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Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza convicted of alleged incitement is facing extradition to the US at their request. Currently he is subject to a number of measures that have been brought in post 11th September 2001 which include the government’s desire to remove his citizenship as a British citizen. He speaks to Cageprisoners about the implications of the removal of his citizenship and subsequent extradition.

CAGEPRISONERS: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

ABU HAMZA: I am Sheikh Abu Hamza, former imam of Finsbury Park Mosque. I am 50 years old.

CP: What is your nationality?

AH: My nationality is British. However an application has been submitted by the former Home Secretary David Blunkett in order to have my nationality removed. The case is still pending in Court. I am fighting that my nationality is being taken away.

CP: What does that mean in terms of your legal status?

AH: I do not have any legal status at the moment until the outcome of the court case which will determine whether or not I am a British national.

CP: Do you have family in the UK? Are they are British Citizens or residents?

AH: My family in the UK are British citizens. They are not residents.

CP: You are facing extradition to the US, why are they asking for you?

AH: I am very cute and they love me - that is why they are asking for my extradition. It is part of a dirty war against terrorism which means nothing but promotion of real Islam.

CP: Do you feel that you will be given a fair trial if you are taken there? If not, why?

AH: There is no such thing as a fair trial for a devoted Muslim who is taken to the court for his religious views and activities, not least the West who deems all of their future plans depends on occupying and taking resources from Muslims lands and to serve the expansion of Israel.

CP: What laws are being used in order to extradite you?

AH: The Extradition Act 2003 is being used in order to have me extradited; what I would call the law of the jungle.

CP: Could you please explain how those laws have affected you and what they mean in terms of being able to receive justice?

AH: These laws have been tailored especially for me and even before these laws came into force the immigration and nationality act and the confiscation acts came into force in order to serve to affect me personally. How can I receive justice when people are only interested in one thing which is a permanent lock up to set me up as an example of what happens to a person who will not toe the line to keep me quiet, trinity which is taking place.

CP: You have been demonised by the media in the worst possible ways. Even amongst the Muslim community there has been a concerted effort to portray you as the epitome of terrorist ideology. How would you answer your critics?

AH: God has asked us to listen to what is said and not who says it. God has given us the best examples of mankind in the Prophets and their life and without exception, each and every one of them were mocked, harmed, intimidated, killed, humiliated and others exiled as well. This is all accepted from the enemy of Islam against preachers. They are hypocritical even amongst the Muslims and the shallow minded amongst them, sometimes they share and take part in the abuse against the Muslims.

I do not claim that I have a monopoly with the truth but I have always asked for co-operation amongst the Muslims even when there are differences in opinion. That was always rejected due to the media pressure and the political interference against the average Muslim person.

Many Muslim leaders or governor of the establishment are afraid to lose their status or the crumbs they are given by the Councils or the government. Other members of the elders of the Muslim community have strong links and/or interest with tyrants and politicians abroad. All of the above have resulted in derangement of the Muslims in this land and detachment from the worldwide Islamic predicament. It even made them rejoice about the lies in the media against me and justifies the campaign for my arrest, thinking that they would have a party of freedom after my arrest and the opposite hasn’t.

Now there is pressure even for the tiny freedom of opinion is being dealt with in the court. I forgive everyone, even those who campaigned against me. I just ask them and everyone else to think before shooting the messenger who carried the duty of speaking the truth and highlighting the issues of the times. Whether we like it or not, we are dealt with as one entity with different flavours, first come, first served, in prison.

CP: To what extent are you able to exercise your religious rights in prison?

AH: I pray in my cell. If we call the adhan we are punished and we lose more of our freedom and utilities. If we try to pray in congregation, we get disciplined. We get strip searches. If we speak in our own languages, they call it preaching. If I try to teach, even the art of reading the Qu’ran or anything helpful, we get a very hard time in prison.

CP: Have you suffered any physical, verbal or psychological abuse whilst in prison, from the guards?

AH: Yes I have suffered. However, most of the abuse is psychological as opposed to the physical i. e. the deprivation of sleep, the deprivation of the most of the elements of food we are used to, which is good for our diet.

It is important for you to read what is or is not allowed for HSU prisoners to appreciate the oppression and then add your own imagination to the hidden abuses which can be imbedded in these lies.

CP: What has been the reaction of other inmates towards you and other brothers?

AH: Most of the brothers are sympathetic, even the ones who are not political prisoners but who have been charged with the criminal side of brothers are shocked at the difficulties which I face. Others have converted to Islam Alhamdulillah. Many give respect even if they disagree with my opinions but all without exception have stopped reading The Sun.

They have realised how retarded they were to read The Sun newspaper which is cheaper in price and quality than toilet paper. We even crack jokes as they know the game. The prison inmates have started blaming me about the globing warming and everything that goes on in this planet just like The Sun newspaper and the tabloids do.

Some very dangerous inmates, when they grasp a politician’s gestures against me and whenever they want to be moved from the HSU, the inmates shout “Allahu Akbar, give me a Qu’ran, I am a friend of Abu Hamza.” They then get moved from the HSU, they do not need to waste time in legal proceedings as this is a quick way to get a transfer.

Allah has given me a lot of smiles in a harsh place and it is true suffering in the cause of Allah which is sweet and honourable.

CP: How would you describe your current physical and mental state?

AH: It is nothing unusual. I am a disabled Muslim under oppression. They want to disable my tongue, my mind and my will to serve my ummah.

CP: What do you do to boost your morale?

AH: Nothing can be done to boost one’s morale at any time, even during happiness, but to mention and reflect on Allah and His promises.

CP: What has been the response of the Muslim community?

AH: I do not know. I am completely isolated and sometimes I receive a lot of letters from brothers and sisters and even children which are very moving and inspiring. I get more support from the international community than the national community.

Members of my family have said that there is more support that comes from international than the national community members, that is what I have been told by members of my family.

CP: And the wider British public - how much support have you received from them?

AH: I do get some letters from Scotland, Ireland and the UK. Some are not so nice letters. Most are deploring the behaviour of the government against the freedom of speech and the foreign policy. Others do not understand and they want me to explain as they do not want to believe the media.

Many of my letters do not reach their destination.

CP: What has been the impact of detention on your family? How often are they able to visit? What kind of difficulties are they facing at home without you?

AH: The prison establishment messed up my family life. I have a limited number of visits with my family. In order to see all members of my immediate family, this takes over three months to do so. It is clear to those who are aware of my conditions that they are using me against them and vice versa to add anxiety. In such a way, they are using my disability against me as silent torture.

CP: Do you have any messages for our readers? What can people do to help?

AH: I would say, just like Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman said, when he said my best days in the USA jail are worse than the worst days in the Egyptian jails.

He is in harsher conditions than me but in the HSU unit, it is all the same flavour. It is just an introduction to Super Max prisons which is an articulated hidden torture. I have not seen even a tree for four years. I cannot even see the sky due to the mesh wires. Even our Windows computer version has bars on it.

Nonetheless, no one and nothing can crack you or terrify you, if your heart is full of Allah and fear of Allah. There is no room left for anything else.

Source: Cageprisoners.com

June 8th, 2008 | Category: Detainee, Detainee Abuse, Interview, UK |  Print This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL