Whoever relieves a believer’s distress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the hereafter..Allah will help the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother. [Muslim]
Masaud’s family would like to extend their dua for everyone that helped out on last Friday’s fundraiser. As many of you have been wondering, below is a brief overview of Masaud’s plight so far:
2004: Trial in Eastern District Court of Virginia
Masaud was asked to plea bargain by the government; he pleads innocent of all charges and refuses to implicate any Muslim brother
June 2004: Sentenced to life imprisonment without parole
July 2004: Appeal filed in U.S. Court of Appeals, Richmond requesting a new trial by jury since the 3 defendants had not been given that option at trial. Masaud’s lawyer asked for reduction of the gun charges, which sentence, according to Judge Brinkema, was “draconian”, and which would remove the life sentence imposed on him. She said she had sentenced murderers to lesser sentences than what Masaud was given. (Masaud had fired one bullet at a target as a demonstration and was given 30 years for firing that one bullet, according to Virginia law.)
May 25, 2006: Hearing held on Appeal for Seifullah, Masaud and Hamaad
August 25, 2006: Appeal denied (However, 2 judges were in favor of the decision of the District Court and one Judge was against the gun charges and recommended remanding the case back to the District Court)
September 2006: Filed for a Rehearing En Banc to have the full court in Richmond hear the case) on the basis of the 2-1 decision
September 2006: Rehearing En Banc Denied (on the basis that no judge requested a poll be taken)
November 2006: Masaud now has the option of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court for a hearing. His attorney is proceeding, although the Supreme Court hears only a few cases each year from the thousands of requests they receive.
Future in sha Allah: Masaud would like to protest the conduct of his attorney (B. Grimm)at trial, as the community is well aware this attorney did not effectively try this case for Masaud, Seif and Hamaad.
Surely justice must prevail and Allah subhanahu wa ta ala is the best of planners.
Excerpt Statement to the Court at Sentencing:
I am an American citizen, born in this country, and will always maintain my innocence of conspiring and intending to bring any harm upon the American people. I have no doubt that I am innocent of the charges brought against me and that surely justice will prevail in good time… the government has tried to say that I am following a brand of Islam that is ruthless, demonic, and which tries to force its will upon others. There can be nothing further from the truth.
Masaud Khan: Full Statement at Sentencing
May Allah release every person unjustly detained in this war against the Truth, keep them steadfast in the face of these tribulations, and reunite them with their families. Ameen.
Ify Okoye 
Ameen.
you got a really nice blog. About Ali Tamimi, did you listen to his speech (from 2005 I think) right before he was taken into prison. It was such a powerful speech. And I don’t even have any words to say about Anwar Al-Awlaki’s arrest.
I am(was) from Colorado, and Anwar Alwalaki was there many years ago. We always bought his lectures and stuff. SubhanAllah, it reminds me of our own situation. We are blessed with all these great scholars, but we don’t take advantage of this resource, and hence probably Allah decides to take them away from us, for surely in prisons, these awesome scholars help out a lot of prisoners, making them Muslims, and helping them with their Islam.
All right, I talk too much, sorry!
Wa thumma Ameen.
Alhamdulillah, I was able to listen to Ali Timimi’s speech after he was arrested the first time, then he came to our masjid in the intervening Ramadan before his trial began and gave a short but very moving speech on the qualities of a believer, and again at his sentencing hearing when he was sentenced to life in prison. I have his full statement from his sentencing here.
When Yaser Birjas was detained on some trumped on immigration charges, some detainees converted to Islam, he was giving the Friday khutbah, and later at the hearing for his release the judge lambasted the government prosecutors and apologized to the shaykh for their behavior towards him.