Al-Istiqamah: Were
you shocked that you were accused of being part of al-Qaeda?
Abu Abdullah: Well, to
be honest, I don’t believe in 'Al-Qaeda' as a global organisation.
It’s just yet another label to discredit the Muslims. This
is nothing new. At the time of Rasoolullah (the Messenger
of Allah) he was labelled as crazy, or as a magician. Today
we have the labels of 'terrorist' or 'al-Qaeda' or 'Taliban'
to make us feel weak. I can’t allow it to make me feel weak.
If I do, I haven’t really understood the wisdom of Islam.
This is just another test for us as Muslims. It should make
us stronger and more united.
Al-Istiqamah: Being
Pakistani, would you say that it is preferable to be dealing
with MI5, rather than the ISI (Pakistan's secret service)?
Abu Abdullah: To be honest,
I wouldn’t be surprised if I was treated the same way in this
country as detainees are in Pakistan. I think the teachings
of the ISI are the same as MI5. MI5 will treat people according
to the environment that they are in. When they are abroad,
for example in Guantanamo Bay, they’ll kick people, they’ll
rough them up and so forth. Some brothers who were imprisoned
abroad have said that at least in Pakistan, they torture you
and then leave you alone. Here, you are psychologically tortured
and it stays with you for the rest of your life. The only
difference is that the ISI have more flexibility to twist
someone’s arm. MI5 have a so-called legal structure that they
have to go by. The ISI have no legal body that they are responsible
to. It's said that they're a state within a state. It’s very
difficult to say which is worse. I don’t have faith in the
judicial system to protect us. The only Protector for us is
Allah.
Al-Istiqamah: We
published a letter
from Eesa Barot detailing his horrific attack and institutionalised
racism and islamaphobia facing Muslim inmates in UK prisons.
10% of the prisoners in Belmarsh are Muslims. Do you feel
that Muslim-only prisons or wings are a solution?
Abu Abdullah: See, with
the attacks that happened, a lot of the time it depends on
the individual’s case and how it gets portrayed by the Media.
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