do NOT sign petition for Imam Anwar Al Awlaki - his family's safety is at risk

[insomniac]

Assalaamualaikum,

Insha'Allaah you're well.

It has come to my attention that the petiton which was set up with noble intentions for Imam Anwar Al Awlaki should not be signed as it will have adverse effects on the Imam's family in Yemen (this information was relayed by Cageprisoners).

Please can I ask that NOBODY sign the petition. If you have alread done so, don't worry about it but I urge you not to forward it on and if anyone does forward you the message to relay this information to them.

Many thanks and JazakAllaah khair.

Walaikumsalaam

Your sister


p.s. insha'Allaah once more is known abouth the situation and matters are sorted then the petition will re-open :up:

[elji]

Assalaamualaikum,

Insha'Allaah you're well.

It has come to my attention that the petiton which was set up with noble intentions for Imam Anwar Al Awlaki should not be signed as it will have adverse effects on the Imam's family in Yemen (this information was relayed by Cageprisoners).

Please can I ask that NOBODY sign the petition. If you have alread done so, don't worry about it but I urge you not to forward it on and if anyone does forward you the message to relay this information to them.

Many thanks and JazakAllaah khair.

Walaikumsalaam

Your sister


p.s. insha'Allaah once more is known abouth the situation and matters are sorted then the petition will re-open :up:

lol dont worry i wont sign it guru petitioner

[insomniac]

*bump*

[insomniac]

*bump*

re-bumped

[Umm Haya]

Salam, is that reliable info? :( Ya Allah! So many people signed it! :(

[Nazias]

Salam, is that reliable info? :( Ya Allah! So many people signed it! :(

Walaikum salam,

Yes it is.

Insha'allah, you should inform them to stop sending it out.

:jkk:

[Umm Haya]

I have done, wallahi its so sad! so many people criticised it but I argued that its the least we can do and encouraged everybody to sign, I feel terrible now!

[Nazias]

I have done, wallahi its so sad! so many people criticised it but I argued that its the least we can do and encouraged everybody to sign, I feel terrible now!

You did so unknowingly and with the best of intentions and Insha'allah you will be rewarded.

You should let them know that this should not discourage them from such petitions as this will not be the case with all causes.

:jkk:

[neelu]

Can anyone explain in what way the petition would have adverse consequences?

[thetruth]

why, what has happened ?

[bint]

i havent signed. thnk Allah..

[Bint Yusuf]

SUBHANALLAH....!!!


I was on the verge of signing it and unlke how i quickly singed it for barbar ahmed i was hesitating and didn't but felt ashamed.:o:(


I guess Allah willed for me not to for this reason. Alhamdulilah! :rubeyes:


I had to go with that 'feeling' you know. i hope no one thinks bad of me.

[Lone Wolf]

When has a petition ever freed someone or done any good?

[MNK]

Salaam

I heard that he was free ... heard on these forums... could be hearsay?

is he still in prison?

[MNK]

i couldn't find anything on Cagedprisoners stating that signing the petition would endanger his family.. anyone got a link? thanks

[maryam07]

I suggest you check and re-check your facts before you start a Fitna in this Ummah.
Cage prisoners are (and have been) running a campaign to free Imam Anwar Al Awlaki
They provide the names and addresses of people to contact and also sample letters to copy and send to the Yemeni Ambassador and the home secretary.
Please enlighten us how this will be any different to a online petition which will eventually be sent to exactly the same people Cage prisioners want us to lobby.

[maryam07]

Please check and re-check your facts before you start a Fitna in this Ummah.
The petition hasn't closed down even though it was suggested by Cage prisoners to "temporarily close it as it will have adverse effects on the Imam's family in Yemen".
If you had bothered you would have found that Cage prisoners have been running a CAMPAIGN to free the Imam. They suggest you contact the Yemeni Ambassador to U.K and also the Home Secretary,they supply the contact addresses and sample letters to copy and send.
How CAN their method be correct and not the petition, afterall we are all working towards the same goal and that is to free a beloved teacher of the Deen.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/appeal-of-immediate-release-of-imam-anwar-al-awlaki

[Amsterdam]

How can you have the nerve to tell people not to sign this petition? I doubt you know who started it or why they even started it. Before you get on your high horse and critisise people who are care enough to attempt to make a difference despite people such as yourselves making it all the more difficult you need to find out exactly what's going on. I encourage anyone with a backbone to sign that petition because it's for a good cause. I don't know what cage prisoners are playing at- take a look at their site and they have a great deal about the Imam on it, they themselves are urging people to take action to free the Iman by means of writing to Ambassadors and such. And wether or not the petition makes a difference, which inshallah it will, the fact is somebody out there decided that rather than procrastinating about the situation they'd become proactive so who are you to pass judgement or belittle someones noble efffort? and i noticed somebody mentioned that they hesitated before signing the petition, it wasn't allah who stopped you it was shaytan! Think about it people, how on earth could a petition have adverse effects on the Imam's family? If they even know of it's existance I doubt that they'd be enraged or upset by it, if anything they would thank Allah that people sympathise with the plight of Anwar Al-Awlaki. Mozzam Begg signed that petition, he himself was locked up in Guantamano and his family and friends as well as numrous others did all they could for his relase during his time in captivity. He had no objections to the petiton and infact encouraged it. I hope everbody else who's thinking of signing the petition does so without hesitation and for the sake of Allah.

[insomniac]

:rubeyes: subhanAllaah at some of the responses, please direct all such queries as the two above to contact@cageprisoners.com :insha:

:jkk:

:wswrwb:

[insomniac]

How can you have the nerve to tell people not to sign this petition? I doubt you know who started it or why they even started it. Before you get on your high horse and critisise people who are care enough to attempt to make a difference despite people such as yourselves making it all the more difficult you need to find out exactly what's going on. I encourage anyone with a backbone to sign that petition because it's for a good cause. I don't know what cage prisoners are playing at- take a look at their site and they have a great deal about the Imam on it, they themselves are urging people to take action to free the Iman by means of writing to Ambassadors and such. And wether or not the petition makes a difference, which inshallah it will, the fact is somebody out there decided that rather than procrastinating about the situation they'd become proactive so who are you to pass judgement or belittle someones noble efffort? and i noticed somebody mentioned that they hesitated before signing the petition, it wasn't allah who stopped you it was shaytan! Think about it people, how on earth could a petition have adverse effects on the Imam's family? If they even know of it's existance I doubt that they'd be enraged or upset by it, if anything they would thank Allah that people sympathise with the plight of Anwar Al-Awlaki. Mozzam Begg signed that petition, he himself was locked up in Guantamano and his family and friends as well as numrous others did all they could for his relase during his time in captivity. He had no objections to the petiton and infact encouraged it. I hope everbody else who's thinking of signing the petition does so without hesitation and for the sake of Allah.


my brother, please understand this is not a way to discourage petitions at all - this is just a temporary measure :insha: therefore I have contacted the petition creator to put it on hold for a lil while and it will be re-opened.

SubhanAllaah this has not been done out of spite :astag: but an attempt to lessen any problems :insha:

:jkk:

:wswrwb:

Your sister

[Amsterdam]

im sorry but the petiton is hardly a problem its a means of correcting a problem. people are posting comments and saying that they regret signing it as though they've commited some sort of sin! what is there to be ashamed of by signing it, on the contrary if you haven't signed it you should be ashamed becuase your brother is locked up and you won't make a small effort towards initiating his release for whatever reason.

[insomniac]

im sorry but the petiton is hardly a problem its a means of correcting a problem. people are posting comments and saying that they regret signing it as though they've commited some sort of sin! what is there to be ashamed of by signing it, on the contrary if you haven't signed it you should be ashamed becuase your brother is locked up and you won't make a small effort towards initiating his release for whatever reason.

bro I understand your initial point - but they only feel bad because they feel if the petition is to go ahead then this may be harmful for the Imam and his family.

:insha: please do contact Cageprisoners for more clarification
email at contact@cageprisoners.com

:jkk:

:wswrwb:

[Amsterdam]

since you seem to agree with cageprisoners please tell me how it is going to be harmful for his family?

[abdusamad]

ajeeb

[Amsterdam]

why the ajeeb?

[abdusamad]

why the ajeeb?


Ajeeb that there are animals who are willing to hurt innocent families, because they are threatened by masses with a petition.

[insomniac]

since you seem to agree with cageprisoners please tell me how it is going to be harmful for his family?

email response from Cageprisoners as below:

Assalaamu 'alaykm
Dear Sister

I don't have much time at the moment but please don't forward this or put it on sites - we were told that a public campaign would not only have an adverse effect on his case but people, including his family, in Yemen so we have not taken any further public action on his case nor put this petition up.

Wassalaamu 'alaykum

[Amsterdam]

i asked you for your opinion on how it would effect his family not what Cageprisoners think. I put my question to you once again, how will it effect the Iman's family negatively?

[Cageprisoners]

Assalaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh

JazaakumAllaahu khaira to those who have tried to clarify this issue on our behalf.

Yes, those who asserted that Cageprisoners have information about Imam Anwar on the website are correct - we were the ones to break the news of his detention and to release an urgent appeal at that time. IHRC then followed up with a sample letter campaign.

In subsequent months, at the end of 2006 and early 2007, there were rumours on the internet that Imam Anwar was no longer in custody and had been released; others said he was under house arrest. There was a lot of confusion as we were told by other brothers who were held in Yemen and later released that he was indeed still a prisoner in Sana'a. There was also a post on one sister's blog purportedly from Imam Anwar's brother who affirmed he was in prison but now in isolation.

Cageprisoners had the opportunity earlier this year to be able to have contacts in Yemen to find out more. We were then told at this time that any public campaign would have an adverse effect on the case of the Imam, and that his family had expressed a desire for no campaign. In fact, we were told not to publicise this as his family were very concerned, but circumstances now dictate that we have made it public - to those who ask, there is no 'notice' on our website as a result.

As this had been almost 9 months or more since Cageprisoners and IHRC put out their initial alerts, we did not remove it but we decided to take no further action in light of what we were told; despite many times being approached by Muslims, asking what they can do or wanting to take the campaign further. In some cases we privately explained to these individuals why we could not do so. A lot of the campaign work etc had died down anyway as people responded when it was initially posted on the internet and many believed he had been released, so we did not see it necessary to remove it (it was not prominent on the website either).

I do not know who set up the petition but I believe the sister is sincere and desiring to help the Imam like the rest of you - and took her own initiative in doing so. Normally, there is not an issue with signing such petitions, but sometimes public campaigns can be detrimental to detainees in places such as the Middle East e.g. there are other cases for example in Saudi Arabia that we know of where a public campaign and raising the profile of the case will mean that the brother is tortured and less likely to be released, etc. Such campaigns, petitions etc inevitably are critical of the government and so therefore sometimes they will clamp down harder. Sometimes the family will be targetted. You will find for example families of Guantanamo detainees in Saudi will not make any public campaign for their release, but will use the government channels (private) only, for precisely the same reasons.

When this petition was brought to my attention (before any of the signatories that I know had signed it) I told the sister who emailed us the score and asked her not to forward it or remove it. I don't think that sister took my advice seriously as I soon found it was then forwarded on by another good sister. People here have mentioned br Moazzam as a proof that you should sign it. I wish people would not jump to conclusions - br Moazzam is the spokesman for Cageprisoners and someone I work with; he was not aware of any of these issues as he does not deal with the details of certain cases. He received the email and signed it as he would do any other petition - like the rest of you. I explained that to him once he had begun to circulate it - and there was no opposition from him. Many other sincere individuals have signed it without being aware of these issues - such as people on this forum like Nazia and insomniac, or Yvonne Ridley (again, she was later informed of the situation), or Ann Alexander. We have only spoken out to try to limit the potential harm it can cause because we know that these individuals and others have circulated it to their contact lists - up to hundreds of Muslims per person in some cases - and then onto other organisations, forums, websites etc. I've suggested that the petition is closed for signatories for the time being so we can try to ascertain again if the advice from those in Yemen has changed; in which case it can easily be re-opened for signatures without losing any of the current signatories.

For those who signed it - I don't think you should feel bad insha'Allah. Your niyyah was correct and you will be rewarded for that. We are trying to limit potential harm as we know how these petitions grow, and some of the Care2 petitions are taken quite seriously.

For those who are adamant that they are doing something correct - do you really want to do something when the Imam's family have advised people not to do so (in the recent past)? Should you not respect their wishes despite your personal opinions on the matter? I don't think anyone here is an authority on Yemeni prisons so how do we know what hardship he may face as a result, if sincere human rights activists and his family there advise against it?

As I said we are trying to verify the latest position but it is difficult and takes time so please be patient. It was very difficult to get any information in the first place.

I am not really going to have time to visit the forum for replies, so I'd appreciate it if you have any further queries, or criticisms that you email me at contact@cageprisoners.com, jazaakumAllahu khaira.

Please forgive me if I have offended any of you in my response...

Wassalaamu 'alaykum

[Amsterdam]

That's all good and well however if advocating the Imam's release is that detrimental to his family would it not have been essential to remove any and all material relating to him from the Cageprisoners website? "As this had been almost 9 months or more since Cageprisoners and IHRC put out their initial alerts, we did not remove it but we decided to take no further action in light of what we were told" . I appriciate what's been said but the sister's petition has a few hundred signitures, it's not exactly a run away success and I don't think she plans on sending it off any time soon as on the site it states the target is 5000 signitures.

[bint]

sheesh chill out!

[insomniac]

That's all good and well however if advocating the Imam's release is that detrimental to his family would it not have been essential to remove any and all material relating to him from the Cageprisoners website? "As this had been almost 9 months or more since Cageprisoners and IHRC put out their initial alerts, we did not remove it but we decided to take no further action in light of what we were told" . I appriciate what's been said but the sister's petition has a few hundred signitures, it's not exactly a run away success and I don't think she plans on sending it off any time soon as on the site it states the target is 5000 signitures.

please email Cageprisoners as suggested above :insha: :up:

:jkk:

:wswrwb:

Your sister

[Nazias]

When has a petition ever freed someone or done any good?

Petitions, demonstrations, protests, lobbying and mass pressure can make a massive amount of difference if carried out by enough people.

I appriciate what's been said but the sister's petition has a few hundred signitures, it's not exactly a run away success and I don't think she plans on sending it off any time soon as on the site it states the target is 5000 signitures.

In countires such as Yemen, one person is enough to cause a backlash.

As Cageprisoners stated, please do email contact@cageprisoners.com directly

:jkk:

[me.sawda]

:insha: I will wait for further update about this brother in prison

[abdusamad]

We never relied upon that petition, rather we rely upon Allaah, and therefore should raise our hands after every salah and especially at the last part of the night, and remember our brother in our ad'iyaat.


May Allaah hasten his release.