"With Allah's Name"z

"A Seventeen Year-Old Muslim Scholar Kidnapped,

Abused and Then Charged With Second Degree Murder"

by Habibullah Saleem

As
reported by a well-balanced family, there is an urgent need to read
this article with the understanding that seventeen year-old Hajar
Kassem has become an innocent victim of what appears to be an abduction
of malice and total disrespect for Muslim life.  For thirty long,
disgusting days Hajar was held against her will at gunpoint along with
the assistance of handcuffs as she quietly and fearfully submitted to
the will of one who befriended her long enough to capture and violate
her trust in order to unexpectedly express his power and ability to
make her do whatever he desired.

Here in Glendale, Arizona,
Hajar - who weighs approximately 98 pounds at a height of 5' 1" - was
reportedly taken at gunpoint by a young white male who disguised
himself as one needing her tutoring in Math at Glendale Community College. 
Hajar, whose family is from Afghanistan, accepted the request without
thinking about the danger she was embracing.  All indications show that
this manipulator was setting her up for an ordeal she will most likely
never forget. With scholarship offers to Harvard University and other major colleges, Hajar decided to attend Glendale Community College in order to remain close to home and her family. 

She
was even approved as a tutor for those who would benefit from her
brilliant mind.  Once the abductor was able to gain her trust and
confidence, he went on to complete his mission of deceit.  Again, Hajar
had no idea of her captor's negative thinking and underlying motives. 
Here we have a young Muslim female coming to America with her family to
have a more productive life,
and then falling unconsciously into an abusive entanglement.  She and
her family came to America about eight years ago, knowing and believing
that America is the best country in the world. Her father died from
cancer around ten years ago, leaving the family to struggle much more
than expected. 

Now, the mother has remarried, but her husband
speaks very little English, and is not sufficiently employed.  Along
with Hajar there are three other children.  The oldest is twenty years
of age, and is studying to be a dentist.  There is also a fifteen
year-old who is doing quite well in high school.  The youngest child is
a one year-old and the mother is expecting to give birth very soon. 
The mother also speaks very little English, causing Mahdi - the twenty
year-old - to play a major role in leading the family because he is
well-versed in both English and Arabic.  When he was seventeen, he was
conducting Arabic classes at the Masjid.

Well, for this
wonderful, striving family, things recently turned devastatingly ugly
as Hajar now sits in jail, accused of second degree murder.  It has
been reported that Hajar and her abductor around the thirtieth day of being held hostage,
began tussling over the gun used to control her, when the gun went off
and the abductor was accidentally killed.  With neighbors hearing the
gun, the police were called to the scene, and Hajar has been sitting in
jail feeling as helpless as ever - knowing that she is innocent of the
charge.  She now has a $100,000 bond held over her head. 

The
family is in total shock after reporting Hajar missing on the very
first day she was abducted. In having at least two lawyers to go into
the jail and speak to Hajar, the result is that she is most credible
and the case has great signs of victory on her behalf.  With all
evidence pointing in her favor, we are asking that this young innocent
Muslim scholar and – most of all - human being receives all the
financial support we are able to generate.  As the writer of this
article, I have been in touch with the family on a regular basis since
the mother contacted my wife in tears, asking if she knew any Muslims
that would be willing to assist in getting her daughter freed from this
charge of second degree murder. 

Hajar has been sitting in
jail since the early part of July, and as of the 20th hasn't been
allowed to see a judge.  Hopefully, on the 21st, her standing before a
judge will at least complete the preliminary hearing
in order to get things moving without further delay.  It is the opinion
of many that Hajar should have been released long before now.  Without
a doubt it has been a very difficult time for a seventeen year-old who
wore her hijab on a regular basis to now be in a prison uniform,
attempting to adjust to a most unusual environment while only allowed
one and a half hours of visitation every seven days.
 

In
conclusion, the family is in desperate need of all the assistance
Muslims and others are able and willing to offer, especially money to
make sure the lawyer and his assistants do not fail to prove Hajar
innocent, and free to return to her life of success before being
abducted.  It is clear in everyone's mind that Hajar is presently a
victim of an accident that has led to this individual's death.  She, on
the other hand, is most deserving of special counseling stemming from
the trauma and cultural shock of being terrorized while detouring her
life of privacy and superb dignity.  May Allah bless every individual
or group to send all checks to the following account on behalf of Hajar
and her family.  Remember, the reward for helping in a case of this
nature is most honorable and promised