Yaa Muslimeen! Let us all rise to support our brother Tarek Mehanna, who is being unjustly convicted and what for? For refusing to sell out, for refusing to backstab his Muslim brothers and sisters. This is brother Abu Sabaya who would support our oppressed Muslim prisoners in every way he could and today he is the oppressed one. It is upon us to support our brother, to make du'aa for our brother, to write to our brother, to rise against the lies being spread about him through the media. Today it is him, tomorrow it could be any one us.
If you have facebook, please join this group set up by his brother Tamer Mehanna.
Show the kaafiroon that we will not remain silent while they persecute our own. Do not let the lies being spread about our brother Tarek dominate the media, so that even those who do not know him are taken in by the lies.
Letters mean so much to a prisoner. Please, take some time to write to our brother, to encourage our brother to remain strong and to show him our support. Don't let the kaafiroon taunt him, telling him his own brothers and sisters do not care. Email your letters to his brother, who will pass them on to him:
Background:
Tariq Mehanna is a 27 year old Muslim Egyptian American born and raised in the United States. Highly educated, Tariq holds a doctorate in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. He is a devout and tolerant Muslim who is not only respected in the local Islamic and interfaith communities, but who also gives back to his Islamic community by fulfilling the roles of brother, educator, mentor, scholar, and friend. Tariq is described by those who know him well as humble, reserved, warm, peaceful, intelligent, knowledgeable, reflective, pragmatic, dedicated, and straightforward. He is a person with strong ethical values who refuses to compromise on them regardless of the circumstances. It is unfortunate then that this customarily admirable trait plays a role in his current situation.
Several years ago, the Boston FBI began to approach Tariq. They recognized that he was a religious Muslim who was active in the local Islamic community, had earned the respect of many, and was beloved to the youth. The FBI recognized in Tariq an individual who is intelligent, charismatic, influential and trusted by many in the local Islamic community. They decided that they wanted Tariq on their side, and began to approach him in an effort to recruit him as an informant. Their objective was to secure Tariq as a tool to corroborate any FBI claims or accusations against members of the community that might arise, at the discretion of the FBI. Of course, Tariq flat out refused to backstab his fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, a decision that did not sit well at all with the FBI.
The FBI then proceeded to repeatedly approach Tariq over the coming months, each time pressuring him more and more to collaborate with them. This pressure most often came in the form of blackmail; Tariq was told that unless he consented to cooperating with the FBI, they would continue finding new ways to disrupt his life and to deprive him of a sense of security. He was told outright by interrogators that they knew he was innocent, but that they would not be satisfied with his refusal to cooperate. Regardless of whether their methods were unethical, coercive, or failed to respect his civil rights, the FBI were quite fortunate in catching an opportunity to arrest Tariq in 2008 based on a weak accusation of issuing "false statements" to a federal officer. After two months of imprisonment, his court-appointed attorney, Jay Carney, jr., was able to negotiate a bail settlement of $1,250,000. Tariq was subsequently released after this absurdly inflated amount was paid by his parents, who were desperate to have him return home safely.
Tariq did return home for nearly a year, living a quiet life, restricted by a court-ordered curfew, and monitored by FBI investigators. In the meantime, the case against him, based on "false testimony" charges, began to stagnate, and court dates were far and in between with no advances made by the FBI. Over time, the Mehanna family began to finally feel a sense of restored normalcy and stability in their lives. This feeling was suddenly and violently shattered during the fajr hours of September 21st, 2009, when FBI agents showed up at the Mehanna home doorstep at 5:00AM in the morning. Despite the lack of ANY new evidence since the prior arrest, the agents came with an arrest warrant. According to Dr. Ahmed Mehanna, Tariq's father, the agents were visibly excited and enthusiastic about their invasion of the Mehanna private household and the seizure and arrest of Tariq. The situation facing Tariq now is one where his second arrest means that there is no chance for bail. Tariq is currently incarcerated at the Plymouth Correctional Facility, where he is expected to remain for the several year duration of a new trial based on outright FALSE AND LUDICROUSE accusations of aiding and abetting terrorism. He currently faces LIFE IN PRISON if convicted guilty in a trial by grand jury. We must offer our greatest support and most dedicated effort if there is to be hope of Tariq's release. Thank you for taking the time to read this history, and we are confident that you will share our knowledge of Tariq's innocence. In addition, it is our sincere hope that the United States justice system remain true to its "innocent until proven guilty" origins, and for Tariq to receive a fair and just trial.
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If you are able to, please attend his hearing:
Date: Friday, 30 October 2009
Time: 10:00 - 14:00
Location: Moakley Federal Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA
Message from his brother Tamer:
OCTOBER 30TH 2009
This is the first hearing, so let's SHOW UP BIG everybody!! Hearing actually begins at 11:00AM. It likely won't last past noon or 1pm. Please guys let's get organized and see how big of a showing of support we can make for our common brother, Tariq Mehanna. This is the hearing where the judge reviews the evidence and determines if it warrants proceeding. Let's do this for Tariq!!
Please feel free to contact me via private message if you are coming from out of state and need help coordinating.
Please keep in mind, ANYBODY can come to this, so don't hesitate to bring any of your friends, even if they were not listed in the guest list.
REMEMBER TO BRING A PHOTO ID
LETS KEEP THE DRESS PROFESSIONAL IN THE COURTHOUSE. REMEMBER, HOW WE PRESENT OURSELVES REFLECTS ON TARIQ!
For those who doubt stories like this can happen here in the USA read what happened to my friend Riad Hamad in Austin Texas. I knew Riad quite well and know that the Charity he founded was under full disclosure. Every penny Palestian Children's Welfare Fund collected was wide open to the public and Riad insisted on full accountability through licensed CPA's refered by the Federal Government and the State of Texas. I spoke with him the day before his alleged suicide and he was speaking of long term goals for PCWF, hardly the words of a man contemplating suicide and I believe it would be very difficult for a man wrapped in duct tape to jump into a lake and drown himself.
Sad story. Any brothers or sisters in the US here?
I advise you, gather your friends in mass and your friends friends and go to the hearing. A couple hundred or so with plackards and stuff should show them that the Ummah is not so weak as it seems to be.
Sad story. Any brothers or sisters in the US here?
I advise you, gather your friends in mass and your friends friends and go to the hearing. A couple hundred or so with plackards and stuff should show them that the Ummah is not so weak as it seems to be.
Nearly all of the Muslims in Massachusetts live in the Boston area. I believe that is where most of the supporters will come from I believe there are over 70,000 Muslims in Boston. Inshallah they will fill the court house for the hearing.
There are no large Muslim communities outside the Boston area but the total number in Boston and the Boston area is at least 130,000, the next closest communities will be in Central Connecticut, New York State, New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all a few hundred miles distance. I am over 2000 miles from Boston by road.
Is this Abu Sabaya of the blog 'Ma'aalim At-Tareeq'?
People slandered Muusa 'alyhi salam tried to kill 'Eesa alyhi salam and actually killed Zacharyyah and his son Yahya not to mention throwing Yusuf alyhi salam into prison. This is the path of the Prophets whoever calls towards Allah will certainly be mocked and opposed. This is why the ahlul 'ilm say:
Whoever does not find any opposition to his da'wah then let him look twice at what he is calling towards
Declaring knowledge of his innocence is something else. Do you know he is innocent?
Surely it is not for us to decide one way or the other without sufficient evidence.
that is the general consensus before someone stands trial & we have more solid facts 'assumed innocence' -- the same way when a Jehovah's witness comes half way dead to a hospital, you assume consent and treat them, even if they 'under normal circumstance' would refuse treatment and blood products...
It is common sense, which I know you lack!
all the best
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
For those who doubt stories like this can happen here in the USA read what happened to my friend Riad Hamad in Austin Texas. I knew Riad quite well and know that the Charity he founded was under full disclosure. Every penny Palestian Children's Welfare Fund collected was wide open to the public and Riad insisted on full accountability through licensed CPA's refered by the Federal Government and the State of Texas. I spoke with him the day before his alleged suicide and he was speaking of long term goals for PCWF, hardly the words of a man contemplating suicide and I believe it would be very difficult for a man wrapped in duct tape to jump into a lake and drown himself.
That said, my family and I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to those people who took the time out of their very busy schedules to show up at the hearing. Tariq turned at the end of the hearing, and I was only a few feet away from him--believe me when I say that his face literally LIT UP and a HUGE SMILE broke out on his face when he saw the corridor outside the courtroom absolutely PACKED with supporters. It was a beautiful sight, and I speak for my whole family again when I thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. I know there were also many of you who live out of state and could not make it, and I want to thank you for asking about Tariq and really trying to stay abreast of things.
Regarding the court hearing proceedings, the prosecution kept trying to make an excessively dramatic case about how dangerous Tariq was to society, which I'm sure was very difficult considering the lack of any evidence to substantiate their claims. Jay Carney, Tariq's attorney, did an outstanding job of protecting him, and he used a very powerful strategy of placing a burden of conscience on the judge himself by telling him that this case would have repercussions not only for Tariq and our family, but for Muslims in America and most importantly, for he--the judge himself--in the future of his still-young career. He concluded by urging the judge to think deeply about this issue and the consequences it would have for all parties involved, including the judge himself. The judge ruled that he would take the next 1 to 2 weeks to deliberate on the matter, and so inshaAllah we will find out soon if Tariq will be released on bail or if he will held longer. - Tamer
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