"Fifty Quid for Dinner?!!!"
"Fifty Quid for Dinner?!!!" the brother almost screamed at me.
I realised the problem – he had scanned the leaflet and mentally totted up the list of speakers, the venue, the three course meal against half a dozen other Muslim entertainment events in his mind - a mixed bunch of Nasheed concerts, Halal Comedy nights, I-Soc dinners and Eid celebrations and felt that he was being short changed.
The problem was he was comparing apples with oranges and just didn't know. He looked at the names on the flyers and didn't recognise half of them.
He had failed to comprehend that this was not just another event – it was something quite unique.
Who are Cageprisoners?
Cageprisoners are a small human rights organisation dedicated to working for Muslim Prisoners caught up in the 'War on Terror.'
Our raison d'etre is the prisoners – and we have been working tirelessly for them since the photos of prisoners arriving in Guantanamo in orange jumpsuits were imprinted in our minds in 2003.
It is far from easy to think of individuals in 2008 who would have the courage and commitment to make their focus of concern the circumstances of detained Muslims in Britain and beyond.
The work done by the small collective that consititutes 'Cageprisoners' is quite remarkable; there is not an individual whose plight that escapes their notice; where little is known, Cageprisoners conducts its own research, takes statements, conducts interviews, generates debate and consistently produces a flow of reliable information that is otherwise unobtainable.
The world inhabited by prisoners is intended by their jailers to be secret and silent; Cageprisoners gives a voice to the voiceless, and refuses to allow those who are not detained, the complacency of ignorance.
Their work is achieved on a shoestring, and yet matches and surpasses that of many organisations by comparison massively resourced organisations which barely scratch the surface of the same area.
The Cageprisoners website is or should be required reading for the public at large, writers, broadcasters, academics, lawyers and politicians and all who believe that it is their duty to be properly informed.
Gareth Peirce, August 13th 2008
Ticket price is Sadaqah in Ramadan
This is a fundraising dinner. This means that every penny raised goes straight back to helping the prisoners. Our sponsors have helped us to keep costs to a bare minimum so we can maximise the money we raise (don't worry – the food at the iftar will not disappoint insha'Allah.)
What does this mean to you – the £50 ticket is Sadaqah, pure and simple.
You will be giving the sadaqah in Ramadan, the recipients of the sadaqa are working to free and help the oppressed.
The Prophet, SAW, was asked, 'Which type of charity is best?' He responded,
'Charity done during Ramadan.' " [1]
Dua of the Oppressed
Now let us talk about the prisoners, both the released and soon to be released (insha'Allah.)
We all know that
'If Allah loves a people, He tests them.'[2]
Can anyone claim that our brothers have not been tested? Isolated from their families, caged like animals in the searing tropical heat, forcefully shaven and stripped naked, humiliated by their oppressors.
So can you imagine their rank in front of Allah? These are people who Allah has declared those whom He loves, these are a people Allah has singled out to purify from their sins like fire purifies steel.
"...that He may make them taste a bit of that which they have done, in order that they may return." [3]
These are a people who have faced almost seven years isolated from the outside world.
People who have learnt a lesson you cannot learn on a weekend seminar or from a book. They have had every hope and assistance stripped away from them until they tasted the sweetness of abandoning all reliance on anything other that Allah
If these are Allah's beloved – wouldn't you want them making dua for you? What would you give for it – money alone?
Can you imagine that they are standing in Qiyam, in the last third of the night, in the last ten days of Ramadan in their metal cages weeping and begging their Lord for deliverance?
"... And be afraid of the duaa of an oppressed person because there is no veil between him and Allah." [4]
Imagine no veil between them and Allah, a direct line unsullied by sins or haram!
Do you not think that they are asking Allah for forgiveness for those who help them?
Do you not think that they are asking Allah to shower His mercy upon those who help them?
How can you not want to be counted amongst their helpers and those for whom they are making dua for?
What would you give for that opportunity?
Largest gathering of ex-detainees in Europe
Now let us get back to the dinner itself. The dinner will have the largest gathering of ex-Guantanamo detainees from all around Europe to date.
You will be able to meet those that Allah has tested and you will see that they are flesh and bone just like you or I.
Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested.
And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test).[5]
If a speaker can inspire you, how about a room of people whom Allah has tested, and have remained steadfast?
You will be listening to the likes of Moazzam Begg and Imam Anwar Al Awlaki, in his first live public address since his release from prison, less than a year ago. You will have the opportunity to take away with you the letters that they wrote in Guantanamo, previously unseen sketches conceived in the cages of Camp Delta, bid for books and DVDs signed by these inspirational brothers.
If seeing these brothers and meeting them does not fill your heart with ambition and jealousy at the favour Allah has bestowed upon them with the rank He has given them – I wonder what else will?
Taraweeh
People flit from mosque to mosque, searching for the Qari with the most melodious recitation, the one who will soften their dead hearts so they will be moved to tears.
Imagine this then: let us go back to the cages in Camp Delta, Guantanamo.
It is Ramadan, two hours before Fajr, the last third of the night. Each prisoner is standing in his cell – one of his two thin white towels laid flat, facing the Qibla. His beard has started to return after the Americans forcefully shaved him on his arrival.
A row of men identically dressed in their orange jumpsuits, the straightness of their line interrupted by the walls of their cages – praying Taraweeh in unison.
Our Imam for Taraweeh is Hafidh Moussa Zemmouri, a man detained in Cuba for 3 years on the accusation that he wore a Casio wristwatch known to be popular amongst 'terrorists.' Imagine being held for three years of your life on such a ludicrous accusation!
Our rows will (Insha'Allah) be filled with ex-detainees united again for Taraweeh, an event that last occurred thousands of miles away in Guantanamo, a different existence to our own – except this time YOU get to join their taraweeh, and join your feet to theirs.
"Fifty pounds for dinner!!," he exclaimed to me. I regret now, I should have said to him,
"No, brother –the fifty pounds is sadaqah – the food is incidental, it will grant you admission (bi'dhnillah) to benefits that you have not yet realised, and which, if you knew you had missed, you would regret for years to come."
"A Muslim is a brother of (another) Muslim, he neither wrongs him nor forsakes him. If anyone fulfils his brother's needs, Allah will fulfil his needs; if one relieves a Muslim of his troubles, Allah will relieve his troubles on the Day of Resurrection…" [6]
"Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the prisoner!"
Book your seat now for Another Ramadan 2008 online here
http://www.cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=783
Friday 7th September 2008, 6pm, Wandsworth Civic Suite, The Town Hall, Wandsworth, London. With contributions from Imam Anwar Al Awlaki, Moazzam Begg, Yvonne Ridley, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Moussa Zemmouri and Hassen Rasool.
1. Bukhari, #1863, and Muslim, #3028
2. Hasan, at-Tirmidhi (4/2396). 'Sahih al-Jami'' (275).
3. Surah ar-Rum; 41
4. Sahih Bukhari: Volume 2, Book 24, Number 573.
5. Surah Al Ankabut 29:2-3
6. Bukhari and Muslim. __________________