BLACK MUSLIM FORUM

The 10^th of January saw the death of 24 year old Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, a black man in Cardiff who was arrested for a breach of peace in his home and released by the Cardiff police without charge after spending a night in custody.

According to Vice-Chair of BAME Lawyers 4 Justice Lee Jasper’s report, an elderly neighbour reported that there was a loud commotion Hassan’s home during the arrest. Jasper writes:

“Mohamud was released from Cardiff Bay Police Station around noon Saturday 10th January without being charged He was so severely injured he took a taxi home. Seeing a close friend when he arrived outside his house, he told him “Look fam the police have beat the shit out of me.“

An elderly lady and friend who lived above him saw Mohamud and was in deep shock at what she saw. His light grey tracksuit was covered in blood, and he had severe injuries to his mouth and was severely bruised all over his body.

She called his Aunt, who came over immediately. On seeing Mohamud, she broke down in tears. She insisted he go to the hospital, but he said he was too weak and tired and wanted to rest for a while before seeking medical attention.

Mohamud slept for a few hours, and when a friend attempted to wake him later Saturday evening, he was unresponsive. His friend called an ambulance, and a first responder arrived on a bike. Mohamud’s bedroom was too small for her to give him treatment and, he had to be moved with the assistance of his friend and was laid on the kitchen floor while the paramedic administered CPR.

Two ambulance paramedics then arrived and declared him dead.”

-Lee Jasper (https://leejasper.blogspot.com/2021/01/black-man-dies-after-being-violently.html?spref=tw)

Following the murder of Mohamud in police custody, a post-mortem conducted by Dr Ryk James found evidence of a “Bleeding injury inside swollen upper lip which appears to be a split…” as well as  “areas of bruising present mainly to the arms, elbows, wrists and left hand but with no evidence of any significant injury to the soft tissues, skeleton and internal organs.”

South Wales Police have categorically denied their culpability for Mohamud’s injuries despite Dr James’s post-mortem and Lee Jasper has reported their attempts to smear his name by their assertions that Mohamud had been consuming drink and drugs at a party upon his arrest.

Many people took to the streets in protest of institutional racism and police corruption following the death of Mohamud and The Guardian, BBC, Wales Online and many other publications have reported on his death.

While there has been some support for Mohamud and his family via social media activism, Lee Jasper’s petition on 38 degrees and a Go Fund Me for the family of Mohamud, Black Muslim Forum’s plea is to the Muslim community in the UK.

If we have been placed as viceregents on earth, the death of Mohamud is not just a problem for humanity but acutely a problem for the Muslim community especially the non-Black Muslim community. Action, mobilisation, reparative justice and the plight for peace in the community is something which should be trail blazed by Muslims. Yaqeen Institute have published 40 hadiths on social justice compiled by Sheikh Omar Suleiman which exemplifies evidence for what it means to be a Muslim in conduct and in relation to the unjust world around us.

As a Muslims we are commanded to do Allah’s work and establish his justice on earth. Ultimately the death of Mohamud as with hundreds of other innocent Black men and women was at the hands of corrupt police department. The job of Muslims and humanity at large is to as Malcolm X phrased it, to remove the conditions that allow for this kind of oppression to continue to exist.

Action

Today you can help by writing to your MP, by signing this petition and contributing to Mohamud’s Go Fund Me. You can also help by becoming actively anti-racist in your own capacity, using the tool of social media to speak out against anti-black oppression, educating yourself on Black history and the Black struggle, and volunteering for organisations and individuals that aim to improve the Black condition.

Black Muslim Forum is outraged at the tragedy that has befallen Mohamud and his family and the miscarriage of justice that allowed for this to happen. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mohamud and will continue to mobilise people around the Black struggle for our collective dignity, justice and well-being.