Alan Henning

Alan Henning - a kind hearted, charitable and gentle man.

I start this blog with the man who deserved to be highlighted & out of this entire saga it is HIS story that should be the focus - NOT the thugs who murdered him. However, it is impossible to not address these animals at the same time.

Alan Henning

Alan Henning, a name we should not forget.

Alan traveled to Syria to help those affected by the war and instead became a victim of a country already rife with brutality. Looking at this from as islamic perspective, there is no validation for the brutal act against him. He was never a threat to the rebels & it was clear his intention was to provide aid - both of these statements are easy enough to validate. This gentle man was taken away from his family in a most horrific manner, but what I hope is that his charitable nature and good will is never forgotten in this turmoil.

As to those creatures who felt they had the right to butcher this man - You claim to be Muslims and only God can judge, but read the book you claim to follow and realise that the killing of innocent men, women and children is clearly forbidden - It goes without saying that on a basic level of humanity this is an inexcusable and disgusting act!

The shame is that the stupidity, cruelty and publicity of these pathetic individuals removes the focus from those who are in need within Syria - A problem that Alan Henning was going to address first hand and aiming to work towards a solution. Alan Henning was doing more good for Syria than the masked thugs who took him away from his loved ones. Alan is huge loss to not only his own community here in the UK but to the people he aimed to help in Syria.

To those of you who think the masked men represent any faith I say to you, apply logic and you will realise that these men represent nothing but their own selfish desire (for what purpose I do not know)!

Last but not least, the UK government failed Alan Henning - something they should be held accountable for. This man was a resident of this country, he paid his taxes and served his community - something the government loves to harp on about. Yet when it came to Alan needing them to invest time and money in to his release they failed. They will react to the group, they will pay for the bombs to drop but not the life they could have saved. Regardless, the government will at some point end up in talks with the group (they did so with the IRA and Taliban however they refuse to learn their lesson) at which point it is already to late for Alan. Let us hope no other person becomes a victim of the UK Government & crazy masked men.

To The People of Syria...

To the people of Syria who fight for its Freedom :

To my Brother and Sisters, Allah has not abandoned you. Know that our prayers are with you & who better than Allah can help you?? Where we can, we try and donate to help you, we do not forget your plight though it may seem like it.

I have no right to advise on a situation that I have no knowledge on but please listen to the following...

You fight for the freedom to be Muslim, to worship Allah without any harm falling upon you and those you love. You are ambassadors of Islam so let your actions reflect that. You are hurt, you have lost a lot in the process but becoming like the tyrants is not a solution to an already complex problem. Alhumdulillah, I have not yet come across anything to suggest that above but let it remain so. We have heard of how our Sisters in Islam are being violated by the Assad army, do not abandon these women. Make them your wives, do not discard them as broken, Allah has not abandon them so you too should seek to help them the best you can. I say this as a reminder, not an accusation, but do not harm the old, the women or the children of the opposition. Protect the orphans best you can, do not take advantage of their situation - our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was of them so treat them with due care. O People of Syria, Allah is the one who grants victory so do not abandon your salah during this testing time nor become arrogant over your triumphs.

As for you Assad - May Allah curse you! You come from a line of tyrants and it is clear you do not seek to repent for your actions. May Allah humiliate you like He did those before you! You WILL die that is guaranteed, just as it promised you will be brought to justice. Allah is the All-Seeing the All-Knowing - nothing can be hidden from HIm, you will answer for EVERY SINGLE action you have taken against the innocent. Your arrogance will end & with it the daily shedding of innocent blood.

Ya Rabb, liberate Syria from the daily tyranny and oppression. Protect the women, the old and the vulnerable. Let them not lose hope in Your Justice and grant them patience. O Allah, reunite those who have been left behind with their loved ones in the highest level of Jannah! Ameen.

Edward Snowden...

I am not discussing the revelation of 'Prism', nor what my opinions are about the entire program. I have nothing to say about the government intruding in our personal and private space because lets be honest, who was actually surprised.
I'd rather discuss the man behind it and the motivation behind this 'leak'. Edward Snowden. This man gave up everything (money, home, partner, family and most significantly FREEDOM) to inform the world of what's going on behind the scenes. Nothing about what he revealed shocked me but the embarrassment it's causing has entertained me.
I have always believed that governments have felt invincible and untouchable, a simple man like Edward Snowden reminds them that they are not always in control. Snowden says he did all this for the sake of his country and I believe him. If ever you're in search of a patriot, look this guy up! Earning of up to $200,000 a year and he gave it all up to stop the US from becoming something that goes against its founding principles (lets not ignore that he's given up his freedom too!) Many say he has put his country at risk and I say codswallop! His revelation is not targeting specific info, his comments are only on how intrusive the governments techniques are; if you're genuinely surprised by this info what rock have you been living under?! All he wants is people to be informed and to change how things are done, you can't blame the guy for trying.
Snowden might be naive in thinking that this can change anything but hes definitely brave! He's gone up against the biggest bullies and is candid about not expecting to come out of this unscathed. It seems his motivation to save his country from becoming something unconstitutional has cost him his freedom and possibly his life...

For now we are told Snowden is on the move, whether this is true or false only time will tell. I can only hope that this brave young man comes out this relatively unharmed.
 
                                            

Guantanamo : Hunger Strike

There are 166 men remaining in Guantanamo, the government has confirmed 41 of those are participating in a hunger strike (as of 25th April 2013 that number is now at 94) . Unofficially, the number is thought to be much higher.

Guantanamo, alone, is worth being called a dark stain on justice...but to know that many men are depriving themselves food just to get attention and are STILL being ignored is most definitely a tragedy.  The main media avoids highlighting the mess that is Guantanamo, but thankfully online social media works hard to highlight these issues.

Most of the 166 men are cleared for release, one of those men is Shaker Aamer. Cleared for release in 2007 and then again in 2009 yet he still languishes there. This man is INNOCENT, the government admits it, if he dies there the government deserves no pardoning for the injustice they have done. They can still right this wrong, they can work to free these men and send them back home (especially since they're innocent) to leave them in Guantanamo IS NOT an option.

These men should not have to feel so hopeless that they decide starving themselves is the only way of exercising control over their situation. Especially not when most of them are innocent and have been cleared for release! Shaker Aamer has an 11 year old son who he has never met due to being held captive by the US and UK government. How would you explain to an 11 year old child, that although his father is a great man, a charitable man and INNOCENT from any wrongdoing he has still been kept locked up in a cage for all these years? How do you think that 11 year old boy feels when he hears that his father has mentioned in his letters that he may never make it out alive? Many families have been torn apart by Guantanamo. It is not only the 166 men that are suffering, their families are going through it too.

I hope and pray that none of these men end up leaving in body bags. This is no longer an issue of justice, since the injustice of all the lost years will never make up for it. But it is about these mens RIGHT - they are innocent, they should go home - end of!

Please take the time to sign the online petition asking (although we shouldn't have to!) the government to release Shaker and return him to his family : epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/33133

Shaker Aamer, innocent of any wrongdoing, deserves to come home.

New Year - Old Habits

A new year is upon us.

This, for certain people in the world, will mean diddley sqat! Omar Khadr is still incarcerated with no end in sight. Shakeer Ameer still languishes in Guantanamo Bay Prison. Babar Ahmad & Talha Ahsan are familiarizing themselves with the US prison system, a horrible and downright depressing change for them. I'm glad Gary McKinnon was not extradited - He suffers from Aspergers the same condition that Talha Ahsan suffers from - and so was let off....Why Talha Ahsan wasn't I'll never understand. I'm sick of the injustices & reaching the point were questioning the blatant double standards is futile.

I just hope this year brings about change.
I hope justice prevails this year.
I hope families are finally reunited this year.
I hope for a better future for all of us.

And in all honestly, I hope that the lack of faith I have in our governments and justice system is proved wrong....but I wont hold my breath.

Too many years has injustice been constant - you only have to look at Guantanamo's upcoming anniversary to witness that!

New year but the same old injustices - this year began with the all too familiar story of a man going missing in another country and ending up in a US court - Mahdi Hashi 23 years old. I have no doubt that there will be many more to come.

Babar Ahmad & Talha Ahsan

This entire saga is pure bullshit!!

The fact that BRITISH citizens have been extradited to the US should be causing alarm bells to ring in EVERY single person living in the UK.

The entire charges and reasoning behind this is bullshit too - Babar Ahmad has been extradited because the alleged website he made was on US servers!! WTF!!!!!????? So you're telling me if the brand of bleach used by a dumb ass wanna-be terrorist (in the UK) is a US brand then he can extradited too??

I just hate to think what these men are going through - 8 years indefinitely detained in a UK prison would have been hard enough but to then go to the US where the conditions are known to be harsher and so far from their family must be so frightening. But these are men of faith, it is their infallible strength and patience that erks most observers who wish to see them suffer. Babar Ahmad has written many poems and even a little booklet called Words of Wisdom From Behind Bars - I would encourage you all to download and read it. Just from reading his words you know this man could not be guilty of inciting hate or acts of violence...

Lets get back to the human element of this, these men have been taken away from a distressing situation - to now an unfamiliar and even more so distressing environment. I have no doubt they will be found guilty (unfortunately this is how the "justice" system works - you wouldn't go through the expense of having these men brought to US only to say 'oops we got it wrong''). If found guilty what happens next? Spend the rest of their lives in US prisons or be bought back home to serve out their sentences? Be kept separated from their families for the rest of their lives because of the distance? Surely, that's against their human rights?? What will happen to Gary Mckinnon? If he's not extradited does this become about the colour of someones skin or their religion that's qualifying them for extradition? May seem a bit outlandish that this could be about someones religion but it would be stupid to ignore the blatant facts! Guantanamo Bay has housed over 750 men of ONE faith - Islam! This has happened before in history when a people of one faith have been herded into cages, suffered horrific fates...we may not be far from that reoccurring.

Talha Ahsan suffers from Aspergers Syndrome. In a medico legal report of June 2009, a consultant psychiatrist described him as “an extremely vulnerable individual who from a psychiatric perspective would be more appropriately placed in a specialist service for adults with autistic disorders.” Again, the reasoning behind allowing this obviously fragile individual to be extradited baffles me - Our countrys judges lack any sense of intellect - dimwits!

One last thing the U.N. Committee Against Torture expressed concern about “prolonged isolation periods” and “the extremely harsh regime” in US Supermax prisons.  It is little wonder that the former warden of ADX Florence described the prison as a ‘clean version of hell.’ <<< That is what these men look to be facing for the rest of their lives.


If their stories don't affect you check that you still have a pulse - I'm not saying that they should be free (although that is what i think!) I'm saying the right thing would have been to try them at home....not in a foreign land under bullshit reasoning!


I hope and pray that I am proven wrong - that justice still exists in this day and age, but I won't hold my breath.

Random...

Today's post is going to be random - an explosion of thoughts.

The last I posted was in Feb - a lot's happened personally, globally and politically...

I've been wrecking my mind thinking how can i ever make a change? How can i make the kids i see acting like right idiots realise their potential? How do I help people open their minds to issues like Syria, Guantanamo Bay prison, indefinite detention...?

What pisses me off the most is that kids growing up in areas like Tottenham, Peckham, Brixton....povery & crime ridden areas..... know that no one is going to help them. They have so much potential, so much character, determination and motivation that when it's applied to something good they will excel in it. But why would they even try to do that when from an early age they're exposed to things no child should be exposed to - crime, drugs, violence and so much more. They're not bad people / kids, they're a product of their environment and no one - not the government and nor the community are doing anything to change it.

I'm blessed that I live in a pretty well off area... but i've seen things & experienced things that help me identify with those kids.  I'm not going to pretend like i've seen people get killed but i know of people that have seen that, that should have been the intended victim - i know what they aspire towards and i know what the reality is. They all have dreams to be something better, no one WANTS to be in a gang or go to prison - but the reality is they are so limited in their choices that this is all they see for themselves! I'm sick of people thinking its a simple topic - read an article about some gang shooting and saying they're idiots is the most naive and ignorant attitude to have.

I don't know what the point of this is - like i said it random and its just me rambling (through text) but i just want people to think twice before they comment on kids in hoodies... i haven't even touched on the issues most of these lot will face. Most join gangs because if they don't their chances of surviving unscathed in such environments is little to none, they kill because the mentality is that sooner or later they too will become a target, they sell drugs to earn money - money they wouldn't be able to make otherwise because of the lack of jobs available to them. When you get a chance to sit out and speak with them  - most will be polite, most realise that the life they lead isn't ideal but what all will say is that they do what needs to be done. They know nothing different and don't expect any change.... i can't even begin to imagine what that is like!  

I haven't even touched upon Guantanamo or Syria,  but i think that's enough for today. I just hope that if any one does end up reading this they'll think twice before making any judgements whether it be on a kid in a hoody, a women in niqaab or a man covered in tattoos.

Syria

I'm not going to be sarcastic nor humorous - the situation in Syria is such that it overwhelms me.

Thousands have died and continue to do so. The beast that is Bashar deserves a most wretched death, all that he has done I guarantee you it will all come back to him. I am not here to discuss the dirtbag rather I wish to bring to your attention the victims of this tyrant.

Men, women, children and the elderly - none have been spared the horror! I'm not going to go into the graphic details but to put it simply...women's honour has been violated, men have been massacred and children have been left orphaned...yet the world 'leaders' remain silent.

I think its fair to say the Syrian people should not have any expectations of being rescued by the UN, Arab League or any other pathetic and useless group! To be honest, I'm pretty sure the Syrian are brave enough and smart enough to know only they can help themselves and most obviously - God. But here's the thing, I always like to defeat people expectations! They expect nothing from outsiders, so lets do the opposite - lets show them we care and we're thinking about them. Please donate, whether its a pound or a penny....give what you can.

Click here to donate what you can - please!

Mothers are terrified for their children's safety, by donating you help ease their fear of starvation. Fathers are terrified of whether their families are safe while they defend their lives - you help by funding shelter for families.

Do not belittle any amount given to charity - give what you can and go to bed knowing you have done a great deed!

Guantanamo - 10 Years Later!

10 years later Guantanamo remains open and worse of all, active. 170 captives remain stranded on this is island in a facility that will go into history books as the the worst criminal act by the USA. I guarantee you!

This facility is known to have carried out regular torture & this came in all forms, physical, mental and sexual. The implications of this on the detainees mental health are terrifying. Sexual abuse is sadly quite common in regular state prison, committed by criminals on other incarcerated criminals. Never have I heard of such rampant cases of sexual abuse by GUARDS on prisoners as often as I have from Guantanamo. I say without hesitation that the majority of guards at GITMO are more criminal than those being held. Guantanamo is the equivalent of letting dogs look after humans - a disaster waiting to happen. Human rights group argue that indefinite detention alone is an act of torture, add solitary confinement to that and you have a lethal mental weapon against detainees.

Acts of torture are common. This is not me saying it, the documents speak for them self! Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in March 2003 & had been waterboarded atleast 183 times by the CIA. That wasn't all, he was held at a secret detention facility - so only God knows what else he & many others were put through. A judge even declared that "Americas idea of what is torture...does not appear to coincide with that of most civilized nations".

Detainee returning after interrogation

This facility has held over 700 people. That's 700 lives destroyed / tainted forever, not including the guards. As much as one can say they are weak people to follow commands even when they are so blatantly inhumane one can't begin to think of what they feel when they're back home with their families, knowing what evil acts they've witness & participated in.

Guantanamo has changed the future for many people. It has transgressed all limits both morally & legally. It has always been said that in war leave alone the women, the children & the old. Guantanamo has had no mercy. The oldest captive was 89 year old Mohammed Sadiq, and the youngest 14 year old Naqib Ullah (I'm pretty sure I've heard of a 12 year old being held but can't find the details). There have also been statements of women being held there. The US government has since become cocky & has even so far as to go into other nations and kidnap foreign citizens! Last year Italy convicted 26 CIA agents in absentia for kidnapping an Italian citizen & then dumping him in the woods near his house a year later.

The individuals that remain there are there simply to save face! Shaker Ameer, Fayiz Al Kanderi, Omar Khadr & many more are ready for release but due to the US governments stupidity & plain arrogance they remain stranded.

David Hicks

"GTMO should be closed, torture abolished, military commisons scrapped, renditions ceased, indefinite detention should be a thing of the past & people (including children) should no longer be made to 'disappear' into unknown black site prisons" - David Hicks (in an exclusive interview with Jason Leopold) The fact that such a statement needs to be said tells us how bad things have got.

Guantanamo is no longer about keeping the bad guys locked up. The bad guys aren't the ones in the cages - scary but true! Rather it's the ones in uniforms carrying out the commands who should be locked up. It's the leader who allows their actions to continue, when a true leader would be ashamed of having such actions associated with his leadership, who deserves to be locked up. The real criminals sit behind desks arguing to keep practicing torture & sign new laws that make torture acceptable! The real criminals strut around thinking their invincible, I swear by the One who created this Earth & everything in it, they will be judged & true justice will be served!

List of those detained at #Guantanamo

They deserve to be heard....

Al-Afghani, Haroon

Al-Afghani, Muhammed

Fazl, Mullah Mohammad

Ghani, Abdul

Gul, Khi Ali

Karim, Bostan

Khairkhwa, Khirullah Said Wali

Omari, Mohammad Nabi

Hamidullah

Kamin, Mohammed

 Khan, Shawali

Mohammed, Haji Wali

Noori, Mullah Norullah

Obaidullah

Razzak, Abdul (73 years old & died in custody)

Shah, Nahir

Sohail, Mohammed Mustafa

Wasiq, Abdul Haq

Zahir, Abdul

Zahir, Mohommod

Belbacha, Ahmed Bin Saleh

Belkacem, Bensayah

Hadjarab, Nabil

Khadr, Omar Ahmed (taken into custody when 15 years old)

Abbas, Yusef

Abdulghupur, Hajiakbar

Khalik, Saidullah

Mohamed, Ahmed

Razak, Abdul

Al Sawah, Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed

Bin Isamuddin, Riduan

Al Iraqi, Abd Al Hadi

Malik, Abdul

Al Awda, Fouzi Khalid Abdullah

Al Kandari, Faiz Mohammed Ahmed

Diyab, Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa

Abdelrahan, Abdelrazak Ali

Abdelrahman, Abdelrazak Ali

Abu Bakr, Omar Khalifa Mohammed

al-Libi, Abu Faraj

Ali Bakush, Ismael Ali Faraj

Ghereby, Salem Abdul Salem

bin Lep, Mohammed Nazir

Zubair, Mohamed Farik bin Amin

Aziz, Ahmed Abdel

Slahi, Mohamedou Ould

Nasir, Abdul Latif

Shokuri, Yunis Abdurrahman

Abu Rahman, Abdul Rabbani Abd Al Rahim

Baluchi, Ammar

Khan, Majid

Mohammed, Khalid Sheikh

Paracha, Saifullah

Rabbani, Mohammed Ahmad Ghulam

Zubaida, Abu

Mingazov, Ravil

Al Bedani, Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh

Al Bihani, Tolfiq Nassar Ahmed

Al Darbi, Ahmed Muhammed Haza

Al Nashiri, Abd al-Rahim

Al Qahtani, Jabran Said Wazar

Al Qahtani, Muhammad Mani Ahmed Al Shal Lan

Al Sharbi, Ghassan Abdullah

Al Shumrani, Mohammad Al Rahman

Al Zahrani, Muhammed Murdi Issa

Ali Bin Attash, Hassan Mohammed

Amar, Abu

Ami, Shakir Abdurahim Mohamed

Hawsawi, Mustafa Ahmed

Qahtani, Said Muhammad Husyan

Qattaa, Mansoor Muhammed Ali

Shalabi, Abdul Rahman

Dourad, Gouled Hassan

Al Qosi, Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud

Idris, Ibrahim Othman Ibrahim

Muhammaed, Noor Uthman

Ahjam, Ahmed Adnan

Faraj, Abd Al Hadio Omar Mahmoud

Shaaban, Ali Husein

Abdulayev, Omar Hamzayavich

Al Yazidi, Ridah Bin Saleh

Hkiml, Adel Bin Ahmed Bin Ibrahim

Ourgy, Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess

Rahman, Mohammed Abdul

Sliti, Hisham Bin Ali Bin Amor

Abd Al Sattar, Muieen A Deen Jamal A Deen Abd Al Fusal

Hamidullah, Ali Sher

Hussein, Abdul Qadir Yousef

Tahamuttan, Mohammed Abdullah

Abd Al Mujahid, Mahmoud Abd Al Aziz

Abd Al Rahman Abd, Allal Ab Aljallil

Abd Al Wahab, Abd Al Malik

Abu Ghanim, Mohammed Rajab Sadiq

Ahmad, Majid Mahmud Abdu

Ahmed, Abdul Rahman

Ahmed, Fahmi Abdullah

Al Alawi, Muaz Hamza Ahmad

Al Ansi, Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah

Al Bihani, Ghaleb Nassar

Al Busayss, Adil Said Al Haj Obeid

Al Dhuby, Khalid Mohammed Salih

Al Edah, Mohammed Ahmad Said

Al Hamiri, Mohammed Abdullah

Al Hikimi, Ahmed Umar Abdullah

Al Hilal, Abdul Al Salam

Al Kazimi, Sanad Yislam

Al Khalaqi, Asim Thahit Abdullah

Al Madoonee, Musab Omar Ali

Al Marwalah, Bashir Nasir Ali

Al Maythali, Ha Il Aziz Ahmed

Al Mudhaffari, Abdel Qadir Hussein

Al Nahdi, Sulaiman Awath Sulaiman Bin Ageel

Al Qadasi, Khalid Abd Jal Jabbar Muhammad Juthman

Al Qurashi, Sabri Mohammed Ebrahim

Al Rahizi, Ali Ahmad Muhammad

Al Rammah, Omar Mohammed Ali

Al Sabri, Mashur Abdallah Muqbil Ahmed

Al Saleh, Abdul

Al Sani, Fahmi Salem Said

Al Shamyri, Mustafa Abdul Qawi Abdul Aziz

Al Sharabi, Zuhail Abdo Anam Said

Al Suadi, Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ali

Al Wady, Hamoud Abdullah Hamoud Hassan

Al Warafi, Muktar Yahya Najee

Al Yafi, Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammed

Al-Marwa'I, Toufiq Saber Muhammad

Alahdal, Abu Bakr Ibn Ali Muhhammad

Awad, Jalal Salam Awad

Awad, Waqas Mohammed Ali

Azani, Saad Masir Mukbl Al

Baada, Tarek Ali Abdullah Ahmed

Balzuhair, Shawki Awad

Bin Atef, Mahmmoud Omar Mohammed

Bin Attash, Walid Muhammad

Binalshibh, Ramzi

Bwazir, Mohammed Ali Abdullah

Ghazi, Fahed Abdullah Ahmad

Hadi, Salem Ahmed

Haidel, Mohammed Ahmed Said

Hakim, Abdel Ghalib Ahmad

Hamdoun, Zahar Omar Hamis Bin

Hassan, Emad Abdalla

Hatim, Said Muhammed Salih

Hintif, Fadil Husayn Salih

Ismail, Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman

Ismail, Yasin Qasem Muhammad

Jarabh, Saeed Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah Sarem

Khnenah, Muhammed Ali Hussein

Khusruf, Mohammed Nasir Yahya

Masud, Sharaf Ahmad Muhammad

Mohammed, Hussein Salem

Moqbel, Samir Naji Al Hasan

Muhammad, Abd Al Rahman Abdullah Ali

Nashir, Sa Id Salih Sa Id

Nassir, Jamil Ahmed Said

Qader, Ahmed Abdul

Qader Idris, Idris Ahmed Abdu

Qasim, Khaled

Qyati, Abdul Rahman Umir Al

Rabeii, Salman Yahya Hassan Mohammed

Rahman, Abdul

Said Kuman, Ahmed Yaslam

Salam, Mohammed Ahmed

Saleh, Ayoub Murshid Ali

Saleh Naser, Abdul Rahman Mohamed

Salem Al Zarnuki, Mohammed Ali

Salih, Abdul Al Razzaq Muhammad

Sharqawi, Abdu Ali Al Haji

Sulayman, Abdul Rahman Abdul Abu Ghityh

Suleiman, Fayiz Ahmad Yahia

Uthman, Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed

Zaid, Walid Said Bin Said

Aafia Siddiqui - A modern day horror story

I am not here to discuss Aafia Siddiquis innocence or guilt. I'm simply highlighting the tragic and horrific truth of her story.

Aafia Siddiqui and her three children were abducted around March 2003, because a man who was water boarded mentioned her name. Now lets just think about this, 2003 was a horrible time to be in Pakistan / Afghanistan, everyone had heard the horrific tales of abuse in captivity. As a women, can you just imagine her fear not only for herself but for her children. Throughout history, those in a position of power over alleged criminals have violated it - Zimbardo et al proved that! Now not only is she captive so are her young children, one is still a baby. (I refuse to comment on the fact that she was hunted down because a man mentioned her name while being drowned almost to death!)

No one actually knows where she was held, but Moazzam Begg has many times mentioned a lady he was forced to hear screaming in Bagram Prison, there was a female prisoner held there - prisoner 650 also known as the Grey Lady of Bagram. Many believe that female prisoner was Aafia Siddiqui. In that prison we have proof that mens dignity and honour was violated, what they did to women there doesn't bare thinking about. A picture tells a thousand stories, so I show you below a picture of Aafia before and after captivity - no one can deny it shows a broken women.

Don't make stupid comments like 'well she's come out of prison how do you expect her to look!' - when I see men / women come out of the prisons in the UK they're usually fatter than when they went in! They don't come out looking dehydrated, disheveled, underweight and have broken noses!

I'd like to highlight that Aafia Siddiquis' CHILDREN were abducted also. Where were the worlds chid protection laws for them? Was it because they were muslim the laws were no longer valid?? I'm not trying to insight hate, but this is how racial tensions arise because one universal rule is abandoned for certain types of people (this was also done to Omar Khadr, who is now carrying out a sentence in Guantanamo even though he was a child when taken captive). The true tragedy of this case is that FIVE years later Aafia Siddiquis son re-emerged, he has never spoken out about where he was or what happened. Aafias' daughter re-emerged SEVEN years later, she too has never spoken about where she was or what happened during those seven years. This may be selfish but I'm glad i have not been told...Aafias youngest child is still unaccounted for - presumed dead. Yet no one bats an eye lid...

From 2003 - 2008 what happened to Aafia Siddiqui? Her family claim that she was held in Bagram prison, routinely tortured and raped. If this is the case then a rational person can admit that this would have an effect on an individuals mental health. When her mental health was assessed, not ONE but TWO professionals came to the conclusion that she was unfit to stand trial. Another 'professional' was brought in and deemed her fit - the judge sided with this individual. Since Aafias story is entwined with injustice I doubt she was surprised by this verdict. In her own words "there's too many injustices", this just reinforced it. Eventually the trial came to an end, with its fair share of drama and outbursts  - outbursts of an individual who had been through things we cant even imagine and lost all hope in justice. In Sept 2010 she was sentenced to 86 years. As she was sentenced she made an appeal urging forgiveness and asked the public not to take any action in retaliation - Are these really the words a terrorist?? If anything, now was her chance to insight hate and make the most of it since in the eyes of her supporters (and rational thinkers) this was a MASSIVE injustice.

Sadly her story does not end here, she is carrying out her sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell. At this establishment, over a seven year period, seven members of staff have been convicted of sexual abuse. A 2007 government report in England says "Estimates from research suggest that between 75 and 95 percent of rape crimes are never reported to the police', so yes seven were convicted but how many are still there?

I hope that Aafia finds some comfort in the knowledge that people are aware of her, they know her name and her story. I hope and pray she finds peace in her faith.

"I appeal to God and He hears me" - Aafia Siddiqui.

Indeed He does and I too pray for her, her children and her forgiveness because we should never have let it get this far....

Kindness

We seriously under rate kindness.

If only we could display the awesomeness of kindness for the whole world to see, we'd all be trying to out do each other in it! It is kindness that gets us through the day, it is kindness that gives us hope and it is kindness that is the foundation of a happy home.

When your feeling down in the dumps and your parent/sibling/friend says not to worry its all going to be okay, you want to believe them but deep down you think 'Well obviously they're going to say that'. I don't do that. If someone i know is in a pretty bad situation I'm not going to sugar coat it. The truth is they are in a tough place. But what I am going to do is listen to every single word that comes out their mouth. Honestly, listening is one of the toughest skills to acquire - but once you do, you realise the true value of it! Kindness isn't just about smiling to strangers and making others feel good about themselves, it's about taking the time to get to know the individual that stands before you. It's about learning to adapt to the needs of other people. I know that I cannot behave with my co-workers the way i can with my friends. I know that sarcasm is not appreciated by some friends so do not use it, whereas with others it's an ongoing thing! I know, even through texts, when a friend is feeling down in the dumps and I know how to approach the issue too.

We live in a society that tells us we shouldn't have to change for anyone. We should not change our ways to suit others because that means we aren't doing what makes us happy! What a load of cods wallops! Its shit like that that's let yobs get away with so much! Those who are unwilling to adapt to different people and situations are the ones who are left behind.
When i talk about adapting I'm not talking about changing YOUR personality i'm talking about the way you address people, how you talk to one person differs to another. I, as a Muslim, have to pray 5 times a day. Even if I'm at work or in a shopping center. But how I go about it differs depending on where I am and who I'm with.When a women / man looks at me either trying to be intimidating or looking rather uncomfortable, I smile. A smile is a doorway to conversation, If the person is curious then he/she knows now is their chance to start a conversation, if not then they see that I am neither a threat nor am I easily intimidated!

I remember walking around town and an elderly man gave me way, so I smiled and thanked him. He said something that I will probably never forget : 'What a beautiful smile, you should show it off more often', not only did he make my day hopefully I too made him happy. How often do we under value something as simple as a smile - how stingy have we become!

And for those muslims out there reading this then here's something that should encourage you even more so :
Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, once said: "Charity is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises."
He was then asked: "From what do we give charity every day?"

The Prophet answered: "The doors of goodness are many...enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf, leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one's legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the feeble with the strength of one's arms--all of these are charity prescribed for you."

He then said: "Even your smile for your brother is a charity."

So in all seriousness - LETS GET SMILING!! :) 

Consequences

This new bill is a whole load of cods wallop!!

Never has and never will indefinite detention on home soil or abroad been a reasonable or effective solution. The idea of it is preposterous!

All indefinite detention (without trial) does is incite more hatred and animosity between the two parties.
Since when has actually standing by the principles that your nation was founded upon been a weakness? Since when has been fair and just been a weakness? Since when has such obvious stupidity and oppression been acceptable!! Oh I could go on forever!!!!

This doesn't just affect US citizens it affects any one from any country - why can the US decide my fate! If you want to find out more details about the bill then feel free to google it - I am not going to copy and paste facts so that you either assume I am bias or that I have pasted snippets that suit me.

All these types of laws do is encourage stereotyping and discrimination. They also give radicals' material and motive to continue saying what they say. The government only has itself to thank when a young boy is torn away from his father and later goes on to exact his revenge. If anything the government should spend the money they intend to waste on keeping people locked up forever on rehabilitation. Does it really cost that much more to sit and talk things through...this method only has benefits.
If you are arrested and face the prospect of indefinite detention then you are willing to do anything to get out of it - FACT! But once you start attending group circles that actually face the issues rather than bury them it catches your attention, and you begin to listen. Eventually you start interacting,  then start voicing your opinion which leads to counter arguments. These counter arguments may go against your opinion but the logic behind them trumps yours - resulting in a change in your beliefs and attitude. If the people who hold you treat you with respect or at the very least treat you right then you cannot complain...but if they are first class tossers to you then you believe you have every right to hate them and to tell your family how awful they are which spreads and leads to further hatred towards the system in place. Kindness has never and will never be a weakness. Ignorance and fear is, these new laws in place just show us how afraid the US is...surely a nation with confidence in their abilities would not stoop to such low levels.

Yes my method may be way too simple to be effective, but usually the simplest and most obvious method is!!

Next time Iran does something to its own citizens & the US releases some pathetic statement then I wholeheartedly hope Iran tells them to F*** off! The US has lost the right to be known as the "land of the free...", well done Obama!

Tis the season to be jolly...

Not to put a downer on things - but is it really?

I'm sitting in my warm house knowing my dads sounds asleep in good health, while there is a child out there who has never seen / met his father because my government won't bring him back from Guantanamo Bay.

Shaker Aamer, has been held for almost 10 years - for 10 years old his children have been unable to see him or hear his voice! He was unofficially cleared for released in 2007 and officially for 2 years, so why does the government still insist on using up valuable tax payer money on keeping him holed up there??!

Why are we blind and deaf to this injustice!! When you sit around your table on Christmas eve and all wake up to open your gifts on the 25th, think about those who are waking up holed in cells they DO NOT belong in. Think about those children who are unjustly being punished by being separated from their fathers. To bring the man back to this country is the just thing to do, even if he goes to another prison cell atleast he's a step closer to home than he is now. Recently, Clive Stafford Smith wrote an open letter on how he believes if he is not released soon Shaker Aamer will die there. Imagine you were his son / daughter reading that, you know according to the law he SHOULD be a free man...but yet he's not.

What kind of justice is this? Have we totally lost our sense of righteousness that we can stand by and let this happen?

What can we do to help? How are we going to bring him back - what authority do I have?

Your probably thinking all the above - write to your local MP, heck write to the PM! Or at the very least bring awareness to the issue because although you might not be able to make the change someone out there may be able to and how are they going to do so if they aren't aware...

So this Christmas Day when you open your gifts, just remember how fortunate you are. And if you are a person who prays, I ask that you pray that justice is served and Shaker Aamer and his family are granted freedom from the shackles of tyranny and blatant injustice.

Todays simple message

Today I want you to smile.

When you feel bogged down cos of your work load or cos you don't have work, smile.

When your outside deep in thought and realise your no longer smiling, stop & smile.

Your smile can change someone else's day. YOU have the power to change YOUR day.

Start out positive and nothing will knock you - not your boss, not your family, not your addictions, NOTHING!

Slowly we are becoming a nation that worries from how we look to how we going to afford next months rent. Anxiety has never been wise counsel, take a breath and reassess.

As long as you have life in you, you can change your fortune around. The only person you can rely on to make a change is yourself - believe it!

Here's a little personal story. My eating disorder came back with full force last week, ironically the week i had taken a few days off work. I spent Tues (one of my days off) lying in bed with a banging headache because I was busy starving myself. When I did eventually venture out on Wed I was exhausted mentally and physically. My attitude became negative as I was once again consumed by my eating disorder, when  I got back to work i hated every hour!! I was tired and getting easily frustrated (definitley not normal for me!) and that affected my work with made me even more anxious because I was struggling to get things done.

Today (Monday) I woke up and decided today was going to be different. I had breakfast (tea with a cherry bakewell) and made my way to work - with a smile. I got to work and organised my thoughts and my to-do list. Even when things did i go wrong, i literally took a deep breath and knew that everything was going to be okay...and it was!

I one thing I hate to see is people stressing, I honestly believe that there is nothing on this Earth that deserves that much energy. There are always people wishing to be were you are at in life - never forget that that one mans misery can be another mans dream. (Or something like that!)

Take care fellow homosapians - and dont stress!! If you want to vent then feel free to leave a comment and then let it go!

Dear Prime Minister

To David Cameron,

I say David Cameron because your actions are not of a man I would recognise as a leader therefore I shall not address by the label you are known by.

I am British, born and raised in this land. However, my parents are not. I neither fit in your country nor in theirs. You go on national tv claiming multiculturalism is not working, It's not working because your not seeing it?? Have you bothered to step out of your social circle to see what things are like in the real world?

Do you, David Cameron, walk the streets when it is dark to see who is left out in the darkness with no shleter? Do you, David Cameron, go to a citizens house and ask them how they're coping financial, physically and mentally? Do you, David Cameron, know what the people of the land you are suppose to be defending and protecting are feeling at this very moment?

How can a man who does not know his people, and has no intention to, be called their leader? You stand on podiums day after day talking about budgets, finances and ridding the world of extremism, but what about winning over the people? If the people do not like you then no amount of money can fix that. When people have lost hope in your government, no amount of talking can regain that.

As a citizen of this country, I simply ask that you walk to St.Pauls Cathedral and TALK to the people!
Ask them why they are there, what you can do and make a sincere intention to discuss these issues openly. Our politics have become a joke! You have secrets and you lie, how can you be trusted when you openly betray your so-called allies? Walk the streets at night and ask the teacher sleeping under the bridge how he got there, ask the qualified psychologist how he / she got there. If you get to know the people you'll get to see the REAL issues.

Money can only get you so far, but if the people turn against you, you won't get anywhere.

Yours Sincerley

A concerned citizen

Gadaffi's Death

Okay here I go!

I don't care about what you may have thought about this guy. Was he a goodie or a baddie - as Tupac famously said 'Only God can Judge me' - well only God can judge him.

To kill a man and THEN to drag him through the streets and to display his corpse all around the world is barbaric and disgusting! To say you wish to remove a tyrant from power only then to mirror his actions (maybe even worse) is despicable and disgraceful. I'm consumed with anger and disappointment, what a shameful way to end such a fight.

Now as always lets try a different scenario! So on our lovely (unbiased!) tv screens we see a taliban member shooting dead a man convicted of dealing drugs - is that more barbaric than dragging a corpse through the street? Can you just imagine the uproar that would cause! Our pathetic Prime Minister / Presidents hollering on about how these awful men deserve to be hunted down and punished (in the process killing 100,000's of civilians!). Yet here they stand on our screens clapping these folks on their backs. "Well done Libyan people you killed a 60+ year old man and dragged him through the streets - great job keep up the brilliant work! P.S. If your Afghani / Iraqi and do the same we WILL invade your country."

What would have been the right course of action? As muslims, and more importantly as humans, they should have taken him into custody. According to some reports he was begging, surely his victims did the same, but would the person who claims to want change then exact revenge or do what the tyrant never did? Actions speak louder than words, and the Libyan peoples actions did not back their words.

Within a few years I'm pretty sure the US and UK will be singing a different tune and preparing troops to invade and destroy the Libyan Land - until then let us all watch them plaster fake smiles around the world while behind the scenes they rub their hands together planning their next move. 

How is killing the man making a difference. How is celebrating ANOTHER death going to make things okay. What does it say about us...

O how beautiful is freedom

Freedom, how do we define it?

For me freedom is the chance to practice my religion freely without any fear. For you it maybe the right to not believe in a God without any fear. For some it may be the right to bare flesh without any fear of repercussions. For others, it might be to roam the world without any restrictions.

What ever it may be, here's the real question, who decides the definition of freedom? If we go by our governments they're very different in different situations.

Anwar Awlaki, a US citizen, was blatantly assassinated by his government. I aint here to discuss his innocence or guilt I'm just stating facts about this case. The US felt they had the right to go and bomb a man in a whole different nation (nothing new there eh!) but here's the thing what if Iran decided to do the same?

What if we turn on the TV tomorrow and see that Iran decided to bomb a small area of the US because a Iranian born Christian man was claimed to be plotting against the nation? Why does Iran not have the same freedom to roam into another nation, unlike the US / UK government? No one blinked an eyelid at the actions of the US - in fact I'm sure some applaud it. Double standards are a bitch!

Now on to the question of freedom - do any of us actually have a legit claim on freedom? Are any of us really free? I'm going to say no.

We are tied down to mortgages, jobs we hate, taxes we have to pay that are stupidly high! We are lured into the consumerist trap - buying crap we don't need but think we want but in fact by the time we get home we realise we didn't! We all have limited freedom, some we impose upon ourself others are imposed on us.

Whoever decided to come up with the term freedom conned us all - freedom is an illusion we all strive for, but in doing so the journey there is a beautiful one. We all stand as one for a cause we believe in, you just need to look at the Wall Street protests to see that! An even more beautiful example was the Egypt protests (however the recent turmoil is not so exemplary).

Defining terrorism

"The unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims"  

- Oxford Dictionary.

People so easily throw around the word terrorism without really thinking about what it REALLY means and who that could apply to. Most will think of bearded men when thinking about terrorists & when asked about terrorism they'll probably think of bearded men blowing shit up in the US/UK.

Here's the thing, by reading the definition that I've pasted above, does that not apply to the US government? The Iraq war was an unauthorized war (war = violence!) in the pursuit of political aims. Again, the same can be said for the tragedy that is Guantanamo Bay prison. The men in that prison will no doubt say that the American government is the biggest terrorist of all, especially when you look at the fact that human rights are blatantly being ignored there. 

Terrorism is defined by an individuals perspective, don't let the government decide for you! Lets just think about this for a second, please make an effort to be objective. 

A man living in the country you live in, so for me that would be the UK, decides that he's going to commit a crime. This man is not from the UK but he resides in it, so he commits this awful crime and goes into hiding. You offer to hunt this man and hand him over to those whom he has committed this crime against, yet they decline. (On a side note, it is a well known fact that the Taliban did offer to hand Bin Laden to the US yet this offer was declined, even though it could have saved millions of lives - blood hungry much?) This nation has decided they will invade your country over a man that you have just offered to hand over!! So, now your a farmer listening to all this over the radio, you hear that the invading nation has now begun ground operations your instinct is to protect all that you have. YOU have not committed a crime yet YOU are the one being punished for it! How is this justice!? 

I have been born and raised in the UK, within my own country I am still an outsider, yet if any country was to unjustly invade mine I would defend it - because this is all I have. Everything and everyone I love is here, so forgetting about whether the country / leader has done right by me, I will defend it! Yet I am now being labelled the terrorist - this is justice? 

Going back to the definition of terrorism, were the rioters not using violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims? Why have they not been charged and sentenced under the Terrorism Act? The governments of the western world wish to define terrorism for us, let us not be blinded by their propaganda. George Bush is as much of a terrorist as Bin Laden (if in fact he did commit the awful crime which has yet to be proven beyond all doubt), Obama is as much of a terrorist as George Bush and the cycle will go on. 

Our governments applaud the Arab people for standing up against their oppressive and tyrannical leaders, all the while they are blinded by their arrogance. Obama has and will forever be held as a liar because he has YET to fulfil his promise to close down the illegal prison in Cuba that violates all the laws he wishes to impose in the Middle East - hypocritical much!! 

Terrorism is committed by our nations yet we ignore it and put it under the banner of "War against terrorism", does that now mean there are two definitions of terrorism - one for arabs and the other for the rest of the world. 

It's time we start start thinking for ourselves rather than blindly following the crowd. Our countries and principles are in ruins, surely we are in need of change. This change will only come about when we begin to realise that we can think for ourselves and we can make ourselves heard. Enough of sitting quietly and listening to ignorant people spewing hate. Let your view be heard, because it's only once people see you have the courage to voice your opinion that they too will have the courage to think outside the box - start setting the example!

Ramadan

Ramadan has begun.

This month is all by restraining yourself and your desires, its a test of patience. Most people focus on the food aspect of it, whereas we should focus on all aspects. Refraining from food is just a tiny portion of what ramadan is all about, its also about refraining from bad speech, bad actions and bad manners. Although they are actions we should try and holdback from most of the time, with a rumbling stomach you find yourself more able to focus on these things.

This month makes me realise how fortunate I am. I'm not going to lie and say i never get hungry because I'm so spiritual blah blah...I'm human and I do feel hunger!! I know that when the sunsets I can break my fast and eat all that I want, whereas those around the world suffering from famines don't have that luxury. I can distract myself from the sound of my rumbling stomach with a book, listening to recitation of the quran, surfing the net...they don't have that luxury.

What bugs me the most when I tell people I'm fasting is when they reply with "ooohh that going to be tough, I just won't eat in front of you". That's the attitude that's left the poor and hungry, poorer and hungrier than ever before! You don't hide away from the issue, you face it. Yes, I'm choosing to fast so by all means eat in front of me, I couldn't care less. But when people are starving and dying because they have no choice DON'T hide away and eat in secret, eat openly but at the same time feed others.

I'm going to end this with what captivates me about this blessed month. All around the world there will be Muslims refraining from food, whether rich or poor, tall or short, black or white, we will all feel the hunger. We will, for a short period of time, feel what others feel when they cannot eat during the day. We will go through our daily chores, just as those in countries plagued with famine, on empty stomachs and sheer motivation. We know when it will end - they don't.

This month is not just about witholding it's also about giving. This month is the BEST month to give, so give generously to those less fortunate. Give with open hearts and pure intentions, because money given in charity is never a loss!