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Despair: Causes and Remedies
and
Muslims and the Media
by Dr Kaukab Siddique
Interview with a Guantanamo Torture Victim: The Story of Sofiane Berhoumi
by Karin Friedemann
The Obamas' Juneteenth Betrayal
by Sr Aisha
Reminder: Fasting on 9th & 10th Muharram 1433 [Updated] | Towards Huda
and
UHARRAM ONE OF THE 4 SACRED MONTHS
by Sr. Yasmin
Message from ICE Detainee Ya'akub Ira
by Ya'akub Ira
Breaking News
State is the Worst Purveyor of Violence in Kashmir
Fighting between the people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistani security forces have reached a shocking level of state terrorism.
It is unbelievable for many that Pakistan is fighting its own people in Azad Kashmir, whom it was supposed to defend.
Students Protest for Palestine at Stanford Commencement
The commencement ceremony for Stanford University, one of America's most renowned universities, was held June 14.
Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, began to speak as guest of honor.
Hundreds of students chanted slogans in support of Palestine and opposing the 1.2 billion dollars given to Israel for Google's defense-related activity.
They raised Palestinian flags, much to the ire of the Stanford administration.
Hindus like Pichai have no problem supporting Israel.
Dr. Kaukab Siddique, Editor-in-Chief
Despair: Causes and Remedies
By Dr. Kaukab Siddique
In this day and age, there can be many reasons for despair. It can occur as a consequence of:
Age. The passage of time.
The Qur'an compares it to a life which is meaningless existence.
Lack of love.
Lack of ideals.
Violation of ideals.
Realization that we were not on the path of goodness, and suddenly realize that it was the wrong path.
Feeling that evil is too strong and we cannot defeat it.
Mental conflict and quandaries about what will happen when we leave this world.
Realization too late that we harmed good people and cannot redo the evil we did.
How to Deal with Despair
Study the Qur'an
Memorize some of the Qur'an
Study the life of the Prophet, pbuh,
Help human beings who are in distress (with money or time or with understanding/empathy)
Oppose the forces of evil, particularly those you cannot defeat.
Go to help those who have been hurt.
Pray five times a day and ask for Allah's help after each prayer.
Support an Islamic movement.
Travel as much as your resources allow.
Meet or support/study the greatest scholars of your time
Muslims and the Media
By Kaukab Siddique, PhD
Muslims, like others, are influenced by the media, directly or indirectly. Many Muslims simply ignore the media. That policy creates a mental ghetto. Many Muslims talk only to each other, at least when it comes to difficult or controversial issues.
I urge each Muslim community to delegate its most organized, and clear-thinking members to interact with the media.
We should be aware of happenings within each Muslim country. We should provide information about each country based on Qur'an and Sunnah to the media. It should be factual and non-sectarian. Muslims should realize that media influences just about all non-Muslims and many Muslims.
Karin Friedemann
Interview with a Guantanamo Torture Victim: The Story of Sofiane Berhoumi
By Karin Friedemann
Sofiane Berhoumi, now 53, was released from Guantanamo just 4 years ago after 20 years in captivity. His father, who was a private lawyer, died in 2004 while he was imprisoned. Sofiane graced me with his polite and positive presence for nearly an hour on the phone on 9/23/25 and for another hour on 6/7/26. He spoke about how people often fear him, but those who take the time to get to know him realize that he is gentle and kind. "You can't judge people from the cover." He said that communicating with understanding people makes life beautiful. Some strangers have become more than family to him. Recently he was invited to personally attend a human rights conference at Graz University in Austria with all expenses paid, but he was unfortunately denied a visitor's visa. I was very curious to hear his life story.
He is the eldest of five brothers and there is one older sister. As a student, he was a good swimmer and a soccer player and dreamed of playing for a team. Sofiane left Algeria for Europe in search of work opportunities. He looked for work in Spain and France and England at age 22. He also visited his sister in Paris. He left Spain by stowing away on a ship. He was working loading the ship with truckloads of coffee beans and other merchandise. Eventually he got asylum in 1996 in Britain due to the Algerian civil war. However, by 1998, after gaining safety in Britain, he learned about the war in Chechnya from charity presentations in the London mosque, in which videos and slides of suffering Muslims were shown and funds collected. Like many other Muslim men who were inspired to leave their homes and fight for the sake of Allah, Sofiane felt that his soul was longing to go to Chechnya to defend the Muslim cause.
He knew that in order to get sent to Chechnya to fight, he first had to go to Afghanistan for military training. From there, he would need assistance from an organized Islamic group to facilitate his transport and connect him with the Muslim fighters in Chechnya. This was standard practice in those days. There were many Islamic military training camps in Afghanistan who welcomed foreigners in search of adventure.
So, with the contacts he received through a Pakistani friend, and with his advice, Sofiane left London for Karachi, and then on to Peshawar, Pakistan, where he stayed at a Lashkar Taiba guesthouse until he was assigned to be sent to Khaldan Camp in Khost, Afghanistan. During his training, an accident with an explosive permanently destroyed the use of his left hand. Despite this severe handicap, he tried multiple times to go to Chechnya, but icy weather conditions prevented him. Therefore he was basically stranded in Afghanistan. Biding his time for six years, he learned a bit of Persian and Pashtun. Everything was okay, until al-Qaeda's attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. Then his life changed forever.
Sofiane was hiding in the mountains of Tora Bora when the United States bombarded Afghanistan in November and December 2001. It was a terrifying experience. He saw many of his brothers killed by rockets fired from an Apache helicopter. Sofiane fled to Pakistan; first Peshawar then Islamabad. He ended up in Faysal Abad, a suburb of Lahore. In May 2002, the property where he was sheltering with Abu Zubaydah was raided by special Pakistani forces working for the CIA and he was sent to Guantanamo under suspicion of being al-Qaeda and dangerous. He was not with al-Qaeda. Neither was Abu Zubaydah. They were free, unaffiliated fighters. Abu Zubaydah had connections with al-Qaeda but was not part of their group. Abu Zubaydah was a Palestinian subjected to severe and prolonged torture, during which the US realized and admitted he was not with al-Qaeda. He continues to be held in Guantanamo.
Sofiane was charged with conspiracy and material support for a terrorist organization in 2005. In 2008 and again in 2012, the charges against him were dropped. In 2016 he went in front of a review board that included the US Justice Department, the CIA, and the National Security Agency. The decision went through six agencies until finally in 2016 he was cleared for release under the Obama administration. But when Trump became president, all transfers out of Guantanamo were frozen. Years later after many actual high profile al-Qaeda members were released from Guantanamo, Sofiane remained imprisoned, because nobody knew who he was. He was essentially a "nobody." He had never even served in one battle.
It was not until the Biden administration that Sofiane was scheduled for release. He was put on a plane on March 13, 2022 headed home to Algeria but two hours into the flight, the Algerian government announced bad weather conditions, so the plane turned around and took him back to Guantanamo! Sofiane found this very upsetting, worried they were playing a trick on him. On April 1, 2022 he boarded a second plane, which finally returned him back to his family.
Sofiane mentioned that a couple of the guards at Guantanamo really warmed up to him. He said 90% of the guards were mean and awful, but 10% were decent people who just happened to be in the US Army. So, generally speaking, he didn't like them and they didn't like him. They had been told that he was a dangerous terrorist, so how could they know? It was not until he started joking with them that they started to wonder, "How can you be cheerful when your life is so miserable?" He always tried to make the guards feel comfortable and laugh. Because keeping a positive attitude helped him keep up his morale despite his suffering.
Some of the younger guards started to confide in him instead of to their colleagues, because he sympathized with their lives. One female guard in her early twenties began to cry during her shift because she had no friends. Her mother had deserted her as a child due to mental illness, so she had to raise her younger brother alone. Sofiane encouraged her to give her mother a call. She took his advice, and experienced forgiveness with her mother. When Sofiane was released, she followed him all the way to the van that took him to the airport. "Please don't change," she said. "Stay like that." There was another young female guard who started crying when he was released. They cried together. There were some other guards, one was a Mexican-American man, who visited him and gave him a piece of food from time to time.
Sofiane's English interpreter for his legal proceedings was scared of him at first, but it wasn't long before the interpreter relaxed. Soon he was cooking special meals for Sofiane during their meetings with the lawyers, and watching movies with him.
Now, Sofiane is back in Algeria living with his mother. Long ago, when Sofiane was one year old, his mother was watching him sleep. She had a vision of a two-year-old with blue eyes wearing a US Army uniform. He was on top of her son, pinning him down. Several times the bully looked straight into her eyes in a way that was extremely frightening. This vision foretold his destiny with the Americans. Now his dear mother is old and sick. She is having trouble breathing, can't walk, and coughs a lot. Even so, she cooks for him and takes care of him. The local people are scared of him, and because he can't use his left hand, he has been unable to find work. She is patient and understands his situation, why he can't take care of her financially. Right now he is excitedly watching the World Championship games with his brothers at home.
It is very hard to scratch out a living in Algeria. Any medical care you need, you have to pay for it. Sofiane is in need of clothes. He asks anyone who has used or broken iPhone or laptops or anything he can sell to send them to him so that he can repair and resell them. Some supporters have started a collection to buy him a car so that he would be able to start a taxi service.
For a shai'teen such as former President Barak Obama, opening his controversial, oft-maligned Obama Presidential Library on Chicago's Southside for Juneteenth 2026 is appropriate.
Juneteenth is short for June 19th and it is the day a largely Black regimen of Union soldiers journeyed down to Galveston, Texas to liberate the remaining African slaves being held captive there by White slave owners. It was 1865 and Texas slave owners completely disregarded the 1863 Emancipation.
So, opening a nearly $800 million dollar library, which residents viewed as a gentrification tool and tried to shut down, in a star-studded affair is a festive occasion. Obama did not care who his project harmed.
This library can potentially thwart any freedoms or advancements made in Chicago's nearby Black communities by encouraging the increase in area rents and taxes!
Residential properties near public transportation cost more than properties further away because people will pay more for convenience. That is capitalism. Residents desire being near attractions, such as transportation, schools, shopping centers, or historical landmarks (i.e. Empire State Building).
This is not the first time President Obama harmed Chicagoans. He is the one who helped get Zionist emperor Rahm Emanuel illegally elected as Chicago's Mayor from 2011 to 2019.
It was under Mayor Emanuel that local Chicago police were kidnapping people and holding them at secret detention centers. It made people conscious of a city government's brazen abuse of power.
These actions and others prove that former President Obama is an avowed enemy of the American working class, especially Black people.
Chicago Southside is a predominantly black area that is home to many working class residents. However, the media has misrepresented most of Chicago as a gang-ridden death trap.
If the Southside was that helpless and hopeless, the Obama Presidential Library would not have been built there!
Former President Obama claimed he built the center for the people in that community but who are those people? The majority of Southside residents protested the library and unsuccessfully tried to stop its development through the courts.
Ever since the announcement that of the Obama Presidential Library as a mere idea, greedy real estate investors purchased abandoned or poorly maintained properties and did nothing to improve them. However, as the Obama Presidential Library neared completion, properties in that area increased in huge numbers.
Property values increase when something desirable is near it like an $850 million dollar Presidential Library designed to be a coming attraction for people all over the world. Now, is the right time to renovate apartment buildings and rent apartments for exorbitant fees for people outside the community who can afford it.
This is how gentrification works.
It is what happened in Harlem, New York when turncoat Congressman Charles Rangle invited former President Bill Clinton opened an office on highly coveted 125th Street. Area rents exploded simply for being near Clinton's office.
I hope Southside community leaders have a plan for overcoming this behemoth library and that it won't be as negatively disruptive to their lives.
Salaam,
Sis. 'Aisha
Jamaat al-Muslimeen New York City
Guidance Wisdom from Sis. Yasmin
Reminder: Fasting on 9th & 10th Muharram 1433 [Updated] | Towards Huda
The merit of fasting 'Ashura'
And the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked about the merit of fasting 'Ashura Day, thereupon he said: "It expiates the sins of the preceding year."
---[Reported by Muslim]
'Muharram' is the first month of the Hijri
calendar and is one of the Four {4} sacred months concerning which...
ALLAH {Azzawajal } says in the 'Qur`an'...
'Surely the number of months with Allah is
Twelve (12) months in ALLAH'S ordinance since the day
when HE created the heavens and the earth,
of these four (4) being sacred;
that is the right reckoning;
therefore be not unjust to yourselves regarding them'.
[Source: 'Qur`an' ~Surat At- Tawbah ~ 9~ Verse # 36]
'Muharram' is one of the four {4} sacred
months out of twelve {12}
The others being...
Zul-Qa`dah,
Dhul-Hijjah,
and Rajab.
These four months have been sacred
since the creation of universe.
ALLAH {Azzwajal } says in the 'Qur`an'...
'Muharram' is a sacred month because Allah
made it sacred along with three other months
and told us about it in the 'Qur`an'.
PROPHET ﷺ
informed us about the Four sacred months
in the following narration...
'The year is of Twelve months, out of which
Four {4} months are sacred.
Three {3} are in succession---
#1/ ~Dhul - Qa`dah.
#2/~ Dhul-Hijjah.
#3/~Muharram.
#4/~Rajab.
[Source~ Bukhari Vol~ 004, Book # 054, Hadith # 419]
'Ashura'~ [meaning tenth in Arabic]
The 10th of Muharram.
Fasting on the 10th Muharram 'Ashura'
was obligatory on the Muslims before the fasts
of 'Ramadan' were made obligatory.
Narrated by the Mother of the Believers Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) ---
The people used to fast on 'Ashura'
{the tenth (10th) day of the month of 'Muharram'}
before the fasting of 'Ramadan' was made obligatory,
and on that day the 'Kaaba'
used to be covered with a cover.
When Allah made the fasting of the month
of 'Ramadan' compulsory.
PROPHET {may peace be upon him} said...
'Whoever wishes to fast (on the day of 'Ashura')
may do so and whoever wishes
to leave it can do so.'
[ Source: 'Bukhari' Vol 02, Book 026, Hadith # 662. ]
Abu Qatada al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) reported that...
The Messenger of Allah {peace be upon him}
was asked about fasting on the day of
'Ashura' {10th of Muharram}
whereupon he said...
It expiates the sins of the preceding year...{!}
{Source~ Muslim: Book 06: Hadith # 2603}
Muharram—the first month of the Islamic year
'They ask you about the sacred month—about fighting therein. Say, "Fighting therein is a great [sub]...'"
*PROPHET* ﷺ~*MUHARRAM' ONE OF THE 4 SACRED MONTHS'*~{FAST OF 'ASHURA' EXPIATES THE SINS OF THE PRECEDING YEAR'}
'Alhamdulillahi Rabbil-`Aalameen'
wa-Salaatu wa-Salaamu `Alaa Ashrafil -Anbiyaa-e-wal-Mursaleen~ `Amma `Baa`d~(أَمَّا بَعْدُ)
***************************************************************************
'Assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.'
Reminder:Fasting on 9th & 10th Muharram 1433 [Updated] | TowardsHuda
'Muharram' is the first month of the Hijri
calendar and is one of the Four {4} sacred months concerning which...
ALLAH {Azzawajal } says in the 'Qur`an'...
'Surely the number of months with Allah is
Twelve (12) months in ALLAH'S ordinance since the day
when HE created the heavens and the earth,
of these four (4) being sacred;
that is the right reckoning;
therefore be not unjust to yourselves regarding them'.
[Source: 'Qur`an' ~Surat At- Tawbah ~ 9~ Verse # 36]
'Muharram' is one of the four {4} sacred
months out of twelve {12}
The others being...
Zul-Qa`dah,
Dhul-Hijjah,
and Rajab.
These four months have been sacred
since the creation of universe.
ALLAH {Azzwajal } says in the 'Qur`an'...
'Muharram' is a sacred month because Allah
made it sacred along with three other months
and told us about it in the 'Qur`an'.
PROPHET ﷺ
informed us about the Four sacred months
in the following narration...
'The year is of Twelve months, out of which
Four {4} months are sacred.
Three {3} are in succession---
#1/ ~Dhul - Qa`dah.
#2/~ Dhul-Hijjah.
#3/~Muharram.
#4/~Rajab.
[Source~ Bukhari Vol~ 004, Book # 054, Hadith # 419]
'Ashura'~ [meaning tenth in Arabic]
The 10th of Muharram.
Fasting on the 10th Muharram 'Ashura'
was obligatory on the Muslims before the fasts
of 'Ramadan' were made obligatory.
Narrated by the Mother of the Believers Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) ---
The people used to fast on 'Ashura'
{the tenth (10th) day of the month of 'Muharram'}
before the fasting of 'Ramadan' was made obligatory,
and on that day the 'Kaaba'
used to be covered with a cover.
When Allah made the fasting of the month
of 'Ramadan' compulsory.
PROPHET {may peace be upon him} said...
'Whoever wishes to fast (on the day of 'Ashura')
may do so and whoever wishes
to leave it can do so.'
[ Source: 'Bukhari' Vol 02, Book 026, Hadith # 662. ]
Abu Qatada al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) reported that...
The Messenger of Allah {peace be upon him}
was asked about fasting on the day of
'Ashura' {10th of Muharram}
whereupon he said...
It expiates the sins of the preceding year...{!}
{Source~ Muslim: Book 06: Hadith # 2603}
~'SALAAMS' TO ALL~
~Y a s m i n ~
"Never Despair Of The Mercy Of Allah"
**************************************
Say, 'Indeed, my Prayer, my Rites of Sacrifice,
my Living and my Dying are for ALLAH, Lord of the Worlds'.
(In Shaa Allah 'Aameen'.)
{'Qur`an'~ Surat Al-'An`am -# 6-A # 162.}
Message from ICE Detainee Ya'akub Ira
Greetings to everyone in attendance. May Allah's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you all. Thank you for carving some of your time to learn about my case and to potentially offer your support.
My physical body continues to remain in captivity and each day that I sit here it increases my spirituality... so I ask Allah on a daily basis—to expand my chest and increase my well-being in times of difficulties.
I was asked if there is a message that I would like to convey to you all at this event...and I drafted some notes and some thoughts and have asked Allah subhanahu wa ta a'la for assistance and guidance on what message we should relay. Here's what I've written:
"What have we learned in the pasts five months? In the past two years? In the past two decades? What have we learned and what have we applied?
There is a virtue that I have learned in my five months of captivity that I believe may be of a benefit to all of us. It is a virtue that few of our selected pious predecessors have embodied. And that is the virtue of how to remain just and not to seek justice. A very difficult task specially for someone who has been subjected to injustice and abasement like I have.
By default, many of us including myself would want to seek justice in retaliation to what has been done to me. But to seek justice can lead to seeking vengeance. And to seek vengeance is not to be just. So how can one be just and not seek justice?
I've reflected on this for quite some time and what I have come to realize is that to be just is to be truthful. And by being truthful will then result to justice.
When I first came to learn about the Palestinians in Gaza, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, and the Holy Land Foundation 5 and the injustice and oppression they have been subjected to, I realized how the truth of their innocence and oppression have been buried for so long.
And because of that, I risked everything I have built in America for two decades in order to revive their stories in hopes that people will realize how wronged they have been and they too will insha'Allah find in their hearts to speak up and put things in action to be just in fighting for their freedoms.
When I looked around at the time when I learned about the stories of Dr. Aafia and the Holy Land 5, it pained me to learn that there's been silence in their advocacy with selected few individuals who have kept their stories alive.
I told myself, "If wonder if a revert like me who is new to the Muslim community is to be imprisoned for speaking up for them and highlighting their stories if there would be any souls that would care?"
I questioned the reality of what's in hand "if they failed to show up for them, what makes them want to show up for me, who nobody knows?" I disregarded these questions in the beginning and carried on what needs to be done and put my trust in Allah that if I can at least create a spark of inspiration to someone then at least the endeavor will not be wasted.
And now here you all are, gathered in my advocacy and have invested your time for inquiry and support. Because you care, because you believe in my innocence just as you believe in the innocence of those who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
I am one of many stories out there who has been wrongfully and unjustly imprisoned by the failed justice system that we live in. I ask for everyone that whatever we do, however we do it, that we remain in truth, that we maintain truthfulness and do not seek justice but maintain the praiseworthy traits of humility, servitude, dutifulness, deference, courage, bravery, modesty, restraint, generosity, pardoning, care, and truthfulness in everything that we do.
Do not seek vengeance under my name but maintain these praiseworthy traits which equates to being just and justice will eventually prevail.
Thank you all so much for making all the du'as that you all have been making and for the letters that you all have been writing. For the donations for my legal fees and for every inch of support, may it be little or big, I truly am eternally grateful to all of you.
Allah is all-Knowing and in His perfect timing, we will all get to see each other soon, again insha'Allah.
I remain,
In service to you all, your brother in faith and your brother in justice,
Ya'akub Ira (Eye-ra) Azurin Vijandre (Vee-han-dre)
- - - - -
ICE detainee Ya'akub Ira Vijandre shared this with the "Silenced" Program Held on March 27, 2026, in the DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) area of Texas. Despite having committed no crime, he has been held for eight months in ICE detention.
Follow developments in his case on Instagram:
@freeyaakub
