Mohamedou
Ould Slahi
Guantanamo Diary
Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Mohamedou Ould Slahi was born and raised in Mauritania before travelling to Afghanistan in 1991 to join the fight against the Soviet communist government. In order to join, Slahi had to swear loyalty to al Qaeda (a former U.S. enemy) but didn’t participate in the Afghan civil war until 1992, where he fought with support from the United States. Once the communist government collapsed, Mohamedou severed all ties to al Qaeda and returned back to his home in Mauritania. Upon arriving home he was detained by both Mauritanian and FBI officials and was accused of partaking in the plotting of the 2000 millennium attacks against the Los Angeles International Airport and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. After interrogation, the CIA transported him to Jordan where he was tortured into falsely confessing his involvement in the attacks and from there he was sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp by the US military.
Mohamedou was held at Guantánamo Bay without charge from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016. While imprisoned Slahi wrote, Guantanamo Diary, a memoir that exposes the brutality of U.S. rendition and torture that he experienced as a prisoner. Mohamedou was exposed to all forms of physical and psychological torture that were approved by the Secretary of Defense. He was subjected to sleep deprivation, noise torture, threats to his family, sexual assault and other forms of physical coercion. Astonishingly, reflections on Slahi’s imprisonment in his memoir are devoid of bitterness toward those who tortured him despite all he was put through.
The Guantanamo Diary delves into Shali's personal experience with the United States as a carceral state and reveals his defense against the Islamophobia that was shown towards him. Slahi’s experience reveals the United States abuses in the post-9/11 era towards innocent people when the rule of law is suspended. The United States has adopted a system of government based on suspicion and paranoia where all rights are sacrificed for “safety” leaving fear to take the place of evidence. It was impossible to try Slahi in court due to the torture our country put him through. Because of the false confessions he was forced to give, suspicion still clouds Slahi and out of fear the U.S. refused to release him. In the mind of the American government it is easier to let an innocent man suffer than run the possible risk of releasing him back into the world. This “suspicion” plagues innocent Muslims in the U.S. everyday. The government has developed programs such as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) created to detect early signs of terrorism but in reality it is a violation of human rights. CVE makes Muslims everyday activities appear criminal or threatening and utimitally reinforces anti-Muslim stereotypes. However, many of these Islamophobic and xenophobic actions by the government remain unreported.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi was able to combat his oppression through prayer. With every attempt the U.S. Government made to break him, he challenged their hostility toward Islam by openly practicing his faith and because of this, he was able to endure 14 years of torture. Mohamedou’s diary provides a valuable and needed insight into the experiences and resistance of Muslims in America.
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