Bismillahi Rahmanir Rahim,

The family of Mustafa Abu Maryam would like to ask all those who know him, know his character, know that he could never do what he is accused of, to give for the sake of Allah to pay for his legal defense.  He needs the support of the brothers and sisters in the muslim community.  Most of you are afraid to show support because you fear backlash. But if it was not decreed by Allah, it will never come to you. And if it is decreed by Allah, you will not escape it.  Some of you have believed the story in the media.  But you do not know the whole story.  We would like to give you an open letter to the public from Abu Maryam (Erick Hendricks).  In it, he details his involvment with helping the FBI weed out extremists in our communities.  He was never a part of a terror plot.  He fought against terrorism. Here is his statement to the public:

"I, Erick Hendricks, worked deep undercover for the FBI for seven years. I have publicly, privately and consistently denounced Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and all extremist groups; which can be confirmed by my Facebook page Mustafa Abu Maryam. Everyone that knows me knows that I am against those groups. Everyone that knows me on social media as well as individuals who have had one-on-one contact with me knows that I am against ISIS. I have helped build cases against at least a half-dozen extremists. I do not know any of the persons mentioned in the complaint against myself. I met with one individual in order to evaluate his connection with extremist groups; which is someone the FBI is claiming was an informant. I brought this person to the attention of the FBI agent as a person of interest upon my return to Arkansas in the Spring of 2015. I met with agents about a month or so later about another person of interest. If I was so evil or such a threat, why would I continue to cooperate on cases built against extremists?

The FBI first came to me in 2009 and asked me to get involved with identifying extremists after five members of my youth group in Virginia ran off to Pakistan to fight without telling me or anyone else what they were doing.  I worked with two FBI agents to identify suspected extremist activities; the first FBI agent is David (whom I met in 2009) in Washington, D.C., the second agent is Steve (whom I came into contact with in 2010 or 2011) in South Carolina. I received a substantial amount of money on cases; however, they never contacted me about allegations against myself. My code name was “Akhie” when I was communicating with FBI agents through text messaging and emails about suspected extremist activity.

I noticed the FBI started surveilling me around the beginning of May 2015. I was being followed by multiple vehicles, airplanes, and drones. Cameras were placed outside of my residence on utility poles. I found a GPS tracking device under my vehicle, which I have taken photos of. After I noticed the surveillance, I contacted Steve to inquire about what was going on. Steve stated that he was unaware of the situation but would check into it. When Steve got back to me he still did not have a sufficient answer as to why I was under surveillance. After this run-around I cut off contact with Steve. But the harassment of the FBI continued until I was arrested. I have documented several instances of aggressive surveillance upon me, and my family and children. These instances have been turned over to my lawyer.

I am baffled as to why the FBI are accusing me of terrorist ties. I have thought that perhaps the FBI are trying to gain access to other individuals I may know, such as my friends. I have also thought that they may be targeting me because of my bluntness; however, it is a shame that I am the result of their target. The documentary, "Terror", seems to be very similar to the situation I am currently enduring. I have come to realize that there are a lot of dark souls within the FBI. I feel as if I am being used due to the previous screw-ups of the FBI (for example: the Orlando shootings). I also feel that the FBI is trying to turn people against me. The FBI seems to always need a “fall guy” due to their mishaps and slip-ups. I have seen this same situation happen to others before me, now I am witnessing this same situation done to myself. When you no longer wish to be part of them, they chew you up and spit you out. They throw you to the wolves."

We ask again to please donate to help pay the cost of his legal fees.  Please support him with your finances as well as your du'as.  Faith and action go hand in hand.

JazakAllah khairan.  May Allah reward you.