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Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, Prisoner of Conscience

By possum

The story of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi is a long and involved tale.

Isam Mohammad Taher al-Barqawi known as Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi was born in 1958 in Nablus, today (06/2007) in the West Bank of the Palestinian Authority and then a part of Jordan.

When al-Maqdisi was still a child his family moved to Iraq where he later studied at Mosul's university.

It was during this time that Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi began to adopt an Islamic point of view.

During the 80's al-Maqdisi traveled between Kuwait and Saudia Arabia establishing contacts with various influential sheiks.

He became an Islamic scholar and Jihadist writer with wide influence.

[He] supported and preached the Salafi version of Jihad - total, simple and direct devotion to Allah, all the time, in all the places without any conciliation.

al Maqdisi was arrested several times by the Jordanian authorities on differing charges all related to his potential links with terrorist activities.

On December 28, 2004 the State Security Court found al-'Utaibi not guilty for lack of evidence in the so-called Mafraq case involving a conspiracy to attack US soldiers in Mafraq in 2002.

Following his acquittal al-Maqdisi was arrested once again and held without charges for six more months.  Released on June 28, 2005, al-Maqdisi enjoyed only a few days of freedom.

Security forces arrested al-'Utaibi (al-Maqdisi) from his house in Rusaifa after midnight on July 6.

Since his arrest on July 6, 2005, it has made no progress in formally bringing any charges against him to trial.

The conditions of his detention are better than many may suffer, but detention remains detention under any set of conditions.

Detainees are held in single cells and exercise alone. They are not allowed to speak with prisoners in neighboring cells, or make any other audible sounds while in their cells or in the exercise yard. They are not even allowed to talk to guards, except to communicate necessary information.

In March, 2008, al-Maqdisi was released from detention in Jordan.  A few days ago in an interview al-Maqdisi expressed his views and talked about his steadfast adherence to his principles in spite of mistreatment saying

do not even dream that I would recant a single letter of what I believe to be the truth from my religion or worship Allah by, even if I were to spend the rest of my life in a cell.

The expressed purpose of much of al-Maqdisi's detention was to obtain a recantation of his expressed beliefs.  No such reversal has come to this day.

I will live holding firm to the rope of my belief.  And will die smiling so that my religion will live...

...I would also remember those who were in worse conditions and tests than I, from my imprisoned brothers in all the corners of the globe who are prevented from even the most basic rights.

Peace.

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on December 29, 2008 (boomark / email).