Saga
And The True Image Of Would-Be Martyred Nigerian Faruk
Abdul Mutallib - Close Friends And Relatives
28 December 2009
By Kevin Kofi**
December
26th Obama's administration announced it was charging
Young Brother Abdul Farouk Mutallab, the son of a
wealthy Nigerian Muslim family from northwest state of
Kano, for - according to ‘the White House
version of event’ - allegedly attempting to detonate a
substance suspected to be an explosive on board a
flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, United States.
Since then people, who are close to the so-called
would-be plane bomb suspect, especially his friends
and family members have been made subject to stressful
western media focus and invasion into their private
lives.
EsinIslam has not been exempted from the exhaustion of the overwhelming flood
of media intrusion. The African Muslim portal has received unprecedented requests
from unknown and unsolicited sources, requesting 'press release', media
interviews and details about 'Young Muslim Brother Abdul Farouk Mutallab'.
Who Is Faruk Abdul Mutallib? A True Profile By Those Who
Know Him Well
Too much fabricated reports have been published and broadcasted about
relationship between Young Brother Faruk and his family, particularly his father
Alhaji Umaru Mutallab - a household name in the Nigerian banking industry having
chaired the board of the country’s biggest and most viable bank - the First Bank
of Nigeria (FBN).
While, majority of the reports and claims made against Farouk and his family
have been totally untrue, it is true the 23 year old Nigerian who had his
secondary education in Nigeria before proceeding to the elite British School of
Lome in neighbouring Togo, where he passed his international baccalaureates
diploma had earlier graduated with a degree in Engineering from the
University College, London, he has not abandoned his postgraduate education.
Several Nigerian newspapers claimed in the weekend that Brother Faruk's parents who had agreed for him
to do a summer course in Arabic in Yemen from around August this year sensed
trouble when he suddenly called to say that he was no longer interested in
completing his MBA and instead is staying on in Yemen for the next seven years
for an unclear field of study.
This is a typical example of misinformed journalism. In fact studious
Farouk has reached the final stage in completing his Master in Business
Administration from a Dubai-based university this month.
However, just like any other practicing Muslim, young or old, Brother Faruk
sees legacy of him studying Business administration as a wrong footstep of his
banker dad - an act of training to sell usury or Ribaa (i.e. working an interest
based industry). Who can blame Mutallab Junior, son of chairman of
Nigeria's biggest bank for not wanting to be a banker given the roles bankers
played in plugging the world further into poverty - a tale regularly featured in
the British media during the graduate student staying in recession-hit London.
There is nothing unusual for a child with Faruk's devotion to his faith in
having a different understanding of today's world from his 70 year-old dad whose
presence in the Nigerian social circles is celebrated as one of the richest and
influential personalities in the history of the West African nation.
Evidence of wealthy Alhaji Mutallib's popularity and political influence has
been asserted by Nigerian president Omar Yar'Adua arranging to meet the nation's
grand-banker to discuss the circumstances surrounding Faruk’s
involvement in the US plane bomb saga. Even Nigeria's 'born-again
Christian' opportunist Vice President Goodluck Jonathan wasted no time in
relishing the chance to get closer to Mutallib family in a specially arranged
meeting in case the ailing president now in Saudi Arabia for a medical fails to
come home in time. After all, in Nigeria, the home for corruption and foul
play, money reaches farther than anywhere else in the world.
That is America's Nigeria. As for the 23 year-old life experience in
home nation, he recently attended his father's 70th birthday in Kano despite
maintaining it's against teachings and values of Islam for a Muslim to celebrate
or help to celebrate birthday. That is a gesture of a deep respect and
dutifulness from considerate Faruk to his father. According to a close
relative, Brother Faruk was so unhappy to see powerful Nigerian figures Muslims
and non-Muslims parading with glasses of alcohol in their hands and 'indecently
dressed women' on their lamps at his family estates. That's pretty too
much for a young practicing Muslim man. Therefore, outspoken Mutallib made
his disapproval of what he saw in the father's 70th birthday celebration clear
and warned members of his extended family "never try to get in touch with him
again" until they change their 'disturbing behaviors'.
Well-disciplined son of Alhaji is not the only family members that relies on
religious doctrines to influence the family's decision making and harmony life.
He and his other siblings of nine are no doubt mind-twisters in convincing the
banker dad to shift from interests-based bank industry to Islamic Finance as an
alternative and more acceptable code of life in Islam. The former chief of
the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) is now the chairman of Jaiz International Plc,
an Islamic Bank.
With a success story like this in family's religious fortune, Faruk could not
have been wrong to seek to pursue even more sound Islamic etiquettes. That,
according to a friend, was probably another good reason why Faruk decided to
come to term with his father when he sought his parents’ forgiveness in his last
text messages home, informing them that he was going to concentrate even more on
his Islamic studies in an effort to become a better Muslim.
According to the BBC, former British teachers are full of good things to say
about the decent Nigerian, praising him as a dream student of knowledge.
Efemena Mokedi, a classmate of Mr Mutallib and who played on the same basketball
team, expressed disbelief over what had been reported.
"You would never expect this coming from him, he's
a very good guy, a very good chap to hang out with,"
he told the BBC.
"He was very sociable, he comes from a wealthy
background, he's well educated ... the numbers do not
add up," he said.
Meanwhile there are evidences Faruk was expecting his family to pay him a
visit in Yemen, knowing his family are wealthy enough to travel at ease. A
BBC report of his profile found that "as the son of one of Nigeria's most
prominent businessmen he had access to international travel and a world-class
education. He has been described by one former British teacher as a dream
student."
Of course it takes some faiths for a young able man to turn one's back at a
luxurious £4 million pounds apartment in Central London while living young as a
prosperous student and opt for a muddy Yemeni rough life. Newspapers
revealed the privileged Nigerian boy sees his studying in Yemen as an
alternative course that would cost nothing for seven-year programme, quoting him
as resolute that it did not matter if his Nigerian passport expired - he would
be able to obtain a Yemeni one. This is a choice of an humble child not of a
twenty first century wealthy banker.
No wonder Michael Rimmer, a Briton who taught Faruk history at the British
School in Lome (BSL), could not help himself to decorate the young Nigerian
Muslim with praises when speaking to broadcasters. "Mr Abdulmutallab had
been every teacher's dream - very keen, enthusiastic, very bright, very polite",
Teacher Michael Rimmer said unreservedly.
He had excelled in Islamic scholarship at the
British school and gained a reputation for preaching
to other students, said Mr Rimmer.
Pictures of Young Faruk as a peace activist
featuring in a series of anti-war coalition programmes
in London have presented African and Muslim World
media with journalistic themes for blaming American
wars around the Muslim World as one of the possible
influences on Young Mutallab. They provoked extensive
commentaries over Faruk's British teachers claiming
that in 2001 his Lome privileged British school had a
number of class discussions about the Taliban, in
which Umar spoke in their defence. The Nigerian
Muslim graduate had had his secondary education in
Nigeria before proceeding to the elite British School
of Lome in neighbouring Togo, where he passed his
international baccalaureates diploma before he
proceeded to the University College, London (UCL)
where he read mechanical engineering between September
2005 and June 2008.
He told his friends and relatives that he wanted to study Arabic in order to
better understand his religion theologies including Islamic Finance as an
alternative to his family's background.
Despite being put in America's so-called Terrorist Screening Data Base, which
has about 500,00 names - majority of whom are innocent and fellow peace-loving
Muslims, Faruk has been a regular normal traveler. The western media
revealed he was granted visa to the US in June 2008, the year he graduated, and
was valid through June 2010, according to consular sources who spoke on
condition of anonymity. This revelation proves December 2009 was not the
first time the London University Nigerian elite graduate visited the United
States. Security agencies in the US, Britain and Nigeria have have also
confirmed, he visited Houston, US, in August 2008.
Why Detroit?
Speculations and theories are piling as to why Black Faruk chose the Airbus 330 with 278
heading for Detroit populated with African American. Not surprisingly
Western analysts and opinion makers have began to link the death of Luqman Ameen
Abdullah, the Detroit imam shot by federal agents during a raid at a Dearborn
warehouse as another possible provocative acts by American government that's a
potential recruiter of any disturbed young Muslim to act against the United
States.
Abdullah's death on Oct. 28 may mark the first killing of a religious leader by
U.S. government agents since David Koresh died at the Branch Davidian ranch
outside Waco, Texas, in 1993 is capable of inciting remorse for Washington's
foreign policies and all sufferings in the Muslim World engineered by Bush
regime and currently pursued by Obama's administration.
In it editorial December 3rd, 2009 headline: Imam Killing Needs Independent
Investigation, Detroit Free Press warned Obama's administration of 'consequences
for the brutal killing', proclaiming the death of Abdullah, an African-American
Muslim, has racial and religious overtones, especially in a community with a
history of excessive police force.
"It has evoked the kind of skepticism, fear and anger that government should
not ignore. Heavy-handed tactics by federal agents in the name of national
security are not new. They were also employed against socialists and communists
in the 1930s and black militants in the 1960s" the press said.
"Detroit's Muslim community and many local leaders, including Mayor Dave Bing,
have called for an independent investigation into the death of Imam Abdullah as
Muslim leaders contend that federal agents, not finding evidence of terrorist
activity, often lure poor people into other illegal activities. U.S. Attorney General Eric
Holder suggested in a recent visit to Detroit that Abdullah's death had
aggravated community tensions," it added
Detroit Free Press also warned: "it didn't help community relations that the Wayne County Medical Examiner's
Office informed CAIR, in response to a freedom-of-information request, that
photos of Abdullah's autopsy would cost $1,500. That makes government look as
though it were hiding something".
"No terrorism charges were brought against Abdullah, or any of the 11 mosque
members indicted in the case. Instead, the government alleges that they
conspired to traffic in stolen goods. An investigation should determine whether
federal agents who shot Abdullah violated his civil rights, but it must also
include a broader review of widespread government policies and practices
regarding the use of informants to infiltrate mosques", said the editorial.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in
Michigan said "Our government needs to show that there's not a double standard: a rule of law
for the broader public and another standard for Muslims.".
Writing for EsinIslam earlier, El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan, chairman of
The Peace And Justice Foundation observed a significant number of Muslim leaders
of varying stripes weigh in on this tragedy before a national audience. MOST
have delivered dangerously poor representation on this issue.
“It is with this in mind that I invite the reader to reflect deeply over what
Professor Stephen Walt has to say. I believe Walt's analysis factors
significantly into why Major Hassan's intellectual output
was as it was in the months leading up to this tragedy, and why he ultimately
did what he did. (It will also prepare you for my humble analysis which will
come later, insha'Allah.)”, El-Hajj Saalakhan said
As for the Muslim "leaders," or opinion shaping apologists, who have been doing
their best to assure the powers-that- be that there is no problem with Muslims
helping to fight America's imperialistic wars, he advised them to reflect even
deeper on the painful analysis provided by Professor Walt (below). And then
those of you who presume yourselves learned (in the "Islamic Sciences"), check
the condition of their heart!
Professor Walt said he heard a different take on the subject “why the Muslims
hate the Americans” at a recent conference on U.S. relations with the Islamic
world. In addition to hearing a diverse set
of views from different Islamic countries, Walt said, one of the other
participants (a prominent English journalist) put it quite simply. "If the
United States wants to improve its image in the Islamic world," he said, "it
should stop killing Muslims."
“To repeat: I have deliberately selected "low-end" estimates for Muslim
fatalities, so these figures present the "best case" for the United States. Even
so, the United States has killed nearly 30 Muslims for every American lost. The
real ratio is probably much higher, and a reasonable upper bound for Muslim
fatalities (based mostly on higher estimates of "excess deaths" in Iraq due to
the sanctions regime and the post-2003 occupation) is well over one million,
equivalent to over 100
Muslim fatalities for every American lost.”
“Americans should also bear in mind that the figures reported above omit the
Arabs and Muslims killed by Israel in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. Given
our generous and unconditional
support for Israel's policy towards the Arab world in general and the
Palestinians in particular, Muslims rightly hold us partly responsible for those
victims too.”
Walt added: “Yet if you really want to know "why they hate us," the numbers
presented above cannot be ignored. Even if we view these figures with skepticism
and discount the numbers a lot, the fact remains that the United States has
killed a very large number of Arab or Muslim individuals over the past three
decades...our actions were indefensible (maybe even criminal) in others.”
“Contrary to what Friedman thinks, our real problem isn't a fictitious Muslim
"narrative" about America's role in the region; it is mostly the actual things
we have been doing in recent years. To say that in no way justifies
anti-American terrorism or absolves other societies of responsibility for their
own mistakes or misdeeds”, he argued.
“Some degree of anti-Americanism may reflect ideology, distorted history, or a
foreign government's attempt to shift blame onto others (a practice that all
governments indulge in), but a lot of it is the inevitable result of policies
that the American people have supported in the past. When you kill tens of
thousands of people in other countries -- and sometimes for no good reason --
you shouldn't be surprised when people in those countries are enraged by this
behavior and interested in revenge. After all, how did we react after September
11?
Why Muslims hate America
When EsinIslam regular writer from Palestine Ustaz
Khalid Amayreh wrote his article title: "Why I hate
America" a few weeks after the 9/11 in New York many
people thought then the article was too emotional.
However, according to the Palestinian popular
columnist, America’s behavior in the Muslim world
since then, seems to have vindicated every word and
every bit of anger in the article.
Below are some excerpt from the article:
“I would be dishonest if I said I didn’t hate the
American government. I do hate it, so really, so
deeply and, yes, so rightly... America is the author
of 60 years of suffering, death, bereavement,
occupation, oppression, homelessness, and
victimization; America is the usurper of my people’s
right to human rights, democracy, civil liberties,
development, and dignified life; America is the
abettor and financier of Israeli occupation,
apartheid, repression, terror, and land theft; America
is the protector, maintainer, sustainer and guarantor
of despotism, dictatorship, dynastic fiefdoms, and
brutal autocracies, theocracies, oligarchies, and
monarchies in the Muslim world.; America is the evil
power that denies my people freedom from a Nazi-like
foreign occupation that murders our children and
steals our land; America is the tyrant, global
dictatorship that robs hundreds of millions of Arabs
and Muslims of their right to freely elect their
governments and rulers because corporate America
dreads the outcome of democracy in the Muslim world;
America treats me and my people as “children of a
lesser God.”
“In fact, in the final analysis, America offers me one
of two choices: Either I submissively accept perpetual
enslavement and oppression or become an Osama bin
Laden. Honestly, there is not a third choice, if there
is one let us see it. I know hate can be blind and
deadly. But, I also know that oppression, as the Holy
Qura’n clearly states, is worse than murder. Hence, I
try, even strive, to make my hate of America , as
rational as possible, as constructive as possible,
even as human as possible. This is not because America
deserves to be treated humanely.”
That was then, recently the Palestinian writer said:
“The recent American-embraced and American-backed
Nazi-like Israeli campaign of murder and terror in
Lebanon as well as the slow-motion genocide Israel is
relentlessly effecting in the Occupied Palestinian
territories, especially in the Gaza Strip, are a
clarion testimony to America’s diabolical behavior.
“...Moreover, the Bush Administration, acting under
the influence of the Jewish Lobby in Washington,
invaded and occupied and destroyed Iraq, resulting in
a gigantic catastrophe unseen since the end of the
Second World War. In 2001, America was
preoccupied with one man, Osama Bin Laden. Now, five
years later, not only Bin Laden is still at large, but
thousands upon thousands of Bin Ladens and Zarqawis
have appeared thanks to America ’s criminal policies.”
Muslims Beware
In responding to these overplayed curiosity EsinIslam editorial has warned
individuals and cooperates to refrain from making any statement or actions they
may live to regret and urge to pray for Young Brother Abdul Faruk Mutallab, who
even under the man-made American law is innocent until proved guilty, and his
family for strength and protection from Almighty Allah during this difficult
time, quoting:
"O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news,
verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become
regretful to what you have done." Qur'an 49 verse 6.
Because the young Nigerian Muslim brother has been charged to a court in
Detroit, accused of an attempt to destroy an aircraft and setting off
destructive device on the plane, it would be inappropriate to give a
comprehensive report and commentary about the saga. The world should be
prepared twists and turns from the politicians around the world through their
Intelligent Agencies briefings - the same agencies that briefed the world about
Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction and Saddam's special relationship with
Al-Qaeda's leadership. You've been warned!
**Copies of Guides, Lecture and Fatwa
on Saga Of Would-Be Martyred Nigerian Faruk Abdul
Mutallib: His Action - If True, Consequences And
Islamic Injunctions - A Case Study In The Light Of The
Qur'an And As-Sunnah by Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah
Adelabu as prepared by Kevin Kofi and Daa'i Mousa
Philips and circulated December 27th, 2009 to Members
of Awqaf Africa and registered members of Awqaf
African Muslim College, London At
EsinIslam are
available for extensive reading and comprehensive
studies.
Click here to order for you copy via an e-mail
- English, Arabic, French, Yoruba And Hausa Versions
Now Available. Muslims only, please! Pray
for us.
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