A Special Ramadan Appeal

It has been over 10 years and Imam Jamil Al-Amin is still locked down in a cage for a crime he didn't commit--a crime that someone else has actually confessed to. The U.S. judicial system remains adamant upon detaining an innocent man. Not only that, they transferred the Imam to even more oppressive living conditions in 2007, when he was sent from Georgia State Prison in Reidsville to the maximum-security, underground federal penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, known as “Florence ADMAX”, despite his not having any federal charges.

While Imam Jamil is stuck underground looking at the same walls every day for 23 hours, we enjoy the sun's light, seeing nature, and breathing in fresh air; moving about freely from place to place as we like.

While Imam Jamil is denied all human contact--rendering him unable to touch even his wife or son when they visit--we embrace our families, our children, and feel their warmth nearly every day of our lives.

While Imam Jamil remains ever-concerned about the Muslim community, but powerless to help (of course, he still inspires us through his writings and talks, and his spirit of resistance), many of us have the ability and capacity to actually make a difference.

With the above in mind, please exercise your ability to help Imam Jamil. When Imam Jamil was out here with us, he worked tirelessly for the Muslims in the U.S. and abroad. Now, what will we do for him? We encourage you to donate whatever you can--even if it is just $5--to help Imam Jamil and his family. Sis. Karima, Imam Jamil's wife, recently confirmed that under these harsh and unjust circumstances, the Imam has managed to keep his struggling spirit alive, masha'Allah. (To read a July interview with sis. Karima, click here and scroll down.) Rather than considering himself a "prisoner of war"--for his years of outspokenness and activism against U.S. injustice and oppression--he considers himself a "prisoner at war." Let's show our Imam that we care for him and we haven't forgotten him.

Imam Luqman's family is also experiencing hardship. They've lost a husband, a father, and a breadwinner to U.S. government oppression (may Allah accept him as a martyr). Currently, the family simply wants to purchase a grave marker to mark Imam Luqman's grave, but needs some assistance to do so. A portion of the funds collected from the flier below will be applied to this cause. This is a month of mercy and multiplied blessings--take advantage of this opportunity to give to a worthy cause!

If you would like to contribute to our Ramadan Appeal, simply mail in your donation to our DC address (listed below). If you are interested in having Imam Musa visit your masjid or Islamic center, contact us via phone or e-mail and make arrangements with your local leadership.

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(Click flier to enlarge)

RAMADAN APPEAL
On Behalf of the Forgotten in Our Ummah

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Every Muslim is a Muslim's brother. He should neither harm him nor leave him alone when others treat him unjustly (but try to help him). Whomever will fulfill the need of a brother, Allah (swt) will fulfill his need, and whoever will remove a distress of a Muslim, he will find a distress of his removed on the Day of Requital, and whomever will hide the shame of a Muslim, his sins will be hidden by Allah (swt) on the Last Day." (Sahih Muslim)

My name is Abdul Alim Musa. I am the imam of Masjid Al-Islam, which has locations in Washington, DC, and Oakland, CA, and the Amir of As-Sabiqun, an Islamic movement based in America which aims to establish self-sustaining Islamic communities across the country (for more info, visit www.sabiqun.org).

As Muslims, we are prescribed to look after one another, especially when our fellow believers are facing serious hardship or difficulty. Many of us have forgotten about the toll that U.S. government oppression has taken on our community. In recent years, a countless number of innocent Muslims—men and women—have been unjustly harassed and jailed on account of false charges. Each of their families has suffered tremendously, facing the loss of a breadwinner, a life companion, or even a loving parent who once filled their lives.*

This reality can no longer remain ignored. It is our collective duty to support our brothers and sisters who are facing unjust oppression. For this reason, I am respectfully requesting from you an opportunity to make a short presentation or brief announcement after the Maghrib, ‘Isha, or Jumu’ah prayer at your center—whichever is most feasible—with the purpose of raising funds for our imprisoned brothers and sisters, both for their legal defense and their families. I am also available to give a Jumu’ah khutbah. Our ultimate goal is raise $1 million for this purpose, as well as to form a legal review committee that can take steps toward liberating our brothers and sisters from their current conditions.

To grant my request, please call me: 202.904.1152, or e-mail me: imammusa2009@hotmail.com. To learn more about our community, please visit our website (listed above). We would also like to welcome you to visit one of our locations: Masjid Al-Islam / 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019, or Masjid Al-Islam / 8210 MacArthur Blvd. / Oakland, CA 94605. Our community is based on the institutional cornerstones of: 1) masjid, 2) full-time Islamic school, 3) businesses, and 4) geographical integrity (living close together). We are dedicated to concentrating our efforts, activities, and energies on building strong Islamic institutions which will serve as lighthouses in the inner-city environment; struggling against manufactured societal ignorance and misinformation; and defending the rights of Muslims and all right-minded fellow human beings.

We are a strong and independent community that receives no funding from overseas financiers. We have made it to where we are only because of Allah’s (swt) grace and the generous contributions of supportive Muslims. We now ask you to help us in our endeavors to provide assistance to the less fortunate in our Ummah. You can send a check or money order to our DC address, listed above.

“If ye disclose (acts of) charity, even so it is well, but if ye conceal them, and make them
reach those (really) in need, that is best for you: It will remove from you some of your (stains of) evil. And Allah is well-acquainted with what ye do.” (2:271)

Please consider us for your Zakat donation! Of the eight categories of people to whom Zakat can be given, there are three categories which your donation will directly serve:

• Muwallafatil Qulub: Needy persons and individuals who’ve recently embraced Islam, to whom Zakat is given with the intention of solidifying their hearts, easing their hardships, and bringing them closer to the Deen.
• Ar-Riqab: Those who are enslaved, held captive, or unjustly imprisoned, to whom Zakat can be applied to bring about their freedom (i.e., via legal bail).
• Fisabilillah: Those who are away from home, striving on the path of Allah (swt).

* One of the families which we would like to support is simply in need of a grave marker to mark their father’s grave. His death was the direct result of U.S. government oppression.

Imam Musa, Islamophobia, & Resolving "Tension" with the FBI

Earlier this week, Imam Musa made an appearance on an international news channel--RT America--to discuss the wave of Islamophobia being stirred up by Zionists and sustained by certain Zionist-smooching American politicians. Check it out:



At one point in the interview, Imam Musa mentions, "I was talking with the FBI the other day...". To get the scoop on how-the-heck-that-happened, listen to Imam Musa's prelude:



In this khutbah, Imam Musa discusses how to implement the best method of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, as outlined by the Qur'an and Sunnah. Other topics include: overcoming isolation from the general Muslim community; the fake Islamic threat manufactured and coordinated by international intelligence agencies to give Islam a bad name and justify their continued murder and occupation of Muslim peoples and lands; the importance of withdrawing from oppressors; managing fitnah so as to not be reactionary; and putting oneself through challenging trials in order to grow in faith--faith in Allah (swt) over fear of the U.S. government. (The volume may need to be turned up after about 4 minutes.)

On Moon Sighting + A Recent Message from Imam Musa

Firstly, As-Sabiqun would like to wish all of our members, workers, friends, supporters, and well-wishers a RAMADAN MUBARAK! May Allah's (swt) mercy, forgiveness, and grace be showered upon you during this blessed month and always. May He help you gain mastery over yourselves, build your taqwa, and grant you salvation from the Fire. We have started our fasting today based on several moon sightings which were confirmed on Wednesday evening. For those who are in the DC area, we would like to invite you and your family and friends to our nightly iftars and Tarawih prayers at Masjid Al-Islam / 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019. We would be delighted to have you share in the spirit of togetherness and taqwa!

Every year, confusion erupts over the correct start of Ramadan. A segment of our community bases their start on any international sighting of the new crescent moon; another segment bases it strictly on what the Saudi "authorities" decide; others base it on a regional sighting; and there are still others who start Ramadan based on calculation, regardless of moon-sighting (as is the case with ISNA and the Fiqh Council of North America). Here at Masjid Al-Islam, and As-Sabiqun in general, we start our Ramadan based on a reliable, confirmed regional sighting. As a note, this normally coincides with the majority of global sightings.

Sighting the moon has been the traditional approach of Muslims since the time of the Holy Prophet (saw). We do not intend to abandon this Sunnah, as unfortunately many Islamic organizations, centers, and masjids have.

For more on moon-sighting, check out the the following links: Crescentwatch.org or Moonsighting.com (although Moonsighting.com seems to accept the calculation approach, if you scroll down to the bottom of the linked page, you can still get an idea of actual confirmed sightings around the world).

Click here to read one of our old newsletters regarding the purpose and nature of fasting in Ramadan, as well as its connection to the Islamic movement.

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Last weekend, on the eve of this blessed month, Muslim youth in the DC area organized the DC Hidayah Conference, which was held at the DC Convention Center. Though he was not asked to speak (despite the conference's title and "local flavor"), Imam Musa made use of the occasion by compiling a friendly message of solidarity which was to be handed out to the conference attendees. You can click on the flier or read the text below:

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY
to
DC HIDAYAH CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

“And Allah doth advance in guidance those who seek Guidance: and the things that endure, Good Deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best in respect of (their) eventual returns.” (19:76)

“At this time, as Muslims, we must play a role in the Earth liberation movement which aims to free the Earth from the parasitical behavior of man; establish a non-predatory system of interconnected global harmony; nurture and further a culture of 'Earth-first' custodianship; understand and respect the rights of the Earth, which should be treated as a living organism (which it is); and envision and actualize a global redesign for the 21st century.”

–Imam Abdul Alim Musa, As-Sabiqun Newsletter, June 2010

This is a message of solidarity to attendees of the DC Hidayah Conference from Masjid Al-Islam in Southeast Washington, DC.

As we continue in a great quest to build a new world, with all of its possibilities, the world’s enlightened people are coming closer to their true mission of fair custodianship (khilafah) and administration of the Earth and its resources in a way that will keep it healthy and wholesome, as Allah (swt) created it.

In the meantime, there is a one-eyed monster which is determined to maintain a world of oil spills, global warming, war, and incessant aggression. It has created and sustained a wave of Islamophobia (a persistent illogical or abnormal fear of Islam tailored by Western media on behalf of the CIA, FBI, Mossad, RAW, etc.) in order to justify and continue its global war on Islam. It has also kept up a steady dose of psychoterrorism, a phenomenon whereby the peoples of the world—including Muslims—are subjected to a constant diet of “terror” and “terrorism” via TV, websites, movies, books, and other media, to such a degree that they begin to make an automatic psychological association between the beautiful Deen of Islam on the one hand, and barbaric violence on the other. This process is also known as perception management. By it, Islam is made to seem like a religion of fanatics and suicide bombers, and the peace-loving Muslims of Iraq and Afghanistan are made out to be warmongers. Once this image is established in the public mind, it becomes easy to justify the invasion and brutal murder of innocent Muslims across the globe. It becomes easy to keep the Muslims here frozen in a defensive posture. All of this is built on a false image—not reality. This process, in turn, portrays the true villains—the RAW, CIA, FBI, Mossad, etc.—as heroes fighting for the “greater good.”

Inside the U.S., our movement has steadily carried on a successful campaign of psychological guerilla warfare. We have organized demonstrations for the last 30 years, in which we have spoken out on behalf of Islamic causes around the world, including human and animal rights. We have no fear of the FBI, Mossad, or any other Nazi-type of governmental organization. We have withstood every imaginable fitnah—from sabotage, infiltrators, agent provocateurs… to unexplainable huge fines, radical tax increases on our properties, and continuous “accidental” destruction and diversion of our assets, both human and material. Yet, we are still here, ready to serve.

We want to rise to a level necessary to combat the evil forces at work. The Islamic Institute for Counter Zionist American Psychological Warfare needs your monetary help. There is a global war against us and we must rise to the occasion. The level of sophistication needed is beyond our present capacity. Help us with as big a contribution as your vision and faith can stand. You can send a check or money order to: Masjid Al-Islam / 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019.

As a movement, we have survived over 30 years of maximum U.S.-Israeli fitnah. This has never happened in U.S. history! Check the record. Google “Abdul Alim Musa” and it will give you an idea. We thank Allah (swt) in advance for your contribution.

Website: www.sabiqun.org / E-mail: imammusa2009@hotmail.com /
Call: 202.904.1152

This message is sponsored by:
Masjid Al-Islam & the As-Sabiqun movement / 4603 Benning Road SE / Washington, DC 20019
The Islamic Institute for Counter Zionist American Psychological Warfare / Earth Liberation Front / Earth Rights Movement / 5021 A Street SE / Washington, DC 20019