues to be in your heart by writing him, even a short note.

Tariq Mehanna (# 05315-748)
Terre Haute CMU
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808
In solidarity,
 
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Posted by on December 21, 2012 in Campaigns

 

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Tariq Mehanna: November 24, 2012 (A Brief Conversation)

24 Nov

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The photocopied lunar calendar affixed to the wall reminds me that today is the tenth of Muharram, 1434. It is the day of ‘Ashura’…

…My mind travels back 1433 years to the city of Madinah, to an important conversation that occurred on this exact date. The great Companion and scholar, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas, narrated that his cousin, Muhammad – the final Prophet and Messenger sent by Allah to mankind – passed by a group of Jews who were fasting that day. He questioned them about this, and they replied: “This is a very significant day. It is the day on which Allah rescued Moses and his people, and drowned Pharaoh and his people. So, Moses fasted it out of gratitude, and we also fast it.” In another reported wording: “This is the day on which Allah gave victory to Moses and the Children of Israel over Pharaoh.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) responded: “We have more of a right to Moses than you.”

This brief exchange summarizes the history of the struggle between good and evil, between Iman (faith) and kufr (disbelief). As I look at my surroundings on this day, I’m starkly reminded that the struggle has not ceased, and some thoughts come to mind:     Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2012 in Letters from Tariq Mehanna

 

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US & UK Mailing Lists Updated: Fraternal Sacrifices and Familiar Solitude

03 Nov

Yet another Eid has passed without hearing the sacred words of praise, feeling the customary hug from family members, or smelling the familiar foods. This month’s update brings its share of sorrow for many mothers.

We ask Allah to ease the hearts of the prisoners and their families and bestow on them His Mercy and to strengthen them with patience.

On November 1, 27 year old Rezwan Ferdaus, was sentenced to 17 years for two counts of terror-related charges in an entrapment case. He faced a possible 35 year sentence if he had opted to go to trial. Rezwan appreciated the support of family and friends, smiling as they shouted “We love you, Rezwan!” Tariq Mehanna’s parents were also present in a show of support. Rezwan’s mother, strong yet distraught, was visibly angered, “Investigate your government…They’ve been lying a lot,” she instructed the press.

Also on November 1, Shkumbin Sherifi and Nevine Elsheikh pleaded guilty to one count of murder for hire. They face a possible ten years and $250,000 fine when sentenced in February 2013. Without this plea, they faced near life sentences but are now government witnesses in Skumbin’s brother’s, Hysen Sherifi‘s, upcoming trial, set to start on Monday. Hysen, sentenced to 46 years for terror-related charges earlier this year, now faces a life sentence. Weighing the astronomical odds of fighting another entrapment case, the Sherifi family elected to have at least one son possibly return to see his dying father and live some semblance of a normal life.

The recent forced pleas remind us of the true nature of “terror” prosecutions; that in no way do they attempt to uncover truth or relegate justice. Despite destroying lives, families and communities, convictions and pleas are meaningless with respect to establishing guilt, which is why supporting our incarcerated brothers and sisters is a moral obligation, especially when they may be innocent in more ways than one.

It has been one month since the extradition of five British Muslims to the US, and families have not received any verbal or written communication from their loved ones. It is presumed that Adel Abdel Bary, Babar Ahmad, Khalid al-Fawwaz, Mustafa Mustafa, and Syed Talha Ahsan are being held incommunicado, sending a loud message to the international community of what American justice sounds like; oppressively silent.

Ahmed Ajaj, Adham Hassoun, and Randall Royer (currently in transit), who were removed from ADX Florence last month, have all been returned to the supermax prison. Abdulwali Muse (the Smiling Somali) is back in Terre Haute, and those who sent cards or letters to Adnan Mirza or Gregory Vernon Patterson last month may want to consider resending as they may have been in transit and have possibly not received mail.

The Supreme Court rejected the final appeal of the Holy Land Foundation Charity, a dismal but not unexpected decision for Shukri Abu Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohammad el-Mezain, Mufid Abdulqader, and Abdulrahman Odeh, serving a cumulative 180 year sentence for sending aid to Palestine.

There is a possibility that Wadih elHage (not listed) may have his life sentence commuted after lawyers present evidence from Fazul Abdullah Mohammed’s autobiography.

In the UK, Irfan Nasser, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali are undergoing trial for an alleged bomb plot for which they had been under surveillance since 2010.

It is feared that Mahdi Hashi is the latest victim of torture and detention by proxy or rendition after the Home Office mysteriously revoked his British citizenship following his refusal to become a government informant. Friends and family are demanding answers to his disappearance and evidence for the claims of “extremism” made by Home Office.

Courts in Canada have given the green light for the extradition of Sayfildin Tahir Sharif, an Iraqi born Canadian, to the US allegedly for connections to suicide bombings in Iraq.

As always, remember them and their families in your duas, and be sure to let us know of any returned mail, incorrect addresses, missing prisoners, or updates you would like to share.

 
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Posted by on November 3, 2012 in News Items

 

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Tariq Mehanna: October 25, 2012 (The Happiest People on Earth)

25 Oct

بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم

Today is the day of ‘Arafah.

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “The greatest supplication is the supplication of the day of ‘Arafah, and the best thing I and the Prophets before me ever said is

لا الهَ اِلَّا اللّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيْكَ لَهْ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلى كُلِّ شَئ ٍ قَدِيْرٌ

‘La ilaha ill Allah, Wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in Qadir’

[There is none worthy of worship but Allah; He has no partners; the kingdom is His, all praise is for Him, and He is Able to do all things].”

The existence of our Creator, Allah, the realization of His immense power, and singling Him out for submission and worship – known in Arabic as “Tawhid” – is what this day revolves around. In fact, it is what our existence on this Earth revolves around.

All indications are that the secular/”democratic”/capitalist/Western/whatever ideological experiment of the past few centuries to bring some meaning and happiness to humanity has ended in dismal failure. The main purveyor of this ideology (also known as “freedom”), America has become an exhausted, depressed, delusional, paranoid, debt-ridden, and overall hypocritical entity with dark circles under its eyes, and has proven itself unfit to lead humanity.

It’s time to try something new.

Tomorrow is the holiday of ‘Id al-Adha. Like other holidays, it will come and go. But for a Muslim – for an adherent to Tawhid – everyday is a cause for celebration and happiness. A Muslim from the early generations, al-Hasan al-Basri said: “Each day that a believer spends obeying his Protector (Allah), remembering Him and thanking Him, is a cause for celebration (a ‘Id).” If you learn where you came from, why you are here, and where you are going, the underlying themes of your waking moments will be nothing but tranquillity and joy. This will apply to all levels of existence (you as an individual, society, etc.).

I write these words while leaning my back against the cinder blocks which constitute the walls of my prison cell, right under a window overlooking a brick wall and razor wire fence, under a pale gray sky. Many other Muslims are also here and in various other prisons scattered around the globe. Others are putting their lives on the line each day, fighting to defend and protect humanity’s final hope for meaning and happiness – Islam. The world’s most powerful government is doing everything it can to wipe us out, along with that hope…but for some reason, we remain the happiest people on Earth.

There is none worthy of worship but Allah, and He has no partners. The kingdom is His, all praise is His, and He is Able to do all things.

 

Tariq Mehanna
On the day of ‘Arafah
Thursday, 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah 1433 (25th of October 2012)
Terre Haute CMU
United States Federal Prison

 

Tariq Mehanna #05315-748
FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808
USA
 
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Posted by on October 25, 2012 in Letters from Tariq Mehanna, Risala

 

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Tariq Mehanna: From Within a Hostile Land

14 Oct
بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
.
Halfway around the planet from the holy desert sands,
Upon which God’s final Prophet built with his hands,
A refuge for the believers, a Madinah so grand,
I grant you these words from within a hostile land,
To get you to understand that it was planned,
To imprison a small band,
Of young men upon the Truth who found their understanding outlawed and banned,
Remanded to the custody of injustice’s American brand,
Branded for life because of a way of life passed down from Negroes of sand,
Slave masters and house Negroes conspiring to stop a force unstoppable,
Inhospitable to the proposals of RAND,
I am hostile,
To any who would revile,
The Truth even if they smile,
In my face all the while,
Yes, I live my life by the Book,
So, don’t give me that look,
You crooks,
It is you who took,
From humanity its freedom to let its soul fly,
To its sole Creator,
In Whose eyes this capitalistic, materialistic prison of a world isn’t worth the wing of a fly,
So, we wait in this prison like knights without horses,
Weeping on the nights that we recite His verses,
Or hear it,
Serious and bearded,
No one had to force us,
We just read ancient texts and decided to join forces,
With the Prophet and his Companions,
To accompany their fight,
To become companions of the Right,
Right to Heaven we hope to go and avoid Hellfire’s fright,
To Hell with the enemies who frighten us with shackles and chains,
Who go to great pains to keep us in pain,
All in vain,
Because our veins flow with blood,
That is worth less to us than the Pleasure of the Lord who created them from mud,
Their tears flow: “Why? Why won’t he submit to our manmade gods?” they furiously ask,
As I throw mud in their faces, lean back, and laugh…
.
.
.
.
- Tariq Mehanna, Ramadan 5 1433
(July 24, 2012)
 
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Posted by on October 14, 2012 in Habsiyya, Poems by Tariq Mehanna

 

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Tarek Mehanna Campaign Denounces Witch-Hunt and Bribes for Capture of Co-defendant, Ahmad Abousamra

13 Oct

Three years after returning to his ancestral homeland in Syria, Ahmad Abousamra was indicted in absentia with Tariq Mehanna. This 2009 indictment is the very same document that inspired the theatrical press conference by US Attorneys to unleash on the public a non-existent but undeniably dramatic plot of a mall shooting spree.

Now three years later, a new drama unfolds, featuring the release of a poorly produced public announcement in search of the alleged fugitive, “Aa-Maad” Abousamra.

Of note in the grander scheme of criminal activity is that the FBI field office in Boston is in pursuit of several fugitives; a convicted murderer who stabbed a man to death, a man who shot and beat a police chief to death, a man wanted for the molestation of three young girls, and a man wanted for the repeated rape of two young boys, who, sadly, is the only other fugitive with a reward offer and at half of that of Abousamra’s.

Yet none of the above mentioned were worthy of a video and a vast effort to spread a global campaign of media alerts and social networking awareness, especially when it seems as though a potential serial-child-rapist in one’s own backyard is a more eminent threat than a man who is not even accused of committing an act of violence, living in a foreign country. The disproportionate attention given to Abousamra and Mehanna only glaringly illustrates the political nature of such prosecutions.

As such, the video regurgitates the same conjectures of Abousamra’s supposed intentions that are found in indictments and press releases; the ‘wanted’ video merely adds a visual dimension to the propaganda.

Viewers are primed in anticipation when the video alert reveals an upcoming audio clip. What would they hear when the “armed and dangerous” Ahmad Abousamra, a man who’s crime was to believe in “the glory of dying on the battlefield,” speaks?        Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on October 13, 2012 in Campaigns, News Items

 

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Reaping the Fruits of Captivity

27 Apr

قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ

“My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me.” [Al-Quran 12:33]

All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be on his messenger, family, and companions.

When al-Mamun the Abbasid caliph imprisoned Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and tortured him in order to compel the Imam to accept the heretical belief in the ‘createdness’ of the Qur’an, Imam Ahmad refused and preferred death to uttering the heretical doctrine. The real victory for Imam Ahmad was to remain steadfast in believing that which pleases Allah; in effect, it was the victory of principles and ideas. History has recorded thousands of prisoners who have spent decades in prison where they preferred to die rather than accept defeat.

Syed Qutb, the great Egyptian Muslim thinker, was one of those who preferred death and torture to renouncing what he had declared. It is to him that the powerful and profound statement is attributed where he said, “the finger that testifies that there is no god but Allah refuses to testify for other than him.” As a result of his commitment, he was promptly hanged. He wrote in Milestones,

“The highest form of triumph is the victory of soul over matter, the victory of belief over pain, and the victory of faith over persecution…In the incident described above, the souls of the Believers were victorious over fear and pain, over the allurements of the earth and of life, and they gained such victory over torture which is an honour for all of mankind and for all times – this is true victory. All men die, and for various reasons; but not all gain such victory, nor reach such heights, nor taste such freedom, nor soar to such limits of the horizon. It is God’s choosing and honouring a group of people who share death with the rest of mankind but who are singled out from other people for honour – honour among the noblest angels, nay, even amongst all mankind, if we were to measure them by the standards of the history of generation after generation.”

He also famously said,

“Indeed our words remain dead until we die in their cause, and then they become alive to remain amongst the living.”

As Muslims, achieving our aims is far easier than those of tyrants. When the disbelievers of Makkah thought that they had defeated the Muslims at the battle of Uhud, pride and arrogance made them blind to seeing the truth. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us the crux of the matter: ‘Our dead are in paradise and your dead are in the hell fire’. There are countless stories of a similar nature where physical strength won the battle but ultimately led to losing the war. Willpower and resolution normally destroys physical power – this will being determination and a strong belief in a cause. It is the result of a high standard of morals and ethics.

The British Babar Ahmad and American Tarek Mehanna are just two examples of the struggle between the power of determination and oppression. Irrespective of what they are accused of, the unjust treatment, decisions and statements are enough to consider them martyrs and heroes of their determination and conviction.

I think it is time for us to face reality and stop shedding tears for shameless British, American, and Western injustices. America, the state that has killed and will continue to kill millions of people whilst prosecuting similar numbers will fight for its interest imprisoning people in solitary confinement until they die. They feel no shame in doing this, and unfortunately, our country feels no shame in following them as a poodle follows her master. Whatever the case may be, injustice leads to destruction. This is proven by history and mere common sense.

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Posted by on April 27, 2012 in Maktabah

 

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|!طارق مہنا: ۱۲ اپریل ۲۰۱۲ |ہاں میں مجرم ہوں

24 Apr

خدا تعالی کے نام سے جو بڑا مہربان اور نہایت رحم کرنے والا ہے

ٹھیک چار سال پہلے، اسی مہینے میں میں ہسپتال میں اپنی شفٹ ختم کرکے گھر جارہا تھا۔جیسے ہی میں اپنی گاڑی کی جانب روانہ ہوا،میری جانب دوحکومتی کارندے آئے۔انہوں نے مجھے کہا کہ میرے پاس دو صورتیں ہیں۔آسان راستہ اپناؤ یامشکلات چن لو۔”آسان راستہ” یہ تھا،جیسا کہ انہوں نے وضاحت کی،کہ میں حکومت کا مخبر بن جاؤں اور اگر میں ایسا کروں گا تو مجھے کبھی بھی عدالت یاجیل کی شکل نہیں دیکھنی پڑے گی۔جہاں تک مشکل راستے کا سوال ہے تو جناب آج میں آپکے سامنے یہاں موجود ہوں۔پچھلے چار سالوں سے ایک انتہائی چھوٹی سی کوٹھڑی میں روزانہ ۲۳گھنٹے کیلئے قید رکھا جاتا ہوں۔ایف بی آئی اور ان وکیلوں نے بڑی سخت محنت کی،امریکی حکومت نے ٹیکسوں میں سے لاکھوں ڈالر خرچے،صرف مجھے گرفتار کرکےاس کوٹھڑی میں قید رکھنے کیلئے۔مجھ پر مقدمہ چلانے کیلئے اورمجھے آج یوں آپ کے سامنے لاکھڑا کرکے سزا سنانے کیلئے کہ میں جیل کی کسی تنگ کوٹھڑی میں مزید کئی سال قید رکھا جاؤں۔

آج کے اس دن کو دیکھنے سے پہلے کےکئی ہفتوں میں مجھے مختلف لوگوں نے مختلف مشورے دیے کہ مجھے عدالت سے کیا گذارش کرنا ہے۔کچھ نے کہا کہ رحم کی درخواست کروں تاکہ سزا کم ہو سکے۔جبکہ کچھ نے کہا کہ میں جو کچھ بھی کہوں گا میری سزا سخت ہی سنائی جائے گی۔مگر میں عدالت میں صرف اپنے بارے میں کچھ کہنا چاہتا ہوں۔

جب میں نے مخبر بننے سے انکار کردیا، تو حکومت نے مجھ پرپوری دنیا میں مسلمان ممالک میں جارحیت کے خلاف لڑنے والے مجاہدین کی پشت پناہی کا “جرم” عائد کردیا۔یا جیسا کہ وہ ان کو کہتے ہیں “دہشت گرد”۔میں کسی مسلمان ملک میں پیدا نہیں ہواتھا۔میں یہیں امریکہ میں پیدا ہوا اور پلا بڑا۔اور اسی بات پر بہت لوگوں کو پارہ چڑھتا ہے کہ ایسا کیسے ہوسکتا ہے کہ میں ایک امریکی ہوکر بھی یہ اور یہ نظریہ رکھتا ہوں اور میرا مؤقف ان سے مختلف ہے ۔ایک آدمی جس ماحول میں رہتا ہے، اسی ماحول کے عوامل اس کی شخصیت پر اثر انداز پوتے ہیں۔اور میرے ساتھ بھی یہی معاملہ ہے۔چنانچہ کئی وجوہات کی بنا پر میں جو کچھ بھی ہوں ،امریکہ کی وجہ سے ہوں۔

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Posted by on April 24, 2012 in Letters from Tariq Mehanna, Risala

 

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Dangerous Mind: Thoughts Inside Tariq Mehanna’s Head Deemed Illegal

23 Apr

Late last year, a jury in Boston convicted Tarek Mehanna, a 29-year-old pharmacist born in Pittsburgh, of material support for terrorism, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to kill in a foreign country, after a thirty-five day trial in which I testified as an expert witness for the defense.

On 12 April, Mr. Mehanna was sentenced to seven-teen and a half years in prison. Hearing this, most Americans would probably assume that the FBI caught a major homegrown terrorist and that seven-teen and a half years is reasonable punishment for someone plotting to engage in terrorism. The details, however, reveal this to be one of the most important free speech cases we have seen since Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969.

As a political scientist specializing in Islamic law and war, I frequently read, store, share and translate texts and videos by jihadi groups. As a political philosopher, I debate the ethics of killing. As a citizen, I express views, thoughts and emotions about killing to other citizens. As a human being, I sometimes feel joy (I am ashamed to admit) at the suffering of some humans and anger at the suffering of others.

At Mr. Mehanna’s trial, I saw how those same actions can constitute federal crimes.

 

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Posted by on April 23, 2012 in News Items

 

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The Case of Tariq Mehanna & The Broader Implications on First Amendment Rights & Religious Discrimination

21 Apr

Electronic Itafada’s Maureen Clare Murphy interviews Nancy Murray of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on the case of Tariq Mehanna, the constitution and Free Speech. Last week, a federal judge sentenced 29-year-old Boston-area pharmacist Tarek Mehanna, convicted earlier this year of various material support for terrorism charges, to 17.5 years in a supermax prison. Mehanna has been in lockdown for most of the past four years, held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in a cell “the size of a small closet,” as Mehanna described during his powerful statement to the judge at the hearing.

Mehanna’s case fits into the wider pattern of civil liberties violations related to the prosecution of Muslims in domestic terror cases. Like in other prosecutions, including that of three young American Muslim men in North Carolina that I have covered on my blog, the government’s case focused on Mehanna’s opposition to US foreign policy and Internet activity, as well as travel he made abroad — all activity thought to be protected by the First Amendment.

FBI Coercion

Before prosecuting him, the government tried to coerce Mehanna into becoming an FBI informant and spying on his community, approaching him after a hospital shift and telling him that he could go the “easy” way and never see the inside of a prison cell, or Mehanna could choose the “hard” way. Mehanna chose the hard way, which his lawyer says he is being punished for. Indeed, defendants’ refusal to become informants is a troubling commonality in a number of terror prosecutions.

And during the trial the prosecution used the tried and true tactic of invoking the specter of the 11 September 2001 attacks, even though Mehanna has no connection to those events whatsoever. When the word “terror” is invoked, even in cases like Mehanna’s where no act of violence is alleged to have been perpetrated, government prosecutors are nearly universally able to secure guilty verdicts — so much so that defendants are more likely to take plea deals than have their day in court.

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Posted by on April 21, 2012 in News Items

 

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