Exclusive interview with Cheryfa Jamal, wife of “Toronto Seventeen” Suspect in Canadian Terror Trial by Author Khadija Abdul Qahaar of JUSone News Magazine

Background of the events: On June 2 and June 3, 2006, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service carried out a series of brutal raids in eastern Canada arresting 17 people, five of whom are teenagers, in what was pitched and swallowed by the media as a Canada’s “home grown” Islamic terrorist cell.  Quickly dubbed the “Toronto Seventeen”, authorities alleged that this group of “Muslim extremists” were planning to blow up Canada’s Parliament, the CSIS’s headquarters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and even planned to storm the Canadian parliament and behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper and that by only a stoke of luck, Canada’s security apparatus was able to foil the so-called plot.

The long and the short of the government’s case against Qayyum Jamal, Steven Chand, Shareef Abdelhaleem, Yasim Mohamed, Jahmaal James, Mohammed Dirie, Fahim Ahmad, Asad Ansari, Ahmad Ghany, Zakaria Amara, Amin Durrani, Saad Khalid and five other young offenders who can not be named was, at the time, said to be based on the allegation that Zakaria Amara, age 20, had allegedly ordered three metric tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to be used to manufacture a bomb capable of carrying out an attack on the scale of the Oklahoma bombing.

From the start, it read like a page out of RCMP Special Forces handbook presented by Canada’s leak-dripping Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).  But soon after, the story quickly changed when it was learned that the RCMP used an informant to carry out a “sting” operation and had replaced the real ammonium nitrate fertilizer with “a harmless substance”  No ammonium nitrate, no crime right?  Not so. Regardless of the brutality of the raids, the discrimination and racism, the guilty-before-trial press made hay, the Canadian government is proceeding with the case and for the most part, Canadians breathed easier knowing that the authorities had thwarted an “Al-Qaeda styled” attack just in the nick of time.

That was until last Friday when a so-called “devout Canadian Muslim” by the name of Mubin Shaikh revealed that he was the informant that pulled off the sting. Citing his desire to help his “fellow” Muslims in Canada, Mr. Shaikh revealed that he willfully offered his services to CSIS out of first his love and knowledge of Islam and secondly, through his great desire to help Canada.  Indeed, CSIS hired him to entrap Canadian Muslims and was well paid to do so; Mr. Shiakh earned some $70,000 in the process and claims he is still owned another $300,000 from Canadian taxpayers. It was this self-motivated agent provocateur that was sent to agitate the Muslim youth; it was this ‘mole’ who proposed buying fertilizer and attacking buildings and who arranged the so-called ‘terrorist training’ in the woods.  It has now come to light that prior to his work with CSIS, Mr. Shaikh was himself supporting some of the most extremist groups in Canada, was considered a bully, was a vocal advocate for Sharia law, was largely rejected by Muslim Canadians and had himself a dubious and criminal past, raising questions as to his real motives.

While what is left of the government’s so-called case is unraveling by the minute and the Muslim-turned-mole has the media spotlight for now, the real story for the most part has been overlooked. Behind all of the horrific, dirty and I would dare say illegal acts, a ‘terrorist plot’ was hatched against seventeen real individuals by the Canadian government. Whether its motives are to keep the anti-terrorist money flowing, for Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper to show his pal George Bush that Canada is ‘tough on terror’ or to get Canadians to buy into the US Missile defence program is a mute point.  Seventeen Canadians have been entrapped, charged, detained without bail and in some cases abused; their families have lived a nightmare of ridicule and accusation at the hands of an irresponsible press and the Canadian government has shown a reckless disregard for their civil rights. Make no mistake; these individuals have experienced the worst form of treatment as citizens of Canada simply because they are Muslim.

The alleged “kingpin” in the fabricated Toronto Seventeen case is 43 year old Abdul Qayyum Jamal.  While Canadian press didn’t even take the time to get his name right, Mr. Jamal is currently being held without bail at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton, Ontario pending trial.  His wife Cheryfa, or UmmTayyab, the mother of seven children, the last four with Abdul Qayyum, has not only had to take on the leadership role in the family but has also been the target of sordid character assassination from a blood thirsty press that has painted both her and her husband as the most despicable of human beings and (I dare say it) “terrorists”.  At the same time, fellow Muslims have, for the most part run for cover and who, with this latest information, may just feel shamed for their actions and who should realize clearly that they are merely one day away from crying over their own sons and husbands unless the government of Canada is held responsible for this clear act of abuse and racism.

Sister Cheryfa recently shared her thoughts in an exclusive interview with JUSone News.  Here is her story. [We remind our viewers that the opinions and points of view expressed in this article shall not be deemed to mean that they are necessarily those of Peace Times, the publisher, editor, writers, contributors or staff.  In addition, Peace Times assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of third party content]

Author: Assalamualeikum Wa Rahmatulahi Wa Barakatu.  My dear sister, thank you for agreeing to this interview.  InshaAllah you are in the best of health and strongest of Imaan. Sister, the question is where to start in this horrific story.  I understand that you may not be able to answer all of my questions due to the pending trial of our Brother Abdul Qayyum Jamal but lets us start at the beginning.  Can you please tell our readers the nature of the charges against your husband?

Sister Cheryfa: Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatoh Sister, May Allah bless you for your invaluable service to the Ummah, may He make it easy for you to continue, Ameen.
As per your first question, it is difficult for me to figure this out myself as Abdul Qayyum’s lawyer hasn’t even received the disclosure of his charges yet.  I have seen what the media is saying, but I neither believe the charges nor the so-called evidence they have presented to the media so until we know what he is actually charged with, I can’t really comment on them.

Author: What were the circumstances that lead to his arrest?

Sister Cheryfa: Well, as far as I know, CSIS has been coming to our door for 2 years or more, always wanting to ask us about our friends and once about a local Imam, Aly Hindi, but we have always told them that we will not answer their questions, if they want to know about a person, go ask that person themselves.  I even told them that we will never talk about anyone, that this is a grave sin in our religion, backbiting.

We knew they were asking our friends and their parents about us, even telling them that Abdul Qayyum was recruiting teens for Jihad, but everyone knew this was untrue, that he was only teaching Tafsir in the mosque and guiding the youth with problems they were experiencing with their parents (like University issues or marriage arguments) or with their wives, etc.  He found many wonderful friends among the young men, and loved to take them to local lectures, go fishing and camping with them, play soccer, tennis, basketball, whatever with them.  My sons love these guys, and have such good role models to look up to, Masha’Allah.  Their wives are friends of mine and we get together quite often to talk about marriage or babies or just hang out with a pot luck dinner.

We knew they were tapping our phones and watching our every move, but we didn’t care, we didn’t have anything to hide so we didn’t worry about it very much.  But then one day a militia unit appeared outside our sons’ Islamic school with full combat gear including gas masks and rifles, on a city street, pretending to practice maneuvers by crouching down and pointing their rifles, then laying down and pointing rifles, etc, at the command of their trainer.  All this transpired in front of the bay window of the kindergarten class where my 5 year old was and my 7 year old happened to be playing during recess. The children were quite disturbed; one boy even started to cry and moved back to his seat in fear saying to my son, “the Americans might shoot me”.  Another boy entered the room when he heard they were there, to look for himself and declared “Oh, oh, Canada isn’t safe anymore.”

I tracked down the secret drill hall around the corner the next day to find out who did this and subsequently wrote a letter to “our local Member of Parliament” Wajid Khan, the same MP who initially reported my husband to CSIS for allegedly declaring that Canadian soldiers were in Afghanistan raping Muslim women.  My husband and I have both had a history with this man, of difference of opinion.  My husband has challenged why a politician should use a masjid as a political soapbox, and I myself have called the owner of our mosque to ask him why he continues to ambush us in the Eid prayer with this man begging for votes and spewing rhetoric.  I wrote to him asking who ordered 32 Battalion, a unit training for and serving tours in Afghanistan, to commit such an act of terrorism against our children, just to prove to the community that this ‘Muslim’ was useless to us as an Ummah, and I said to him in the email, “We’ve all heard your bark, now let’s see what’s behind your bite!”

Well, about 3 months later, a SWAT team raided our house, more uniforms and guns to frighten our children.  Is this why we were targeted?  Because we dared to challenge partisan politics and warn the people that supporting a system that removes Sovereignty from Allah and place it in the hands of the people is an act of Shirk?

Author: I understand that authorities raided your home on the day he was arrested.  Can you please tell me about this?

Sister Cheryfa: It was Friday, June 2nd, 2006.  My husband was at the door holding the hand of my 18 month old son, on their way to the ‘Asr prayer when they opened the door and were overcome by the raid. I heard a terrible sound of men yelling over and over again, and thought for a moment some of my husband’s friends were playing a joke at the door, but then it got louder, and I realized they were coming into the house, but I didn’t have a Hijab within reach.  I didn’t know what to do as I was just putting a clean diaper on the baby (8 months) and couldn’t leave him on the couch or without his diaper.  I kept yelling “What is that?” several times, getting more and more anxious and angry as it got louder and louder. My toddler came screaming into the living room without his father as they came into the house and down the hall, splitting off through the kitchen to converge in the living room as more swarmed down the hall to the bedrooms.  My children were terrorized by more than a dozen SWAT men storming the house and climbing over the back fence pointing loaded rifles at all of us screaming at the top of their voices “GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!!! GET ON THE FLOOR!!! GET ON THE FLOOR!!! GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!!! GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!!!GET ON THE FLOOR!!!” ]

They continued to scream at us for about 2-4 minutes while I refused to get off the couch and leave my 8 month old precarious and half diapered, as he would roll off and fall on the floor if I left him. I screamed and swore and screamed some more at them to stop terrorizing my children, but they only systematically inched forward a small step at a time until about 7 of them were surrounding us and pointing their rifles at my head, still yelling their order “GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!!! GET ON THE FLOOR!!!” (the children had by then run screaming to me in terror). My three boys aged 7, 5 and 21 months had gathered up onto the arm and the back of the couch beside me, trying to get away from them, but the wall prevented them from going any further.  All four were screeching at the top of their voices in terror, my oldest screaming, “What do they want?! What did we do?!!”

I finally realized the children would not stop screaming in terror until the SWAT team stopped screaming and pointing guns at us, so I left my baby wailing on the couch unattended and laid down on the floor while my other three boys kept screaming and crying and calling me. They handcuffed me behind my back with garbage ties and handcuffs and I told my 7 year old to call his grandma, but the SWAT team said no one would be calling anyone and told him not to touch the phone. I called my children to come beside me and touch me and hold me so they would not be scared anymore, but they told them to stay on the couch. I screamed some more profanities at the SWAT team and ordered the children to come to me and kept ordering them to come to me until they finally did disobey the men and laid down beside me crying. I heard my husband scream from the front hall, and I yelled his name and told him to do as they said.  I never heard him again, nor saw him (until I went to visit him in jail). When I finally soothed the children and reassured them everything would be ok, they stopped crying but were still horribly frightened. They brought out my 63 year old mother-in-law and sat her by my head. She was also bound by garbage ties and handcuffs behind her back. (They had entered her bedroom while she was praying her ‘Asr, she was in sujud in the last rakah, when a SWAT member put his boot on the back of her neck, and put a gun to her head. He pushed her down farther into the floor, rolled her over and put her hands behind her back and handcuffed her. She doesn’t even speak English….). Of course, when I saw her handcuffs, more profanities and insults flew from my mouth, (may Allah forgive my impatience).

I demanded my hijab. More screaming and profanities. They put on my hijab and I began demanding they take off my handcuffs and let me nurse my screaming baby. They tried to lift me by one arm, but I continued to sit and said “I weigh over 250 pounds and I have a bad back. Man, you better get another guy on my other arm!” They took us (me, the children and my mother in law) to the back yard and let me nurse the baby. They asked me if there was anywhere they could take us, like a friend or neighbor’s house while they searched our home.  I told them, “Are you crazy, do you think I would terrorize my friends by taking YOU to their house?”  We waited in the back yard for hours for them to complete some paperwork, and check our identifications.  It was getting close to Maghrib, and the mosquitos were coming out, the babies were not properly dressed for evening.  I begged and demanded and begged for a few items, a Jilbab for my mother in law, diaper bag for the babies, a jug of goat milk for the toddler and some money from the house.  I got most of what I asked for but they refused to give me the house money (they only allowed me $25.00) nor would they give me the children’s pillows and sleeping bags, even though I informed them we were going to the mosque to wait for them to finish.  They assured and reassured me many times that I would not need much, they would be finished in an hour or so, but I didn’t believe them.  I told them I need something other than a carpeted floor for the children to sleep on, but they refused my demands.  I thought they were going to drive us to the mosque, but they just set us out past the back fence.  When I realized we had to walk at Maghrib, I demanded my stroller from the back of my car.  More arguing followed as they hadn’t searched the car yet, but I got the double stroller for the babies.  It was beginning to rain and the front bonnet was missing to protect my toddler from the rain.  Again I demanded the police officer go back to the car and retrieve it, even though he insisted the car was being taken away already.  I threatened to go to the front of the house myself, and take it out of the car, in plain view of the neighbors and media that had gathered, so he retrieved the bonnet for me finally and we walked quickly to the Masjid, (none of us had been allowed to enter the house to use the washroom, not even the children). After a long night of calling the RCMP and OPP offices and finally screaming at someone at 4 am “You’d better arrest me or shoot me cause I’m coming home!!”, they finally let us in the house at 6 am the next day.

Over the following days, my husband got a message to me to reach his old mentor and teacher in Pakistan, Dr. Israr Ahmed and ask him to make dua’ for him.  As I attempted to phone him explaining what had happened and to ask him to make dua’, and request him to tell the people that “The wife of Abdul Qayyum Jamal has not and will not speak to the media.”, (the Pakistani papers had already begun to blame me and accuse me of talking too much to the news, and I was afraid they would scandalize his family in Pakistan). Dr. Ahmed asked me to fax my request as it was difficult for him to hear me on the phone.  I had tried to send it from home, but it wouldn’t transmit so I went to Kinko’s to fax from there.  While sitting at a table rewriting the note with marker, the computers in the store began to crash, first one and then another.  I asked the attendant if the fax was reliant on the computers and he said no.  I asked him to fax my note to Pakistan, and he quickly returned it with a confirmation letter.

As I was leaving the store, I glanced at the confirmation letter and it said “Transmission incomplete.”  I turned back and said, “This didn’t go through PLEASE try to get it through!”  As he was trying over and over again to dispatch it, I began to cry, all my husband had wanted from me was to get this simple message to his old friend, “I need your dua’s” (Dr. Ahmed was ill, and his duah’s were very special to my husband).  I looked to my left at a couple who seemed to be giggling at me, the woman kissing the fingers of the man, whispering in his ear and smiling at me.  I knew they were agents from who knows which of the eight countries the newspapers had said were involved in the investigation.

I finally let go and said to myself that if Allah doesn’t want it to go, it will not go, and if Allah wants it to go, they cannot stop it.  I went back to the table and called my father to see if his press release was accepted, the same message I sent to Dr. Ahmed. “My daughter has not and will not speak to the media.  If you want to know about her, go and ask her husband!”, and he had just told me it had when the attendant came across the room smiling and told me the fax was transmitted.  I guess after they read it, they decided it wasn’t dangerous enough to intercept any longer, ugh!

I was then followed by several cars, one black government car with the license plate drilled to the grill, and two or three small cars with a pair of army guys in each one.  The ‘army dinks’ even followed me into a grocery store, just to let me know they were within arm’s reach. (civilian clothes, but shaved heads).  They parked the nose of their car straight in front of the nose of my car and exited their car when I exited mine.  Then they got back into their car when I got back into mine.  Another two army guys followed me around the store.  I guess they were warning me not to ‘pass messages to terrorists’ or some stupid thing.

For days it seemed cars purposely tried to cause me to have an accident.  Were they trying to prevent me from strengthening my husband at the prison?  Another wife had quite a scare when the family car her mother was driving with her brother and her baby inside suddenly wouldn’t stop at a red light, the brakes failed.  It took her two blocks to stop the car.  How could a wife strengthen her husband if she were dead, in hospital or in mourning?

For a week I shuddered and shook and jumped at every sudden noise.  I dry heaved constantly, worse when I tried to do something toward helping my husband.  I just kept going, heaving and moaning through normal activities and conversations.  What else could I do?  I just learned to ignore it, mostly.  When I would lay down to sleep, I would really notice the shaking and shuddering.  I couldn’t sleep more than 2 hours a night for over a week.  Couldn’t eat more than a couple bites per meal.

I called the same wife one evening to find out what was wrong.  Someone said they were worried about her.  I asked her if she was eating, she said she finally was.  I asked her if she had a headache. She said she didn’t. I asked her if she was nauseous.  She said she wasn’t.  I asked her how much sleep she had, and she said not much.  I asked her how many hours she had in the last 3 days.  She said “I don’t know, maybe about BUZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!  I said “What?  I couldn’t hear you.”  She repeated, “About BUZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!  So I screamed at the phone, cussing the agents who were electrically interfering, and said, ‘OK, let’s see how many times they are gonna screw with us until I find out how much sleep you’ve had!”.  After one or two more interferences I managed to kind of hear the beginning or an ending to what she said, and asked her, “Did you say you’ve had 5 hours sleep in the past 3 days?!”  She said “Yes.”  I said to her, “GO TO SLEEP BEFORE YOU GO INSANE!!!”

Author: How are your children coping with this terror and what is their condition now? What is the condition of your Mother-in-law?

Sister Cheryfa: Alhamdulillah, they are better now.  In the beginning my oldest boy at home, Tayyab, he’s 7, used to continuously ask me “Mommy, are they gonna come back with their guns and scream at us again?  Are they going to put handcuffs on us?”  My 5 yr. old Tashfeen suffered headaches for several days.  None of us could eat for about a week.  My mother in law and I only got about two to three hours sleep a night, from prayers and duah and from inability to settle down enough to rest our brains.  It took a couple of weeks for the shaking and muscle twitching to stop.  Still today, as I begin to wake up, my whole body begins to shake inside, until I fully become conscious of my surroundings. It wasn’t the raid so much that set me to trembling and dry heaving, but the thought that any one of the security agencies involved in this investigation could easily kill me or kidnap my child to break my husband into signing a false confession or statement against the other brothers.  I am the only source of comfort to him, besides his Qur’an and Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala, and if I am dead or a puddle of muck, then what condition would he remain in?

My mother in law is much better also.  She was so distraught at first that she continuously begged us to send her back to Pakistan.  My husband and his brothers have talked with her and assured her she is safe here and that when he comes home, they will arrange for her passage, Insha’Allah.  She is beginning to visit ladies in the neighborhood for emotional support, whereas before she rarely left the house.

Author: What is the current state of Abdul’s legal proceedings?  Do you have representation and how are you proceeding?

Sister Cheryfa: His lawyer is Anser Farooq.  Masha’Allah, he is very busy with organizing all of the lawyers for the other brothers who didn’t have counsel, but now, Alhamdulillah, only one remains without his own representation.  He is asking for a bail hearing in the near future, the courts continue to be put over because there is still no disclosures for the men.  Insha’Allah, by the end of August we should hear a decision regarding bail.  My husband chose this lawyer and trusts him.  I haven’t any legal knowledge at all, and so am only following what his lawyer suggests, relying on his expertise, dedication, and Allah’s plan.

Author: We now know that this was not just a sting operation but a sting by a fellow Muslim who offered his services for reasons known only to himself and Allah to CSIS for profit.  Your husband was obviously in contact with Mubin Shaikh prior to his arrest.  Can you tell me about you about the nature of this relationship?

Sister Cheryfa: I have never met this man myself.  I had asked my husband a couple of times to invite him and his wife to our home, as I was excited to meet her.  I had seen her on the news taking on the feminists fighting over the Shariah court in Canada, and Nada Farooq (wife of Zakaria Amara) told me she was similar to me in personality.  I knew she was a convert like myself, so I really wanted to befriend her, but my husband told me he didn’t have a good feeling about him.  He never explained it, just said he didn’t trust him, (he doesn’t talk much about people; he hates backbiting), so after the second time I just left the matter.

[Read about Mubin Shaikh on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mubin_Shaikh]

Author: Did your husband, as far as you know, being his wife and sharing your life with him, ever consider any actions against the Canadian government or plan any type of attack of any kind against Canadians? Is there any element of truth in these allegations or are the charges against him purely fabrication?

Sister Cheryfa: Ha Ha, well I wouldn’t want to violate any Canadian laws or jeopardize my husband’s case by declaring him innocent of the charges, so I won’t actually declare him innocent of all the charges, because to declare him innocent of all the charges might imply that I know something about something I know nothing about, therefore implementing myself in a web of conspiracy against my husband, (a conspiracy which sounds a little familiar, a little too Hollywood, a little … no wait, isn’t this the plot of the Munich Olympic kidnappings?) who just might be innocent of all the charges, therefore, though I’d like to declare him innocent of all the charges, I will instead differ the question with a question of my own; don’t you think it would be incredibly stupid of him to plan such a horrendous act that might jeopardize his akhirah by the death of innocent people, and in the meantime not even send his wife and children to Pakistan to prevent the government from arresting her as an accessory and prevent Children’s Aid from taking the children away due to endangerment or teaching them Jihad or some such stupid charges?  The two youngest babies and I don’t even own passports.

Author: From your perspective, do you have any idea what motivated Mubin Shaikh to carry out the actions he did against your husband and the other brothers?

Sister Cheryfa: Like I said in an earlier question, I don’t know this man, only what I have seen him say on a television interview on CBC.  I did notice the pride in his face when the interviewer praised him for his martial arts prowess and his intelligence, though.  This man has lined his pockets with our persecution and suffering, and yet he remains so proud and sure of himself. Only Allah knows what is in his heart.  I only hope he had lots of good deeds and a hajj or two because the brothers could sure use them.

Author: The media has had a field day with this story, painting you, your family and the others as the lowest of Canadian citizens.  Do you think this was motivated by the wrongful association of Muslims with terrorism that is widely occurring these days or do you think this was carried out specifically to help make the governments case?

Sister Cheryfa: Well, if their intentions were to destroy our credibility and take away from us any support in the community for bail and Sureties in this trying ordeal, then I’d have to say they did a very good job, but those who plot and plan usually get themselves entangled in their own webs of deceit.  The conjecture and innuendo puked up in the media seems to have terrorized the country and set the Muslim community against us as though these men have already been found guilty, instead of coming to the defense of their brothers.  But then the Muslim community at the time of the Prophet Muhammad salla allahu alaihi wa salam, did the same thing to Aisha radhi allahu anha, didn’t they?  But I am beginning to see the tables turn these last few days, now Muslims are beginning to ask if this is real or was this an invention for the Americans to relieve some of the border pressures like LUMBER, or tourism, cattle and fish, maybe, or what about that nasty problem up in our northern waters, eh? Looks like Dubya and Stevie are quite chummy now, huh.

As for the posts they have hunted down on Nada’s old website, or where I gave a comment on a documentary about the rapes and murders of our women in Kashmir by the Indian army, (and let me clarify I was calling the Kashmiris to protect their brothers and sisters, not Meadowvale teenagers to jihad!), well, it’s just too bad they took a lot of them out of context.  Some of them were actually jokes, like Nada’s “Who cares, we hate Canada.” Anyone who knows her, as most of us on that board knew each other outside of cyberspace, knows this is an example of her style of humor.  Even the joking reference to the young sisters posing for the brothers playing soccer sounded like an old witch cackling jealously at prettier, younger women.  If you had seen the whole thread, it would have been apparent that we were all kidding the girls and throwing funny little quips at them.

Some of what was printed was amazing indeed, Masha’Allah.  We couldn’t buy dawa that good!  And to think it has been spread over the entire earth, courtesy of a few gossip mongers!  They plan, but Allah is the best of planners!

Author: I understand that Abdul Quyyum is currently being held without bail pending trial.  What is his current situation Sister? Is he in good health and spirits? How is he being treated in detention?

Sister Cheryfa: Well, he hasn’t had a bail hearing yet, like I said, they keep deferring it due to the fact there has been no disclosure of the evidence and the charges against my husband presented to his lawyer.  I guess they’re still working on that,… the evidence, …and the charges,… maybe, you think?  I guess that’s why they were torturing them and trying to get them to sign false confessions and evidence against each other, maybe they don’t have anything better to type up.

Alhamdulillah, now that the nasty confession grinders have been replace by nicer guards, and they’re no longer threatening the guys with gang rape, he is in better shape than in the beginning.  He has so much anxiety for his children, how are they going to grow up without a father, who is going to ensure that they pray on time and don’t watch too much TV, will they still be able to go to Islamic school in this kind of poverty now, etc.

He lives in a small cell about 5 feet by 7 feet.  He has only a translation of the Qur’an by Maududi.  Even the door is solid, with only a small slit for a food tray. The isolation isn’t easy; he misses his family and his friends.  He usually gets about 20 minutes a day in the exercise yard, a 20 minute phone call home, and two 20 minute visits with family behind a glass using a phone to speak to each other.  I try to bring the kids each time, only two people can visit at a time, so one day I bring one child, another day I bring another one.  Sometimes his mother and/or his brothers visit instead.

Author: Do you know the current condition of the others who are detained and their families?

Sister Cheryfa: Most of us have isolated ourselves because the lawyers have told us not to talk to each other or we might jeopardize the cases.  It’s terrible because we are our best support right now.  The guys in jail are managing, Abdul Qayyum tells me Muhammad Shareef Abdel Haleem is coping the best, and Zakariah and Fahim are also quite strong, Masha’Allah.  Being ordered by the judge not to speak to each other, they are quite isolated indeed, even though their cells are right next to each other.

I heard a story about Shareef kicking off a fuss in the cells one night by moaning so loudly and slowly in his heavy accent “I WANT FOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!  I’M HUUUUUUNNNGRRRRRYYYYYYY!!!!”  I guess the others started to howl with laughter and began to hoot and holler themselves, taunting the guards until they ‘shut them up’.  Of course this story is third hand, so it might not be exactly accurate.  Made me laugh, though, which is nice at a time like this.

Author: Sister this story makes every Muslim shiver with horror.  How are you getting through this?

Sister Cheryfa: You know, since my shahadah, I’ve always been afraid that either I wouldn’t be worthy of a difficult test or I would be tested like our brothers and sisters are tested in the East, with torture, bombings, killings, rape, starvation, disease, and that I would not be able to suffer my children living and dying this way.  Subhana’Allah, if this is the test Allah has assigned for us, He is Merciful indeed!  What must appear to be the hellfire from a distance is actually quite cool indeed.  When things are the most difficult, my prayers are the most exquisite.  May Allah give me more opportunity to cry from the depths of my soul in my sujud.  Now I know what it is to cry to Allah, to depend only on Him for Mercy and Salvation.

Author: Are you getting any support at all from the Muslim community locally? What are your current needs?  How can the brothers and sisters who are willing assist you?

Sister Cheryfa: Allah truly sustains us.  Money comes to us from every direction, sometimes anonymously, sometimes with blessed smiling faces.  Two of my husband’s brothers are with us and are a tremendous help, Masha’Allah, but we have lost our main source of income through Abdul Qayyum.  Subhana’Allah, as I am typing, my brothers in law and one of their friends have arrived with a fridge, stove and dishwasher, in case the judge releases Abdul Qayyum into house arrest here at home in the basement.

I haven’t ask for welfare because it is truly a humiliating experience to bend over while they search every nook and cranny before deciding to throw us a few crumbs subsequently binding us with their ‘regulations’.  I am awaiting my husband’s severance pay so that we can apply it to his bail, so if this money came through our joint account while I was receiving assistance, it would disqualify me and it would take months of arguing to be reinstated.  Any money donated to us would also have to be reported and all donations would then be deducted from our assistance cheques.  I am planning to drive school bus for my son’s Islamic school this fall, so Insha’Allah with that little income and the baby bonus cheque, we might manage, Insha’Allah.

I am considering registering myself as a non-profit organization Insha’Allah, and have a website created in that effect; UmmTayyab.com, to update everyone about the case(s) and to give the people an avenue through which to support us until this is over, and either our husbands are acquitted or finish their sentences.  The website is almost online, I have only to pay the annual fee to the brother who designed it for me and put it on his credit card for me, Insha’Allah.

Author: Sister when you consider the treatment of Muslims around the world these days, do you have any words of wisdom you can share?

Sister Cheryfa: And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. ”Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy.  And it is those who are the rightly guided.  Surah al-Baqarah verses 155 to 157

Do the people think they will be left to say, “We believe” and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful and He will surely make evident the liars. Surah al-‘Ankabut verses 2 and 3 What can I say but “Inna lillahi wa innaa ilaihi raji’oon”.

Author: Alhamdullilah Sister, thank you for sharing your story.  We pray that Allah strengthens you and rewards you with justice. Ameen.

[Source: JUSone News Magazine]

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Later developments in this story: On Nov 5th, 2007; Abdul Qayyum Jamal was released on bail.

Then on April 15, in a stunning development, charges laid under Canada’s Anti-terrorism Act were stayed against Jamal and three other suspects — Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, Ibrahim Aboud and Yasim Mohamed.

Last year, charges against three of the youths were also stayed. The once-Toronto 18 was down to 11.

Jamal is still not really free. As part of the deal with the Crown to secure a stay of proceedings, peace bonds were issued for the men, under which Jamal must meet several conditions:

• Obeying an 8 p.m. curfew.
• Agreeing to not communicate with others charged.
• Not applying for a passport.

And Jamal says the effects of his arrest will linger not only in the damage done to his reputation, but that of his wife Cheryfa and their four young children as well.

“I can’t erase it,” he says. “That’s the damaging part. I’m going to suffer. I will suffer. My family will suffer. Probably, my children will suffer.”

Read Complete story of Abdul Qayyum Jamal