Letter from Prison:
17 year old Muslimah facing death for Hijab
Sister
Huda Kaya and her three daughters were arrested with fifty others
protesting the ban on hijab (islamic headscarf) in Ynonu University,
Turkey. The prosecutor is demanding the death penalty for them. The
trial adjourned on 22 June 1999.
We have a new letter from Sister
Nurcihan Saatcioglu, daughter of Huda Kaya, now aged 17 currently on
trial facing the death penalty. It was sent from her prison in Malatya.
The english translation isn't brilliant but still understandable:
THE LETTER OF NURCIHAN SAATCIOGLU 08-07-1999
THURSDAY
TO ISLAMIC HUMAN RIGHTS COMISSION
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Elhamdulillah
and salam to His Honourable Prophet Muhammed, our lovely leader, our
lovely guide. Salam to Honourable Prophet Muhammed (s)'s followers, the
momineen resisting against oppression and the mmomineen whose hearts are
beating with us, sharing our pains.
My lovely sisters and brothers,
It
doesn't matter how far away you are as we feel our hearts beating as
one and as we feel you are our brothers and sisters. How happy we are,
that we have a Holy Dava'ah. It is so holy that we can resist against
all the forces of infidels and munafiqeen. Elhamdulillah. Elhamdulillah
for thousands of times.
After the arrest of my mother, my sister
Intisar, me and my sister Nurulhak on 21 May 1999, as I was going out of
the classroom a final look to all my class mates was glanced by me. At
that time all my classmates and the teacher in that class could do
nothing for me. They were wondering what I had lived through, the first
time I was arrested. And now I have one more experience to tell them.
For the last time I was going to the classroom to take my bag. I saw
that my friends from other classes were also very much surprised. Some
of them were trying not to leave me. And the others and my teacher were
trying to share my emotions while I was trying to calm them.
For the
last term of our school life we are going to be away from our class and
the teachers and our classmates. But we feel and know that it was worth
it, and we are ready for it.
And we all know that one day we are going to face that four walls, the jails....
We
are not going to graduate. All we want is to get Allah's pleasure. So
we say Elhamdulillah that we are here, because we know that the only
thing that worth is to get His pleasure. So it doesn't really matter
whether we graduate from school, because for us it is important to take
our graduation licences through Allah's pleasure. It is important for us
to see the Allah's sign in our graduation licences . It is very
important for us that our graduation licences be prepared for that Big
Day on Allah's side. Allah is enough for us as a best friend...
Below
is the "OATH of FREEDOM" that I read out in the headscarf
demonstrations on 30 04 1999 Friday in front of the Governor's Building.
OATH OF FREEDOM
We were born freely
We will live freely and when death comes to us
We will die freely
Because we have written "Jihad" on our foreheads
We put the struggle in the beginning of our prayers,
in every morning.
"For a free country"
"For a free school"
"For our honour"
"For our identity"
Giving no concession
We'll resist,
RESIST !!!
We'll WIN !!!
We have SWORN !!!
Be our witness, Allah !!!
Be our witness, Allah !!!
Be our witness, Allah !!!
If one day I get the death penalty, I am going to repeat the same oath. I am going to read the "Oath of Freedom" again.
"And
whoever takes Allah and His apostle and those who believe for a
guardian, then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be
triumphant."
(Maidah-56/ Holy Qur'an).
My Lord be our friend and assistance.
WITH SALAM AND PRAYERS
Nurcihan Saatcioglu
E-Type Prison
Malatya
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