COMMITTEE TO FREE SHAIKH OMAR 'ABDEL RAHMAN

(Reformulated)

The spiritual leader of Egypt's primary Islamic movement, al-Gamaa' al-Islamiyya, is languishing in an isolation cell located in the USA's gulag in faraway Rochester, Minnesota. He is being held in solitary confinement and an attempt is being made to cut him off from relatives, attorneys, friends, the Muslim community, the Egyptian community and humanity at large.
His rights are being violated to such an extent that last year he was beaten up by a prison official while he was using the toilet. While the Islamic world gives the highest respect to this man of God, the U.S. is denying him his basic rights as a human being. (At the end of 1999, New Trend magazine, America's most widely distributed Islamic publication carried out a survey of its readers to select the top five Muslim men of the 20th century. Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman was chosen among the top five by this highly educated and well-read audience.)

In view of the silence of the supposed "leaders" and the complete neglect by the media, Jamaat al-Muslimeen International decided to reformulate the Committee to Free Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman. A basic framework has been laid down, building on the work done by the original Committee. We are now calling on the Muslim, Egyptian, Arab, African, Human Rights and Prison Reform communities to join the Committee to Free Shaikh Omar Abdel Rahman (SOAR), to give it national and international depth.

The basic originators of the new Committee are as follows:

1. Abdeen Jabara (legal advisor) (New York)
2. Ahmed 'Abdel Sattar (paralegal to Shaikh Omar) (Staten Island)
3. Nabil el-Masri (close legal associate of the Shaikh) (New Jersey)
4. Sis. Uzema Khan, Islamic activist (Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
5. Mustafa Ali, Islamic activist (San Antonio, Texas)
6. Richard A Hudlin Jr, Afrikan activist (Omaha, Nebraska)
7. Salahuddin Abdullah, Ameer Jamaat al-Muslimeen USA (Denver, Colorado)
8. Abu Talib, West Indian activist and media person (Brooklyn)
9. Shaikh Abdus Sattar al-Dahir, human rights activist for Iraqi children (Louisiana)
10. Imam Badi Ali, media person, Palestinian rights activist (North Carolina)
11. Imani Mahdi, Black political prisoners' activist (Washington, DC)
12. Athar Masood, youth organizer (Chicago)

Dr. Kaukab Siddique, activist for women's rights, is the Convenor of the new Committee.
(Founder of the original Committee: Sis. Nadrat Siddique)
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Clarification 1: Those who join the Committee to Free Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman need not be of any specific faith. Their concern should be justice, freedom and humanity.

Clarification 2. Even those who do not agree with the Shaikh's interpretation of Islam, or with various aspects of it, can join the Committee, if they do not support any oppressive government.

Clarification 3. No funds will be collected for the Shaikh or for his attorneys. Funds will be used to generate support for the human rights of the Shaikh and for his ultimate freedom through peaceful means.

Clarification 4. Those who want to join the Committee should apply to the Convenor. They will be recognized and identified as part of the Committee after their application has been accepted. Each member must pay at least $10 per month to be in good standing with the Committee.

Clarification 5. Members of the public can support the Committee through distribution of its literature and related literature and through donations without joining the Committee.

Clarifications 6. DONATIONS are badly needed but must be without ANY strings attached. The Committee will work through its internal discussions and not through any external pressures.
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Donations and applications should be sent to:
Jamaat al-Muslimeen, P.O. Box 10881, Baltimore, MD 21234, USA
Phone and fax: 410-638-5965
email: ksidd37398@aol.com or Lsattar
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Resources immediately available:

Shaikh Omar's pre-sentencing statement (in Arabic) (3 audio tapes $3 each)

The Story of Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman by A.B. Dawjee (South Africa) (audio tape $5)

International Focus on the Plight of Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman (South Africa) (radio 786 interview with Prof. Muhammad al-Masri and Dr. Kaukab Siddique) (audio tape $5)

The 'Abdel Rahman Report by Nadrat Siddique (newsletter) (who is Shaikh Omar? plus sequence of events leading to his sentencing) (a must read for those who want to join the Committee) ($2)

Recitation of the Qur'an by Shaikh Omar 'Abdel Rahman (will move you to tears of resolution, from the heart) (various audio tapes, $3 each)

and much more to come.
Order from Jamaat al-Muslimeen, P.O. Box 10881, Baltimore, MD 21234, USA
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2000-04-09 Sun 20:38ct