Ali al-Tamimi: An Embodiment of Faith

[Rahima]

Ali al-Tamimi: An Embodiment of Faith

Basim Abdullah Alim

Article ID: 1231 | 128 Reads

 

 

 

A few days ago, the Federal Court in the United States of America convicted Ali bin Mahdi Al-Timimi, and after brief deliberations, it is expected that he will be given a life sentence without parole.

 

Who is Ali al-Timimi? What were the allegations made against him? What was the evidence that substantiated those allegations that led the Court to confirm and attest the Jury’s verdict?

 

Ali al-Timimi was born in Washington DC to Iraqi parents, who had come to Washington in the early nineteen-sixties to join the Iraqi Diplomatic mission. It was there that Ali grew up until he completed his Junior High and a part of his High School education. His parents then took him with them to Riyadh so that he could attain a High School Certificate there. He then returned to Washington for his university education, and it was there, at university, in the mid-nineteen-eighties, that Allah had decreed for me to meet him. I was highly impressed by him, and by the high level of earnestness with which he worked to achieve an education. He completed two degrees in two different disciplines: one in biology and the other in computer science. In addition to this I was impressed by his knowledge and by the zeal and protective attitude he showed towards his religion. He would be hurt by any youth, whether male or female, who had slipped away from their religion. I cannot remember a day in which he did not strive hard and persevere in calling to Allah the Most High. He would constantly communicate with various students, whether they were Muslim or Non-Muslim, and encourage them to have a passion for this great religion. One could see him fully engrossed and highly enthusiastic about the facts he would explain to others. In the moments in which he preached to others, it was as if he was also reminding himself, and reviving his own spiritual strength.

 

He then left us to travel to Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (May Peace and Blessings be upon its inhabitant, the Prophet Muhammad), so that he could study under some of the scholars there, due to his desire to learn the Sciences of Hadith. I met him on his return and it was as if he had found his long-cherished objective in the Sunna of our beloved Prophet (May Peace and Blessings be upon Him). He resumed his Dawa work with fervour, like a tireless bee travelling through the cities of America without any worry. Even after taking on all of this, by Allah’s grace and the blessings He grants to His sincere servants, he managed to attain a Phd in the nature of cancer and the uses of Computers in diagnosing the nature of the disease, its movement, the methods of its prevention and ways to cure it. The scholars of Biology and Computer Science all attested to the originality of his work and of its academic significance.

 

When Ali left his studies to study the sciences of hadith and the Prophetic Sunna, he faced a lot of criticism and mockery from those who consider scientific knowledge to have a status that cannot be reached by any other discipline. These people believed the sciences of this world to be completely separate and unrelated to the knowledge of the hereafter, but Allah caused Ali to excel in science beyond his peers and contemporary scientists without it conflicting with his love and learning of hadith and the Prophetic Sunna.

 

His personality is one that combines eloquence, steadfastness in times of adversity, and unique opinions from one angle, with gentleness and a good community spirit from another angle. I was very impressed with this unique mix that made me see him as being similar to the martyr Sayyid Qutb (May Allah have mercy on him). Despite the fact that our views differed, I can say that he is sincere to his methodology and in what he believes. His sense of self-sacrifice in both body and soul for calling to Allah, and the time and effort he spends in his Dawa work are difficult to parallel.

 

As any Muslim who is zealous and protective over his religion, he was pained by the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States of America. He was the first, from within the United States, to call for a political effort opposing the American Occupation of Muslim Lands. He led demonstrations to put pressure on the government and the Congress, and he co-operated with various American organisations that believe in the right of mankind to freedom, self-determination, and an end to American aggression of peaceful countries that are thousands of miles away from the United States. He announced in his sermons that resistance to the American Army is legal in both Iraq and Afghanistan and that this is something acknowledged within the United States of America, as many legal theorists and peace protestors have stated that both the attacks and the occupations that followed them are illegal. International law allows countries to resist occupation.

With the escalation of events and the control of the Jewish influenced Christian Right over various parts of the government, the American authorities launched a number of raids upon Mosques, Islamic Schools, and homes of prominent Islamic preachers who had angered the Jewish influenced Christian Right. Among them was Ali al-Timimi, who was arrested and imprisoned under the accusation of calling for a war against the United States of America, due to his allowing and encouraging Muslims to resist the American Occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and for stating that whoever dies defending his homeland dies a martyr. In addition to the above allegation he was accused of calling for war against a nation at peace with the United States of America, claiming that its relationship with Iraq and Afghanistan is one of peace and not one that an occupying country has with the country it has invaded in accordance with the classification of the United Nations and its resolutions.

 

American Law according to its statutes and legal precedents does not consider one’s mere call or opinion as being an incitement even if its subject is fighting or the use of force. It does not consider it to be an infringement of the law, as it is protected by freedom of thought, as long as the opinion does not translate into action, or into the drawing out of plans that are to be implemented. American Law also states that confirmation of an allegation of calling to war or incitement to violence, as Ali al-Timimi has been accused of, must be based on the consequences of the call and the incitement. It is here that one asks, as Ali’s lawyers asked before: How can it be possible for an individual to call for military action in Iraq and Afghanistan when the only control he has is over the house he resides in? His call does not go beyond the mere expression of an opinion to even the most basic stage of implementation. In addition to this, he is thousands of miles away from both Iraq and Afghanistan. The reality is that it was crusade inspired hatred [that is behind this], [the same hatred] that led the World to submit to its aims, and sought to justify its beliefs and evil actions. It is the same hatred, which is apparent on the white crusader, which leads him to keep for himself the right to have an opinion. One does not have the right to oppose his opinion [if they do not share his creed and colour], even if they are an American Citizen who has all the rights that come with citizenship, as the determining factor in this matter belongs to the white man, who is ruled by race and colour rather than laws and citizenship. Everyone should be under his control, and all efforts should be for his benefit.

 

I mentioned all of this for two reasons:

 

Firstly: In order to commend a man who spent his life in calling to Allah right until this moment, and persisted in it and kept firm upon his stance, without making any distortions or changes to it. He remained far from accepting any bargains offered to him by the American authorities, such as their offer to reduce any allegations made against him or maybe even waiving them completely in exchange for his standing as a witness against his brothers in faith. When his conviction was attested in the courtroom, he smiled as one would when being pleased, and informed everyone that he was only created to worship Allah, the Most High, in any place that Allah willed him to be, and if Allah’s will and decree is that he spend all of his life in a prison, then he shall worship Allah in it with sincerity even if the disbelievers detest that. Through his actions he said, “My Lord! Prison is more beloved to me than that which they call me toâ€.

 

Secondly: To wake the Ummah, and to wake the Muslims in the United States of America to the reality of their situation, which is that the United States of America has declared war against the Religion and its adherents. It is now time to stop people from looking at that country as a place of hope and as a safe country. Allah’s land is vast, and even if the United States of America oppresses [the Earth’s inhabitants] and puts pressure on them, a noble life is not one of pleasure and comfort; it is one of pride, honour, and the ability to implement that which Allah wants, namely His worship, even if one’s conditions are harsh or difficult. I cannot see for any Muslim who has zeal for his religion or his honour a place in that country, nor do I any longer believe that the United States of America has any steady principles by which one can determine their safety or protection, whether they be inside it or outside it. Its anger threatens all, as does Jewish influenced Christian Right’s manipulation of its laws, traditions and heritage.

 

In closing, I ask Allah the Most High that he relieves our brother Ali al-Timimi from his troubles, that He grants him freedom, that He returns him to his family safe, for despite the cutting off of all means, the tightening of handcuffs, putting him in shackles, and his being thrown into the darkness of prison, our faith in Allah makes us expect that Allah’s Help and the victory of this religion are close. When it takes place the believers rejoice at the victory of Allah. Indeed Allah’s victory is near.

 

Allah’s [pleasure] is the objective.

 

Lawyer and legal advisor

 

alim@alimlaw.com

[Muhammad]

I ask Allah the Most High that he relieves our brother Ali al-Timimi from his troubles, that He grants him freedom, that He returns him to his family safe,

Amiin Ya Allah!

 

 

Dr. Ali al-Tamimi's support website:

 

http://www.altimimi.org/

[Nur]

Our Brother Ali Al Tamimi, A great Muslim is in prison for no crime of is his own, but as a sacrificial lamb for the mob rule in Washington (Neocons purported hysteria and Islamophobia) Muslims in the west are the least vocal for its cause of all interest groups, failing to use their numbers and political weight to exert a proportional pressure to seek Justice for innocent Muslims behind bars.

 

 

In contrast, a national traitor is to be released in exchange for peace.

 

Release For Peace!

 

 

Nur