Dr. Afia Siddiqui (Neuroscientist)
In last couple of days on social media I have seen lots of things about Dr. Afia Siddiqui, so I have decided to research about her and find some true information about her and share with public.
Dr. Afia Siddiqui was born in March 2nd, 1972 at Karachi. Her Father was Muhammad Salay Siddiqui, a British-trained neurosurgeon, and Ismet (née Faroochi) was her mother, an Islamic teacher, social worker and charity volunteer.
Dr. Afia SIddiqui went to US on student visa in 1990, she joins her brother who was studying architecture. Dr. Afia studied in University of Houston. She avoided all the unnecessary activities like movies and television and just focused on schoolwork and religion.
As a sophomore in 1992 she won $5000 Carroll L. Wilson Award for her research proposal "Islamization in Pakistan and its Effects on Women" She came to Pakistan for interviewing architects of Islamization and Hudood Laws, Mufti Taqi Usmani was also included.
Dr. Afia Siddiqui married to Amjad Muhammad Khan in 1995, and has three children Mariam Bint Muhammad, Ahmed Siddiqui and Suleman. She Graduated in 1995 with a BS in biology, Initially she had a three major subjects biology, anthropology, and archaeology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Dr. Afia was very active in proselytising and charity work when she was in MIT, she lived in all female McCormik Hall. Afia's fellows described her as being religious but not a fundamentalist. One of her fellow said "She was nice and softspoken girl".
She studied in the United States and obtained a BS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University in 2001.
Afia Siddiqui married to Amjad M0hamamd Khan in 1995, it was arranged marriage and the ceremony was conducted on the telephone. After the marriage her husband Amjad Mohammad Khan came to US and they started to live in Lexington, Massachusetts, and then in the Mission Hill, where Amjad start his work as an anesthesiologist.
She has three children, her first son Muhammad Ahmed was born in 1996. She gave birth to a Daughter in 1998, Mariam Bint e Muhammad and then her younger son Suleman.
After the PhD she told one of her adviser that she commit herself to her family rather than a career. She started to read the stories of Arab Afghan Shaheed written by Abdullah Yousuf Azam and became more strict to her religion and start wearing Burqa an Naqab.
Dr. Afia Siddiqui started the Institute of Islamic Research and Teaching while living in Boston in 1999. She was the president of the Organization, her sister was the resident agent and her husband was the financier of the organization. She went out side the city to attended a mosque where she stored some Islamic Literature and copies of the Quran for distribution. She was also a co-founder of a Dawah Resource Center, which offered faith based services to prison inmates.
She returned to Pakistan for a time following the 9/11 attacks and again in 2003 during the war in Afghanistan. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad named her a courier and financier for al-Qaeda, and she was placed on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations's Seeking Information Terrorism list, she remains the only woman to have been featured on the list. Around this time, she and her three children were allegedly kidnapped in Pakistan.
Five years later, she reappeared in Ghazni, Afghanistan, and was arrested by Afghan police and held for questioning by the FBI. While in custody, Dr. Afia Siddiqui allegedly told the FBI she had gone into hiding but later disavowed her testimony and stated she had been abducted and imprisoned. Supporters believe she was held captive at Bagram Air Force Base as a ghost prisoner, an allegation the U.S. government denies. During the second day in custody, she allegedly shot at visiting U.S. FBI and Army personnel with an M4 carbine one of the interrogators had placed on the floor by his feet. She was shot in the torso when a warrant officer returned fire. She was hospitalized, treated and then extradited to the US, where in September 2008 she was indicted on charges of assault and attempted murder of a US soldier in the police station in Ghazni, charges she denied. She was convicted on 3 February 2010 and later sentenced to 86 years in prison.
Her case has been called a "flashpoint of Pakistani American tensions", and "one of the most mysterious in a secret war dense with mysteries". In Pakistan, her arrest and conviction was seen by the public as an "attack on Islam and Muslims", and occasioned large protests throughout the country while in the US, she was considered by some to be especially dangerous as "one of the few alleged Al Qaeda associates with the ability to move about the United States undetected, and the scientific expertise to carry out a sophisticated attack". She has been termed "Lady al-Qaeda" by a number of media organizations due to her alleged affiliation with Islamists. Islamic State have offered to trade her for prisoners on two occasions: once for James Foley and once for Kayla Mueller. Pakistani news media called the trial a "farce", while other Pakistanis labeled this reaction "knee-jerk Pakistani nationalism". The Pakistani Prime Minister at that time, Yousaf Raza Gillani, and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, promised to push for her release.
Elaine Sharp (Defense Attorney) said in pretrial activity that the documents and item found on Afia were planted. A government terrorism expert disagreed, stating there were "hundred of pages in her own handwriting". In Pakistan, Siddiqui's sister Fowzia accused the US of raping and torturing her sister and denying her medical treatment. The Pakistan National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling for Siddiqui's repatriation.
Before the trial, she said "she was innocent of all charges". She maintained she could prove she was innocent but refused to do so in court. On 11 January 2010, Afia told the judge that she would not co-operate with her attorneys and wanted to fire them. She said she did not trust the judge and added, "I'm boycotting the trial, just to let all of you know. There's too many injustices." She then put her head down on the defence table as the prosecution proceeded.
We know most of the time when something hurts you and you have anger against them everyone can react it is natural what she did, for the sake of argument we assume that she found guilty (we know she wasn't but just for the argument) but 86 years in prison is totally unfair and the worst example of injustice in the world. All the western countries are talking about humanity and justice even they have laws for Animals then why they don't talk about this injustice.
I know why they all are quiet and not talk about it because she was a Muslim girl and they thinks Muslims are not human they are terrorists.
Allah will ask all of them who have the power but they don't try to help her out of that hell, Allah will ask all of us why we didn't take any step to free her. I know in our society there are so many powerful people they can do something for her but they don't.
I appeal all of them to please step up Allah will helps you, he will guide you, he will make the things possible for you and one day she will meet her family and children again Inshallah.
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