Helping those in need not same as being friends

My husband Michael “Abd al-Hayy” Weinman and I wish to correct your misleading photo caption in the online and any future print editions of The Taos News. We are not “friends” of Siraj Ibn Wahhaj or of any of the other “Amalia” defendants.

(Perhaps the concept of “friend” has become cheapened in the Age of Facebook. We are more inclined to the view of Georgia O’Keeffe, that “to have a friend takes time.”

So, let’s be clear again. We are both founders and frequent representatives of Musalla Khadija, the “Taos mosque.” As such, we responded to a request from the Taos Adult Detention Center on Aug. 6 to meet with the defendants and inform the center how best to accommodate and respect the religious rights of these men and women. We did so.

My husband Michael served as a religious volunteer for 12 years with the Muslim inmates of the Santa Fe State Penitentiary. Both he and I seriously wish to ensure that those religious rights are observed no matter what the crime (or alleged crime) of the individual/s concerned.

Since we are both Americans who converted to Islam in the ‘70s and have studied mainstream Islam ever since, we are frequently asked to educate Taos classes, groups and individuals concerning the facts of our adopted religion. We are always willing to do so. We have been more than happy in the past week to answer questions from

and other news outlets concerning Islamic terms and concepts.

However, let us be very clear. We are not friends of the defendants. We barely know them, having only met them behind glass in the detention center for a rather short time. The detention center is not a problem. They invite volunteers from various faith communities.

The defendants are not members of our local Muslim community. They happen to be in Taos, and they are in both material and spiritual need. We are trying to provide that, as we provide it for others, both Muslims and non-Muslims.

We are trying to connect the defendants with their biological families. We are encouraging Muslim families to step forward to provide foster care for the children if the biological families are not able to do so.

We cannot know and therefore do not take any position concerning the guilt or innocence of these Muslim defendants. And we are vitally concerned that they receive fair treatment both in the court and in the media.