SAMAR Magazine just dropped their latest issue and highlighted a campaign I knew little about – the FreeFahad Campaign.
On February 10, 2010, SAMAR in collaboration with THAW (Theaters Against War) put out a call for letters to be sent to Fahad Hashmi at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). Fahad has been held in pre-trial detention at the MCC for over 850 days in severe solitary confinement. He has been detained over 1,350 days in all (more about Fahad’s case: freefahad.com). [samarmagazine]
The following mini-documentary enlightens us more on the who Fahad is and the situation he finds himself in.
It’s a horrible situation, and the charges against him are reflective of a civil rights injustice that continues to establish how Desis, 2nd-generation immigrants, and Muslims are not given equal rights provided to the “other” Americans. At nine years after 9/11, this case is clearly evidence that the South Asian American community is still feeling the repercussions of the Patriot Act, at least in the legal system.
The FreeFahad campaign is asking for people to write a letter to Fahad in prison. Though the chances of Fahad receiving the letter is slim, the campaign hopes the act of writing the letters will “offer a simple and necessary challenge to the inhuman conditions of Fahad’s detention and help send a message to Fahad’s jailers, the U.S. Government and Attorney General Holder, that the world at large cares for Fahad and is outraged at the violations of his civil and human rights.”Check out the letters already written by supporters up at SAMAR Magazine here. They are really touching. Below is an excerpt out of the letter that friend of the Mutiny, Sonny Singh, wrote:
I am a turban-wearing Sikh and have faced a great deal of racism since 9/11, which is a part of the backlash and repression the Muslim and Arab communities have been subjected to. When someone calls me “bin Laden” or “terrorist” or tries to pull off my turban, I think about individuals and families who have been detained and deported simply because of their Muslim identities….The struggles the Sikh community faces are inherently linked to the struggles of the Muslim community, and we are working here on the outside to unite our communities to build a stronger movement for social justice. [samarmagazine]
To partake in the campaign, get involved and write your own letter. Mail it here:
SYED FAHAD HASHMI–REG#60011-054
MCC NEW YORK METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER 150 PARK ROW NEW YORK, NY 10007
Or you can e-mail letters2fahad [at] gmail.com to be considered for the website or to be read at vigils.
My prayers are with you, Fahad. Here’s to getting access to a fair, just and judicious trial – the trial date is currently set for April 28th.
Errr…isn’t this a UK legal issue? Sure the Patriot Act instigated the alarm against him, but his detention is in the UK. The US is technically (though not literally) powerless in freeing him.
According to the indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, he (Fahad Hashmi) was charged with providing and conspiring to send money, material support and military gear including night-vision goggles to associated al Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan, Pakistan to use against United States forces in Afghanistan. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 50 years. Due to a violent outburst attacking arresting officers at Heathrow Airport, and shouting that he hoped they would be killed, bail was denied at a hearing and he was placed under secure lockdown.
More wisdom from SAMAR magazine –
on the Bombay massacre (from marxist radical Biju mathew) – and the captured Pakistani terroris –
Other articles in the site include discussion how hindu extremists might have been behind the killing of Hemant Karkare, How india-israel-USA is bad, bad and so on.
Wow, Taz, you have outdone yourself…
fahad has not been convicted of anything and is in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 23 hours a day awaiting trial. justice system? and darth paul: he is being detained in manhattan, new york city, about a 10 minute walk from where i work. the US is far from powerless, he is in a United States federal detention center.
I am a turban-wearing Sikh and have faced a great deal of racism since 9/11, which is a part of the backlash and repression the Muslim and Arab communities have been subjected to. When someone calls me “bin Laden†or “terrorist†or tries to pull off my turban, I think about individuals and families who have been detained and deported simply because of their Muslim identities….The struggles the Sikh community faces are inherently linked to the struggles of the Muslim community, and we are working here on the outside to unite our communities to build a stronger movement for social justice. [samarmagazine]
Is this the same Sunny Singh who when he was younger and was attacked and had his turban ripped off by a group of young black males, he blamed the white supremacy system. I bet he blames the beheading of the 2 sikhs in pakistan by the taliban on american foreign policy.
Taz, This is no way to build Desi unity. Samar magazine is to Hindus as JihadWatch is to Muslims. Please revise and resubmit. Of course, based on your seeing “Little Mosque on the Prairie” as a “Desi ensemble cast” it’s obvious that you feel more sympathy with Nigerians and Lebanese than with Hindus or Sikhs.
It is sad to see this without adequate attempt to explain both sides of the story. The post sounds like automatically assumes he is not guilty
Taz: I would recommend disabling comments on issues relating to Muslims, especially anything to do with terrorism. The comments section on SM degenerate into frontpage magazine within hours. Thanks for the post.
Of course, of course you guys couldn’t play nice on this post.
Welcome to Sepia Mutiny – where the bloggers blog about anything related to the Desi community. ANYthing. I chose to blog about this, I stand by my post, and as a Muslim, desi, and 2nd gen immigrant, I find this to be a really important topic. As an activist and advocate for the Desi community through my career, I think this is an important issue to advocate on.
If you don’t like it, no one is making you read this blog. You know where I think you should shove it. Go start your own. I’m hitting the road for the next month, and don’t have the ability to monitor this comment thread and would hate to make my fellow bloggers monitor it for me. Apologize to the folks that wanted to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Peace and Salaam.
so the big civil rights issue is holding someone in jail while they await trial?
Thanks for sharing, Taz. The point is simple, guys. If an American citizen like Fahad can be detained and put into solitary confinement on charges as ridiculous as having a houseguest who stored waterproof socks- what’s to prevent any of us from being treated harshly for something equally innocuous? Nothing. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why such harsh measures pre-trial? Would Andrew Joseph Stack III be treated the same if he were captured pre-plan crash? Most likely not. This isn’t a post debating guilty and innocence. It’s a post debating the fundamental rights all American are guaranteed by the constitution. I think it’s important that SM continue to spotlight such issues. If twenty years down the road, our kids get pulled over by a cop, I want to know they’re being treated EXACTLY the way any other American is – regardless of their color and creed.
As Neimoller said: First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.
If you want to inflict your ideological beliefs on us (SAMAR magazine and its ultra-lefty “stick to the man” agenda), you are going to get a certain response.
From your comments it now appears you believe you are being victimized, wow, thats really stunning.