“You Are Worth Less Than An Iguana!”

How can we accept a world where an iguana has more rights than human beings? Listen to Moazzam Begg speak about the initial stages of when he was imprisoned as he takes you through a journey of the trauma he experienced.

[As part of the MuslimMatters x CAGE Dhul Hijjah Activism Drive: Close Guantanamo, we bring you a series, Guantanamo Memories, of stories from behind bars.]

The first thing I was told when I was taken in US custody in Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan was: “You are the property of the United States and you have no rights.” I quickly understood that they meant business.

I found myself forcefully shaven, spat at, stripped naked with a knife, hooded and hung from the ceiling by my wrists…I was beaten, threatened, and made to believe that the screams I could hear from the room next to me were the sounds of my wife and kids being tortured. I had no way out. Because I was not accused of a crime, I could not clear my name. The Americans made it clear the Geneva conventions didn’t apply to us. US law didn’t apply to us. No law applied to us.

I literally had no rights.

But there’s one thing I learnt when I arrived at Guantanamo: All soldiers, interrogators, or anyone coming to the island prison is briefed: “It is illegal to harm, kill or eat an iguana.”

Unlike us, iguanas were protected under a law called the Endangered Species Act. Breaching this law could result in imprisonment and a fine of up to $50,000.

By the grace of Allah , I was released after three years of ordeal.

But how can I – how can we – accept a world where an iguana has more rights than a human being? In a sense though, we already have. 779 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo since 2002. Forty of them are still there.

Don’t forget to join MuslimMatters and CAGE this month as we work to Close Guantanamo. Check out how you can act today. 

Related Reading:

 – Dhul Hijjah Global Activism Drive: Close Guantanamo

Dhul Hijjah Global Activism Drive: Close Guantanamo

– I Saw Him Murdered Saying “Ya Allah!”

I Saw Him Murdered Saying “Ya Allah!”