In Refutation of a Slander...
Mateen Siddiqui
As salatu was salamu alayka Ya RasulAllah!
As salamu alaykum, Muslimeen and Mohmineen:
Recently there has been a hate campaign launched on the Internet which
has served shaytan by sewing seeds of doubt in the hearts of Muslims
and causing them to question the core of some very valuable work in the
Muslim community. I am writing today as this campaign is focused on
discrediting me and has labelled me, without any shred of evidence, as a
Zionist. This action has become so intense that my silence, which I
hoped would extinguish the flames, has now become haram.
My name is Cynthia Ruben. I am an American convert to Islam who took
shahadah nearly 25 years ago. Since that day my struggle has not ended,
but certainly it took a very different course. Today I find myself
defending not only my name, but declaring my faith in Allah, my love for
His Messenger, and the very work with which I am so honored. How
interesting that non-Muslims don't seek this declaration as they respect
my Islam, but some Muslim "brothers and sisters" are actually the ones
in doubt.
Some weeks ago, a coward by the name of Amer al-Shawa launched a
vicious campaign on the Internet inventing the name "Cynthia Robenstein"
who he indicated is a Zionist plant in the Muslim community, posing as
a Muslim. I am not Jewish, nor are my parents, nor have I ever been
married to a Jew, nor have I ever been aligned with the cursed tool of
shaytan, Zionism. However, when I studied Islam I felt honored to learn
that our beloved RasulAllah (s) took a wife from many tribes, one of
them having been a daughter of Jewish princes, to wit, Umm Salma (r).
When the daughters of Sayyidina Abu Bakr Siddiq and Sayyidina 'Umar (r)
tried to taunt her about her Jewish ancestry, RasulAllah instructed Um
Salma to reply that she was from the blood line of nobility, namely, a
descendant from Sayyidina Ibrahim, Sayyidina Musa, and Sayyidina Daud
(as). Such is the illustrious example of Allah (swt) and His Rasul (s),
that Islam can come to any tribe, any race, any era, any culture. I have
referred to the Mothers of the Faithful, and only the UNFAITHFUL will
try to slander another with some waswasa of them being Jewish or
Zionist. Astaghfirullah Azeem, you have committed a great haram!
We reverts to Islam need support. We can't turn to our parents or our
siblings to fulfill our needs of faith, we do not enjoy the family
structure and familial support like you with Muslim families. We must
make our own way in our path to Allah, often with great sacrifice which
many "born Muslims" may never know. I returned from out of town and
found all these vicious emails forwarded to me on the Internet. For
what? What is my crime? What justice has this sickening campaign served?
Amer al-Shawa, you are a punk of the worst form, the greatest coward,
who tries to advance his position by discrediting a woman! This in
itself is testimony to what your position is! Do you think I am weak? Do
you think I have no advantage over you? That my Allah has no regard for
me? I converted to Islam from Catholicism by using my intellect and I
reasoned my way to acceptance of the Truth. It may be that you are
Muslim only because your parents were, but I am among those who overcame
every challenge just to be Muslim! When I embraced Islam, my family
turned against me, threatened me and even boycotted me. One by one,
every "friend" suddenly condemned me and left me with seemingly no
support. People laughed in my face. I was forced out of my home, my job,
and an opulent lifestyle to which I was accustomed. Yet in all this I
acquired a level of happiness and security which only Allah swt can
give. Moreover, I was rewarded with my entire family embracing Islam,
including both parents, paternal grandmother, siblings, my children,
cousins, one niece and her three children.
Do not dilude yourself, trying to chase me from Islam. And don't fool
yourself into thinking I am losing sleep over your strategy. Even you
are not a worthy opponent, rather, you are like a mosquito buzzing
around in the wind, creating a minor disturbance which is soon forgotten
by us. But Allah will never forget what you have done! La!
For those of you who would like to know about "Cynthia Ruben," without
any desire to promote myself, here is finally some Truth. My Muslim name
is Talibah Jilani. Alhamdulillah last year I was honored with my first
Hajj. Even before that, I was awarded a distinguised medal, the
"Hilal-i-Islam," for meritorious service performed on behalf of Afghani
and Kashmiri refugees. So I am Hajjah and Mujahidah, two of the most
coveted titles anyone could ever live to acquire, for which I thank
Allah, for these experiences have moved my life in profound ways.
More Truth: In 1996 I served as Director of the Islamic Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (http://www.islamic-commerce.org), where I
produced their first directory, enhanced membership, and developed
products and services. Clearly they would never have hired me if they
thought I was a Zionist Jew! In 1997 I helped to launch "Muslims Against
Family Violence" in the SF Bay Area. Currently I am an editor of
critically-acclaimed "The Muslim Magazine" http://www.muslimmag.org/and
also Executive Director of Kamilat, an organization which addresses
quality-of-life issues faced by Muslim women and their families
(http://www.kamilat.org). Alhamdulillah, good people are associated with
Kamilat. Our board of advisors reads like the "Who's Who" of activist
Muslims around the world http://www.kamilat.org/advisors1.htm all of
whom have lauded Kamilat'smission and have stated they are honored to
play a role in this work. They do not doubt my sincerity.
Among Kamilat's many projects, each with a focus on strengthening the
Muslim community, we are launching an advocacy wing which assists Muslim
women in cases of employment and consumer discrimination. From this
tainted, cowardly form of slander from one who hides behind the
Internet, we have discussed adding a legal branch to Kamilat devoted to
court action (lawsuits) against libel and slander! You may be our first
case, you slanderous fool! And as I am American, do you think I can't
"work the system"? You have damaged my credibility which could possibly
result in the inability to continue doing my work effectively. What do
you think a Court of Law will have to say about this, let alone Allah,
His Messenger, and the Believers?
A lawsuit is clearly one answer to put down those like yourself, who are
racist and bigoted, those who discredit Islam. You are like Musaylima
the Liar. Go and lower your head and don't raise it until Allah forgives
you! Aren't you ashamed to call yourself Muslim? Aren't you afraid that
your family will discover the abusive posts you have made against a
believing woman? Have you no shame that they might find you have reviled
a believer--that you have unjustly accused me of all kinds of sins and
unthinkable betrayal? That you have tried to make my blood halal? No,
there is no shame for one like you.
It is pitiful that anyone such as yourself can use the Internet with
impunity. And this applies to your friend Kamran Bokhari who claims to
call for "khilafa." "Khilafat" refers to Sayiddina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
(ra), Sayiddina 'Umar (ra), Sayiddina 'Uthman dhu'Nurayn (ra) and
Sayiddina 'Ali al-Murtada (kw). These noblest of nobility embodied the
truest spirit of Islam. They and their followers accomodated everyone
who embraced Islam and they never ceased to encourage the believers to
work together towards the common good of all people. You, on the other
hand, strive to make enmity and to bring destruction to the Ummah
through division, diversion, and fitna.
For now, I am content knowing that you, along with your friend Kamran
Bokhari, will have to face me on Judgment Day, when I will take my
revenge from you and all the cowards who support you. For those (few)
who have stood againgst this vicious, cowardly, baseless attack, your
reward is with Allah and I thank you. For those who fanned the flames,
you have been warned. For those who stood idly by and did nothing, you
are with those who spread the rumors, for you did not stop it.
I thank Allah swt for paying me the highest compliment, that my work is
such a serious threat to shaytan and his lowly servants. Allahu Haqq!
And I remain in sincerity,
Hajjah Talibah Jilani
Servant of Allah
AbdulraHman Lomax
mat...@sybase.com (Mateen Siddiqui) wrote:
[apparently forwarding a message to s.r.i.]
>My name is Cynthia Ruben. I am an American convert to Islam who took
>shahadah nearly 25 years ago. [...]
>Hajjah Talibah Jilani
My wife and I have had the privilege of knowing Sr. Talibah for some
years. She is genuine.
AbdulraHman Lomax
mar...@vom.com
P.O. Box 423
Sonoma, CA 95476
USA